Sirens in Art, Music, and Literature: A Comparative Analysis

Sirens In Art, Music, and Literature
Dr. Annie Rose Tindall-Gibson
University of South Carolina
School of Music
813 Assembly St.
Columbia, SC 29201
For Correspondence:
Annie Rose Tindall-Gibson
[email protected]
Abstract
Beautiful women have always been considered powerful and dangerous. For many
thousands of years women have been viewed as a danger to men, especially women who
could not be seemingly controlled or had the potential ability to control the minds of men.
In Greek mythology, sirens were depicted as bird human hybrids, who, with their beautiful
singing voices lured sailors to their island. The images of sirens continued far beyond the
bounds of Greek Mythology, and the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Artists such as John
William Waterhouse, Herbert James Draper, Gustave Wertheimer, Henrietta Rae, Frederic
Lord Leighton, and Charles Edouard Boutibonne, all did paintings of sirens. James Joyce
writes about sirens in Ulysses. By looking at and presenting examples from visual art,
music, and literary sources, an in-depth comparison will draw a connecting thread through
the different art forms and show a parallel development of the woman as seductress
archetype.
Keywords
Music, Art, Literature, Sirens, History, Beauty, Power
Introduction
Beautiful women have always been considered powerful and dangerous. In the early
modern world, the archetype of the seductress was developed in both the art and music of
renaissance Europe. Scholarship is available in both the visual and musical arts associated
with ondines, sirens, mermaids, and sibyls; however, not much is available comparing the
two media. Plenty of source materials exist that represent these figures of this archetype in
both art and music. At this time of the #MeToo Movement, when women are energized
throughout the world and taking stock of where they have been and where they are now.
Investigating female archetypes such as the siren can assist us in understanding the roots
of underlying cultural gender concepts. By looking at and presenting examples from visual
art, music, and literary sources, an in-depth comparison will draw a connecting thread
through the different art forms and show a parallel development of the woman as
seductress archetype.
Men have never liked or approved of women who had power equal to or over them.
The early modern worldview that women were for the purpose of reproduction and service
to their husbands has been a hard stereotype to break. If a woman in the early modern
world did something against her husband’s wishes, it was equal to treason because the
hierarchy of the household made the man the king in that situation. Women were to do as
they were told or else suffer the consequences. The idea that a female voice could make a
man do something was a core fear. Furthermore, the male experience of the possibility of a
beautiful woman could entice, seduce, and thus control a man was even more unacceptable.
Rational explanations for how women could do these things did not exist and so we see
women being portrayed as sirens, nymphs, mermaids, and witches.
For many thousands of years women have been viewed as a danger to men,
especially women who could not be seemingly controlled or had the potential ability to
control the minds of men. In Greek mythology, sirens were depicted as bird human hybrids.
Different imagery exists of this combination in Greek art. For example, a perfume vase from
540 BC depicts a small bird figure with a woman’s head (see figure 1). Another example is a
figurine from the fourth century BC that depicts a full female body with bird feet and bird
wings (see figure 2). Their voices are what made them so dangerous yet some depictions of
the sirens can be found playing musical instruments such as harps or viols. These would
seem to indicate that a combination of both their singing and their music could enchant
men. In these surviving figurines and the following remaining written descriptions of
sirens, no mention is made of beauty playing a part in their seduction.
Early Literature and Art
In the Suda (2002), the tenth century AD Byzantine encyclopedia, sirens are
described as being small birds with human faces. In the surviving fragments of Sophocles
(2003), the sirens are named as being daughters of Phorcys. In Euripides (2008), Helen,
Helen calls on the sirens as “Winged maidens, virgin daughters of the earth” (line 167). Of
course, there are the sirens that figure in Homer’s Odyssey, which was written close to
eighteen centuries before the Suda. The Greeks portrayed sirens as being dangerous
woman, who, with their beautiful singing voices lured sailors to their island. The sailors
would either shipwreck or end up wandering the island in vain looking for the sirens, but
never seeing them, only hearing them. Either way, death was the outcome for these men.
In the Odyssey the sirens are again only heard, not seen. This leaves a lack of clarity
regarding what Homer believed them to be. In a new scholarly publication by Asher Elbein
(2018) in Audubon Magazine, a new translation of the Odyssey is discussed and concludes
that the sirens Homer wrote about were the bird human hybrids depicted in Greek
mythology of the first century BC. Pagan tradition is what brought us the concept of the
siren but as we enter the time of early modern Europe, we see these pagan images meld
with the Christian dogma. Through this combination of traditions, we get a new idea of
what a siren was and what dangers men faced when it came to women.
