Editing Siren (mythology) (section)

== Early Christian to Medieval ==

=== Book of Enoch ===
According to the ancient Hebrew [[Book of Enoch]], the women who were led astray by the [[fallen angel]]s will be turned into sirens.<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Robert Charles (scholar)|Robert Charles]]|title=The Book of Enoch|date=1917|chapter=XIX|url=https://sacred-texts.com/bib/boe/boe022.htm|publisher=[[SPCK]]|accessdate=2024-04-27}}</ref>

=== Late antiquity ===
By the fourth century, when [[paganism|pagan]] beliefs were overtaken by [[Christianity]], {{dubious-span|the belief in literal sirens was discouraged|date=September 2022}} 

[[Saint Jerome]], who produced the Latin [[Vulgate]] version of the bible, used the word ''sirens'' to translate Hebrew ''tannīm'' ("[[jackal]]s") in the [[Book of Isaiah]] 13:22, and also to translate a word for "[[owl]]s" in the [[Book of Jeremiah]] 50:39.

The siren is allegorically described as a beautiful courtesan or prostitute, who sings pleasant melodies to men, and is the symbolic vice of Pleasure in the preaching of [[Clement of Alexandria]] (2nd century).<ref>Clement. ''[[Protrepticus (Clement)|Protrepticus]]''. quoted in {{harvp|Druce|1915|p=170}}</ref> Later writers such as [[Ambrose]] (4th century) reiterated the notion that the siren stood as a symbol or allegory for worldly temptations.<ref>Ambrose, ''Exposition of the Christian Faith'', Book 3, chap. 1, 4.</ref> and not an endorsement of the Greek myth.

=== Isidorus ===
The early Christian [[euhemerist]] interpretation of mythologized human beings received a long-lasting boost from the ''[[Etymologiae]]'' by [[Isidore of Seville]] (c. 560–636):
{{blockquote|They [the Greeks] imagine that "there were three sirens, part virgins, part birds," with wings and claws. "One of them sang, another played the flute, the third the lyre. They drew sailors, decoyed by song, to shipwreck. According to the truth, however, they were prostitutes who led travelers down to poverty and were said to impose shipwreck on them." They had wings and claws because Love flies and wounds. They are said to have stayed in the waves because a wave created [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]].<ref>Grant, Robert McQueen (1999). ''Early Christians and Animals.'' London: Routledge, 120. Translation of Isidore, ''Etymologiae'' (c. 600–636 AD), Book 11, chap. 3 ("Portents"), 30.</ref>}}

=== Physiologus and bestiaries ===

==== The allegorical texts ====
The siren and the [[onocentaur]], two hybrid creatures, appear as the subject of a single chapter in the ''[[Physiologus]]'',{{sfnp|George|Yapp|1991|p=99}} as they appear together in the [[Septuagint]] translation of the aforementioned Isaiah 13:21–22, and 34:14.{{sfnp|Pakis|2010|p=118}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The sirens (''seirenes'') do figure in the earliest surviving versions (version G, Μ Γ and others).{{sfnp|Pakis|2010|pp=120–121}}  But the siren did not figure in the earlier Greek version of the ''Physiologos'' (4th century, preserved by Epiphanius) nor the Armenian translation from Greek originals.<ref name="mustard" />}} They also appear together in some Latin bestiaries of the First Family subgroup called B-Isidore ("B-Is").{{sfnp|Pakis|2010|pp=125–126}}{{sfnp|George|Yapp|1991|p=99}}

