Odysseus and the Sirens

Greats screaming roars filled the bay as the mighty Odysseus escaped the lands of the Cyclopes. Polyphemus, the giant cyclops, was screaming with pain as he had just been stabbed in his only eye by the devious Odysseus. As he calmed down, he spoke with his mighty voice to his beloved father Poseidon.

“Oh mighty father of mine. I know I have disappointed you before, but I have lost one of my most prized possessions. Without my only eye, how will I live? How will I tend to my sheep? How will I hunt? I am at a loss. Please Poseidon, avenge my loss!”

As Poseidon sat in his underwater palace, he heard his forgotten son’s cry for help. He immediately knew what needed to be done to repay Odysseus, and it would not end well for the over confident King of Ithaca. He quickly sent the message through the sea to the one thing that could avenge his son: beautiful sirens…

Odysseus grinned as his ship sailed through the treacherous water. The sea was getting rough but he thought of how lucky he was to have escaped the grasps of that evil Cyclops Polyphemus. As he sat in his cabin eating the freshly cooked goat, he felt an uneasy feeling come over him. He quickly got dressed and ran onto the deck of his ship.

“Elpenor, why are we heading west? Our sails should be heading to my kingdom Ithaca. I cannot wait to tell my wife of my strength and whit to defeat the mighty Cyclops.”

“King Odysseus, the tide strengthens every second, I am afraid there is nothing we can do to change course. The man on the crow’s nest spotted a beautiful island this way though. We can feast and wait for the storm to end. Then we will head to Ithaca.” Odysseus, with irritation, accepted the option.

As Odysseus and his men arrived on the island, they began to cook and drink sweet red wine from the hide skin pouches. The night progressed full of celebration for their escape from Polyphemus. As the sun disappeared over the horizon, a strange noise could be heard from the rustling sea. It was a smooth and calming sound, like a mother singing lullabies to her brand new infant. The men stopped what they were doing and were mesmerized by the music. The men slowly walking towards the ocean in a trance, when all of a sudden a beautiful siren jumped out of the water. The men entered the water to meet these beautiful creatures. As soon as the men reached the water, the music stopped. There was a quick splash of the water and the Odysseus’ men were pulled under the water and drowned one at a time. The sirens attacked the men, destroying all of the ships with their powerful tails.

Sirens

Odysseus recognized this trickery and broke free from the trance. In a panic, he tried to devise a plan to save not only himself, but the rest of his men fighting off the sirens. He studied the hectic shore and noticed that the sirens were avoiding the area next to a beautiful purple jacaranda tree.

He yelled at the only man remaining, Elpenor, “That purple tree is our only hope! They cannot go near this tree for it is poisonous”.

The sirens continued their mesmerizing songs, while Odysseus fought the overwhelming urge to go into the sea. He ran in the tide towards the tree, slowing down as the music intensity increased. Elpenor was following when all of a sudden one of the sirens grabbed his ankle. She started pulling him into the water with her powerful body. All was lost. Elpenor was about to give up when all of a sudden the siren let go. The entire group of sirens screeched and dove down into the depths of the ocean. Elpenor was in shock as he looked up at the strong Odysseus hold a limb of the jacaranda tree.

 

Both men, exhausted, sat on the sand of the beautiful beach and thought of what just happened. They had escaped yet again, but were now stranded on the island with no ships and no men. The long journey home had just gotten a little longer…

Author’s Note: My story was inspired by Homer’s Odyssey. I kept the original story similar in that Odysseus and his men escaped the cyclops and faced a long journey home. I included similar characters such as Elpenor, Polyphemus, Odysseus, and the sirens. I wanted to touch on the fact that Odysseus is very arrogant and thinks that he cannot be defeated. I almost included a part where Poseidon actually defeats Odysseus, but I wanted to stick to the original story in that Odysseus is one of the strongest men. Furthermore, I wanted to include a certain item that would allow for Odysseus to defeat the enemy, so I included the purple jacaranda tree.

Homer’s Odyssey. Translated by Tony Kline. 2004.