Bestiaries were popular in the medieval Europe. These were books with drawings of
both mythology and real animals, and grotesque human/animal hybrids. Some of these
include Liber monstruorum diversis generibus, ninth or tenth century Europe, Aviarium;
Dicta Chrystostomi, Northern France/Southern Netherlands between 1250-1300, and
Libellus de natura animalium, Mondovi, Italy between 1508-1512. As evidenced by these
books, the myth of sirens and mermaids had not died out but yet had grown and spread
throughout early modern Europe. Now, it wasn’t just the voices of the sirens that were
dangerous. These female/animal hybrids were sexualized beings that could seduce men
with their bodies as well as their voices. Another bestiary manuscript from England dated
around 1300 is the first appearance of a siren as being a human fish hybrid. This
occurrence appears in a Latin guide to animals called Bestiarius, which is held at Det
Kongelige Bibliotek in Copenhagen, Denmark. The depiction is that of a female from the
torso up. Below the torso there is a tail of a fish standing on bird feet (see figure 3).
Further examples of the widespread depiction of sirens and mermaids can be found
in texts of a religious nature as well. A French Book of Hours from 1425-1430, held at The
Morgan Library depicts a mermaid in one of the margins holding a mirror and comb (see
figure 4). The Luttrell Psalter, an English illuminated manuscript commissioned by Sir
Geoffrey Luttrell between 1325-1340, held at the British Library, has many human animal
hybrids depicted on it’s pages including a mermaid holding a golden plate and golden block
(see figure 5).
A calligraphy book owned by Jan van de Velde from around 1600, held at the
Newberry Library in Chicago, shows a calligraphy drawing of a mermaid with a mirror and
comb. This frequent depiction of mermaids with mirrors and combs would seem to indicate
that they cared very much about their beauty and making sure they were always at their
best (see figure 6). Also, perhaps this is the beginning of the development of the deeply
ingrained bias that women were vain and obsessed with themselves.
In Music
There were also those women called “celestial sirens,” a term used by Robert L.
Kendrick in his book Celestial Sirens: Nuns and Their Music in Early Modern Milan (2001).
These were nuns in Italy, namely Milan, who had such beautiful voices that people flocked
to the cloistered convents to hear them singing. Four of these nuns were female composers
and they wrote the music sung at the cloisters. They were Claudia Scossa, Claudia Rusca,
Chiara Margarita Cozzollani, and Rosa Giacinta Badalla. Their appearance is unknown, but
the described power of their voices is very similar to that of the sirens found in Greek
mythology. At Mass in the early modern world, women were not allowed to sing because
their voices may have been alluring and held too much power.
Elizabeth Eva Leach (2006) points out in the opening lines of her article, that sirens
did get a fair amount of attention in the Renaissance, but it wasn’t attention from
musicologists. An example of mythological women appearing in English opera comes in
George Frederic Handel’s Rinaldo. In Act II, two mermaids sing to Rinaldo about love, as he
is tempted into a boat with the promise of being reunited with Almirena. Rinaldo
premiered in 1711. This depiction of singing mermaids as being aids to seduction kept alive
the idea of beautiful voices having power over men. Handel’s use of mythology in this
English opera proves just how alive, well, and popular with the public the Greek myths
were in the first few decades of the 18th century.
A slightly earlier example of the use of mythology and mythological creatures on the
English stage can be found in “The Libertine.” Henry Purcell wrote the music for “Nymphs
and shepherds,” which appears in Thomas Shadwell’s play “The Libertine.” This play is an
adaption of the Legend of Don Juan. Spink (2000) explains that Purcell’s music was not the
version that appeared in the first performance of the play but appeared in versions after
1692. In this song the performer is singing about the celebration of Flora’s birthday. Flora
was the goddess of Spring in Roman mythological. Nymphs and shepherds are being called
to come and dance in the fields to celebrate Flora. A nymph according to the Merriam
Webster Dictionary (2003) is “any of the minor divinities of nature in classical
mythology represented as beautiful maidens dwelling in the mountains, forests,
trees, and waters.”
Claudio Monteverdi (2013) in his eighth book of madrigals, wrote “Lamento della
ninfa.” The text has three parts with the middle one being the Nymph lamenting her fate.