==== The miniatures ====
{{multiple image
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 | header= Sirens in bestiaries

 | image1 = BnF Latin 6838 B, fo.025v-syrenes.jpg
 | alt1 = Siren in a bestiary, Bibliothèque Nationale, Latin 6838 B
 | caption1 = Siren. {{right|{{small|―BnF Latin 6838 B, fol. 25v}}<ref name="BnF-La_6838_B"/>}}

 | image2 = Siren 3244.jpg
 | alt2 = Siren in the bestiary, British Library, MS 3244
 | caption2 = Siren. {{right|{{small|―Bestiary bound in a theological miscellany. British Library, [[Harleian Library|Harley]] MS 3244}}}}
 | footer =
}}
[[file:Morgan M.81, f.017r-sirene.jpg|thumb|Sirens. One on the left holds a comb. {{right|{{small|―Worksop Bestiary. [[Morgan Library]] M.81}}<ref name="Morgan-M.81"/>]]
[[file:Sloane278, fol.47r-sirena&onocentaurus.jpg|thumb|(Bottom left) fish-siren{{sfnp|Druce|1915|loc=pp. 174–175, Pl. X, No. 2}} of mermaid-form. (Bottom right) onocentaur {{right|{{small|―Bestiary, Sloane MS. 278, fol. 47r}}<ref name="Sloan283"/>]]

The siren's bird-like description from classical sources was retained in the Latin version of the ''Physiologus'' (6th century) and several subsequent [[bestiary|bestiaries]] into the 13th century,<ref>''Physiologus'' "B" text and its derivative. {{harvp|Holford-Strevens|2006|p=29}} ''et sqq.''</ref><ref name="mustard" /> but at some time during the interim, the mermaid shape was introduced to this body of works.<ref>{{harvp|Holford-Strevens|2006|p=31}}: There were "those who introduced the mermaid into the Latin Physiologus and the bestiaries thence derived".</ref> 

;As woman-fish or mermaid
{{further|Mermaid#Sirens}}
The siren was illustrated as a woman-fish (mermaid) in the ''[[Bern Physiologus]]'' dated to the mid-9th century, even though this contradicted the accompanying text which described it as avian.{{Refn|name="berne-physiologus"|Berne, Bürgerbibliotek Cod. 318. fol. 13v. Rubric: "De Natura Serena et honocentauri".<ref name="leclercq-marx" />}} An English-made Latin bestiary dated 1220–1250 also depicted a group of sirens as mermaids with fishtails swimming in the sea, even though the text stated they resembled winged fowl ({{lang|la|volatilis habet figuram}}) down to their feet.{{Refn|Oxford, MS Bodley 764, fol. 74v.<ref name="Bodl764"/>{{sfnp|Hardwick|2011|p=92}}<ref>{{harvp|Holford-Strevens|2006|pp=31–32}}, Fig. 1.4</ref><ref name="bodley764-tr-barber"/>}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|There is another entry for "siren", as a winged white serpent of Arabia.{{sfnp|Barber tr.|1993|p=150}}}}

Illustrating the siren as a pure mermaid became commonplace in the "second family" bestiaries, and she was shown holding a musical instrument in the classical tradition, but also sometimes holding apparently an [[eel]]-fish.{{sfnp|Clark|2006|loc=p. 57 and n50}} An example of the siren-mermaid holding such a fish is found in one of the earlier codices in this group, dated the late 12th century.{{efn|Brit. Lib. Add. 11283, late 12c., {{harvp|Clark|2006|p=21}}, fol. 20v{{sfnp|Clark|2006|loc=p. 52 and Fig. 20}}<ref name="BL-Add11283"/>}}{{sfnp|Druce|1915|loc=pp. 174–175, Pl. X, No. 2}}

;As bird-like
A counterexample is also given where the illustrated sirens (group of three) are bird-like, conforming to the text.{{Refn|Oxford, MS Bodley 602, fol. 10r. 12th century.<ref>{{harvp|Holford-Strevens|2006|pp=31–32}}, Fig. 1.3</ref><!--Unsourced comment: but the siren at left here has an elongated lower trunk more fishlike than bird, and webbed feet.-->}}

