Abstract
The Sirens appear in Book XII of Homer’s Odyssey. After returning from the underworld, Odysseus and his men are received by Circe, luring the men back to pure animality, but she turns helper, and prepares them for the next stage of their homeward journey. She warns them of several dangers ahead, one of which is the Sirens, who
spellbind any man alive, whoever comes their way. Whoever draws too close, off guard, and catches the Sirens’ voices in the air — no sailing home for him, no wife rising to meet him, no happy children beaming up at their father’s face. The high thrilling song of the Sirens will transfix him, lolling in their meadow, round them heaps of corpses rotting away, rags of skin shrivelling on their bones. (Homer, Odyssey Book XII, 48–57)
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© 2010 Griselda Pollock
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Pollock, G. (2010). Ecoutez la Femme: Hear/Here Difference. In: Hanson, H., O’Rawe, C. (eds) The Femme Fatale: Images, Histories, Contexts. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230282018_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230282018_2
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