Her lover made false promises to her, and she is being destroyed by his presence. She
wishes death upon him because then he couldn’t tell her lies anymore. The lament part
ends with her singing that he will never have such love or sweet kisses as he had with her.
The two outer parts are sung by a “choir,” which tells the Nymph’s story and how she came
to be in her sad state.
Modern Depictions
The images of sirens, nymphs, and other mythological female beings continued
beyond the bounds of the Renaissance and Baroque eras of art and music. Artists such as
John William Waterhouse, Herbert James Draper, Gustave Wertheimer, Henrietta Rae,
Frederic Lord Leighton, and Charles Edouard Boutibonne all did paintings of sirens. John
William Waterhouse held true to Greek mythology and painted his sirens as birds with
female faces and long hair (see figure 7). Herbert James Draper painted his sirens are two
women and one mermaid, all wearing hardly anything, with beautiful features and long
flowing hair of different colors (see figure 8). Gustave Wertheimer painted many sirens in
different paintings but one in particular is “Kiss of the Siren.” He painted her as a beautiful
woman with long flowing golden hair, coming up out of the sea to kiss a lone sailor (see
figure 9). Henrietta Rae, a female artist from the late 19th century depicts her three sirens
lounging on the shore, fully nude. Two have long flowing hair, while the third has very long
hair. The third siren is playing a horn like instrument (see figure 10). Frederic Lord
Leighton, in his painting “The Fisherman and The Siren,” depicts the siren as a beautiful,
golden-haired mermaid creature with her tale wrapped around the fisherman (see figure
11). Charles Edouard Boutibonne paints five sirens in his piece. They are all beautiful nude
women, frolicking in the waves, in a circle, which might indicate they were dancing (see
figure 12).
In literature we see sirens depicted in a modernized way in James Joyce’s Ulysses
(1992). In Chapter 11, ‘The Sirens’, Bloom is having dinner and watches the barmaids.
Music figures very importantly in this chapter of the book. Nadya Zimmerman (2002)
discusses how Joyce uses the musical form “fuga per canonem,” meaning fugue by means of
a canon. What James Joyce has attempted to do in this chapter is to take a musical form and
transcribe it into prose. There are clear canonic elements in the chapter as well as fugual
elements. Looking at the chapter as a musical piece one can argue that the eight characters
that appear in this chapter are the eight voices of a double fugue. How they interact with
each other is similar to the entries of subjects and countersubjects in a fugue.
In 19th century opera, Richard Wagner (1985) gave us the “Rhinemaidens” in his Der
Ring des Nibelungen. They figure in all four operas in the cycle, being the first characters
heard in Das Rheingold and the last characters heard in Götterdammerung. There are three,
Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Floßhilde. The leitmotifs given to the “Rhinemaidens” are some
of the most beautiful heard in any of the operas. They are the epitome of what a siren is:
gorgeous, tempting voices.
In 2014, Kate Soper’s opera “Here Be Sirens” opened in New York. It is a work for
three sopranos and grand piano. Soper takes literature of Homer, Aristotle, Freud, and
Edna St. Vincent Millay, just to name a few, and swirls them all together. The music for the
opera is a similar combination of very different forms coming together in a beautiful way.
According to Steve Smith (2014), Soper uses “irish keening, medieval-style close harmony,
torch-song blues and Weill-esque cabaret.” Such a new work that has continued to be
performed is proof that the ideal of the siren is very much still alive and well after more
than 2500 years.
A common feature of all art media that depict sirens both old and new is the female
voice. The power of the female voice as well as women who were outside the bounds of
marriage, those who could fend for themselves, were a major threat in the early modern
world view. These non-mythological women were not necessarily beautiful, which is where
the idea of witches fits in with dangerous women. Witches, appear as both beautiful and
ugly, are portrayed as being musical and often sing and dance. The utterances they made,
whether mumbled under their breath, or sung were dangerous to those who heard. Seventh
Son, a film directed by Sergei Bodrov (2014), is an excellent example of the witches and the
power beauty and words can have over men. A more comical modern-day depiction of
witches and music can be found in the film, Hocus Pocus, directed by Kenny Ortega (1993)
when the Sanderson Sisters are about to be hanged for their crimes in 17th century Salem,
Massachusetts. They sing in harmony and cast a spell that will bring them back from the
dead. This is just one instance in the film where music is used by the witches.