;As hybrid
The siren was sometimes drawn as a hybrid with a human torso, a fish-like lower body, and bird-like wings and feet.<ref>Harley 3244, and others MSS.; {{harvp|Clark|2006|p=21}}</ref><ref>Cambridge University Library, MS Ii. 4. 26, fol. 39r. {{harvp|Holford-Strevens|2006|pp=33–34}}</ref> While in the Harley 3244 (cf. fig. top right) the wings sprout from around the shoulders, in other hybrid types, the style places the siren's wings "hanging at the waist".<!--Greek art often depicts a siren's bird parts completely at or below waist -->{{Refn|Cambridge University Library Ii.4.26, fol. 39v.<ref>{{harvp|Holford-Strevens|2006|p=33}}, Fig. 1.5</ref>}}{{Refn|Compare Northumberland bestiary (Getty MS 100)<ref name="Getty-MS100-ex-Alnwick"/> (olim Alnwick bestiary, [[Alnwick Castle]] MS 447). Comment of "webbed feet" in the two examples{{sfnp|George|Yapp|1991|p=99}} seems false for the CUL ms., while "webbed feet of an aquatic animal" is corroborated for the Northumberland bestiary.<ref name="tandjung"/>}}

;Comb and mirror

Also, a siren may be holding a comb,{{sfnp|George|Yapp|1991|p=99}}{{Refn|Or there may be three sirens drawn, two holding fish and third a mirror, as in Getty MS. 100 (olim Alnwick ms.)<ref name="Getty-MS100-ex-Alnwick"/>{{sfnp|George|Yapp|1991|p=99}} A similar composition occurs on the Morgan M.81,<ref name="Morgan-M.81"/> cf. fig. right.}} or a mirror.{{Refn|British Library Ms. Royal 2.B.Vii, fol. 96v.{{sfnp|George|Yapp|1991|p=99}}<ref name="BL-Roy2.B.vii-catalog"/>}}

Thus the comb and mirror, which are now emblematic of mermaids across Europe, derive from the bestiaries that describe the siren as a vain creature requiring those accoutrements.{{sfnp|Waugh|1960|p=77}}<ref name="chunko-dominguez">{{cite book|last=Chunko-Dominguez|first=Betsy |author-link=<!--Betsy Chunko-Dominguez--> |title=English Gothic Misericord Carvings: History from the Bottom Up |publisher=BRILL |date=2017 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jo1ZDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |pages=82–84 |isbn=<!--900434120X, --> 9789004341203}}</ref>

==== Verse bestiaries ====
Later, bestiary texts appeared which were modified to accommodate the artistic conventions.{{sfnp|Holford-Strevens|2006|p=34}}

It is explained that the siren's "other part" may be "like fish or like bird" in [[William the Clerk of Normandy|Guillaume le clerc]]'s [[Old French]] verse bestiary (1210 or 1211),{{Refn|"l'altre partie est figuree / Come peisson ou con oisel" (vv. 1058–1059).<ref name="muratova&poirion"/><ref name="woodruff"/>}}{{sfnp|Waugh|1960|p=77}} as well as [[Philippe de Thaun]]'s Anglo-Norman verse bestiary (c. 1121–1139).<ref name="philippe-de-thaun"/>{{sfnp|Holford-Strevens|2006|p=34}}

=== Derivative literature ===
There also appeared medieval works that conflated sirens with mermaids while citing ''Physiologus'' as their source.<ref>[[Bartholomeus Anglicus|Bartholomew Anglicus]], ''De proprietatibus rerum'' XCVII, c.1240, "And Physiologus saith it is a beast of the sea, wonderly shapen as a maid from the navel upward and a fish from the navel downward"; quoted in translation by {{harvp|Mustard|1908|p=22}}</ref>{{Refn|[[Hugh of St. Victor]] (d.1240), ''De bestiis et aliis rebus'' XCVII, quoted in Latin by {{harvp|Mustard|1908|p=23}}, and in translation by {{harvp|Holford-Strevens|2006|p=32}}: "sirens.., as the Physiologus describes them have a woman's form above down to the navel, but their lower part down to the feet has the shape of a fish". The work continues "excerpts from Servius and Isidore" to say: "three Sirens, part maids, part fish, of whom one sang,..etc.". But despite attribution to Hugh, this work had so heavily interpolated that it has been a 16th century compilation, and dubbed a "problematic" bestiary. Cf. {{harvp|Clark|2006|pp=10–11}}: Chapter 1: The Problematic ''De bestiis et aliis rebus''.}}