Since antiquity, women perceived as possessing power have been feared. As already
addressed in the paper, we know that women have for a very long time been thought of as
dangerous when outside the control of men. At different points in history women have
been energized by their oppression and have banded together to protect themselves. Most
recently that was the #MeToo movement. Looking back through time traced by various art
forms we have seen how women were thought of and framed in cultural myths and legends
created by men as being dangerous. It is important to know what women have had to go
through to get where they are today. Women still have so much more to conquer but
without a knowledge of their history women will lack the roadmap for change.
Figures
Figure 1 - Archaic Perfume Vase in the shape of a Siren 540 BC
Held at The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD
Figure 2 - Siren of Casona 4th Century BC
Held at Museo Arqueológical Nacional
Madrid, Spain
Figure 5 - The Luttrell Psalter ca. 1330
Held at The British Library
London, England
Figure 3 - “Siren” found in Bestiarius c. 1300
Held at Det Kongelige Bibliotek
Copenhagen, Denmark
Figure 4 - French Book of Hours c. 1300
Held at The Morgan Library
New York, NY
Figure 6 - Calligraphy Book ca. 1600
Held at The Newberry Library
Chicago, IL
Figure 7 - Odysseus and the Siren – John William Waterhouse
Held at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Figure 8 - Ulysses and the Sirens – Henry James Draper
Held at Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston upon Hull, England
Figure 9 - Kiss of the Siren – Gustav Wertheimer
Held at Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Figure 10 - The Sirens – Henrietta Rae
Held at Christie’s Auction House, London, England (last known location)
Figure 11 - The Fisherman and The Siren – Frederic Lord Leighton
Held at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, England
Figure 12 - Sirens or Mermaids Frolicking In The Sea - Charles Edouard Boutibonne
Held at Christie’s Auction House – South Kensington, England (last known location)
Reference
Austern, L. P. (2006). Music of the Sirens. Indiana Univ. Press.
Bodrov, S. (Director). 2014. Seventh Son (Film). Universal Pictures.
Dell, C. (2016). The Occult, Witchcraft & Magic: An Illustrated History. Thames & Hudson.
Doherty, L. E. (1998). Siren Songs: Gender, Audiences, and Narrators in the Odyssey. University of Michigan
Press.
Elbein, A. (2018, April 6). Sirens of Greek Myth were Bird-Women, Not Mermaids. Audubon.
https://www.audubon.org/news/sirens-greek-myth-were-bird-women-not-mermaids
Euripides. (2008). Helen (William Allan). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published ca. 412 BCE)
Homer. (1997). The Odyssey. (Robert Fagles). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 725 BCE)
Joyce, J. (1992). Ulysses. Modern Library.
Leach, E. E. (2006). ‘The Little Pipe Sings Sweetly While the Fowler Deceives the Bird': Sirens in the Later
Middle Ages. Music & Letters, 87(2), 187-211.
Kendrick, R. L. (2001). Celestial Sirens: Nuns and Their Music in Early Modern Milan. Clarendon Press.
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Nymph. (2003). Merriam Webster Dictionary (11th ed., pp. 584). MerriamWebster, Incorporated.
Monteverdi, C. (2013). Lamento della ninfa. W. W. Norton and Company. (Original work published ca. 16141638)
Ortega, K. (Director). 1993. Hocus Pocus (Film). Walt Disney Pictures.
Smart, M. A. (2000). Siren Songs: Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Opera. Princeton University Press.
Smith, S. (2014, January 22). Tempting And Dangerous. They Sing, Too. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/arts/music/here-be-sirens-blends-opera-and-play.html
Sophocles. (2003). Sophocles Fragments (Hugh Lloyd-Jones). Harvard Univ. Press. (Original work published
ca. 475-406 BCE)
Spink, I. (2000). Purcell's Music for 'the Libertine'. Music & Letters, 81(4), 520-31.
Suda On Line. (2002, June 13). Seirênas. In Suda. Retrieved August 31, 2021, from,
https://web.archive.org/web/20150924112336/http://www.stoa.org/solbin//search.pl?search_method=QUERY&login=&enlogin=&searchstr=sigma,280&field=adlerhw_gr&
db=REAL. (Original work published ca. 10th C. AD)
Wagner, R. (1985). Das Rheingold in Full Score. Dover. (Original work published ca. 1854)
Woolfe, Z. (2018, January 26). She Tackled Aristotle in an Opera. Next Up: Medieval French Couplets. The New
York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/arts/music/kate-soper-here-be-sirens.html
Zimmerman, N. "Musical Form as Narrator: The Fugue of the Sirens in James Joyce's "Ulysses." Journal of
Modern Literature, 26(1), 108-18.