Italian poet [[Dante Alighieri]] depicts a siren in Canto 19 of ''[[Purgatorio]]'', the second canticle of the ''[[Divine Comedy]]''. Here, the pilgrim dreams of a female who is described as "stuttering, cross-eyed, and crooked on her feet, with stunted hands, and pallid in color."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Dante Alighieri|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/32430822|title=The divine comedy of Dante Alighieri|date=1996–2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Robert M. Durling, Ronald L. Martinez|isbn=978-0-19-508740-6|location=New York|oclc=32430822}}</ref> It is not until the pilgrim "gazes" upon her that she is turned desirable and is revealed by herself to be a siren.<ref name=":1" /> This siren then claims that she "turned Ulysses from his course, desirous of my / song, and whoever becomes used to me rarely / leaves me, so wholly do I satisfy him!"<ref name=":1" /> Given that Dante did not have access to the ''[[Odyssey]]'', the siren's claim that she turned Ulysses from his course is inherently false because the sirens in the ''Odyssey'' do not manage to turn Ulysses from his path.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/193827830|title=Lectura Dantis: Purgatorio|date=2008|publisher=University of California Press|others=Allen Mandelbaum, Anthony Oldcorn, Charles Ross|isbn=978-0-520-94052-9|location=Berkeley|oclc=193827830}}</ref> Ulysses and his men were warned by [[Circe]] and prepared for their encounter by stuffing their ears full of wax,<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Homero|first=s. IX a. C.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57058042|title=Odisea|date=2004|publisher=Alianza|others=Carlos García Gual, John Flaxman|isbn=84-206-7750-7|location=Madrid|oclc=57058042}}</ref> except for Ulysses, who wishes to be bound to the ship's mast as he wants to hear the siren's song.<ref name=":4" /> Scholars claim that [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] may have "misinterpreted" the siren's claim from an episode in [[Cicero]]'s ''[[De finibus bonorum et malorum|De finibus]].''<ref name=":3" /> The pilgrim's dream comes to an end when a lady "holy and quick"<ref name=":1" /> who had not yet been present before suddenly appears and says, "O Virgil, Virgil, who is this?"<ref name=":1" /> [[Virgil]], the pilgrim's guide, then steps forward and tears the clothes from the siren's belly which, "awakened me [the pilgrim] with the stench that issued from it."<ref name=":1" /> This marks the ending of the encounter between the pilgrim and the siren.

In [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' ({{circa|1136}}), [[Brutus of Troy]] encounters sirens at the [[Pillars of Hercules]] on his way to Britain to fulfil a prophecy that he will establish an empire there. The sirens surround and nearly overturn his ships until Brutus escapes to the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]].<ref name="HRB 1">{{cite wikisource | author=[[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] | wslink=Six Old English Chronicles/Geoffrey's British History | chapter=Book 1 | plaintitle=[[Historia Regum Britanniae]] | at=Chapter 12 }}</ref>

=== Renaissance ===
By the time of the [[Renaissance]], female court musicians known as [[courtesan]]s filled the role of an unmarried companion, and musical performances by unmarried women could be seen as immoral. Seen as a creature who could control a man's reason, female singers became associated with the mythological figure of the siren, who usually took a half-human, half-animal form somewhere on the cusp between nature and culture.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dunbar|first1=Julie C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fq5rDQAAQBAJ|title=Women, Music, Culture|date=2011|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1351857451|page=70|access-date=9 August 2019}}</ref>

[[Leonardo da Vinci]] wrote of them in his notebooks, stating "The siren sings so sweetly that she lulls the mariners to sleep; then she climbs upon the ships and kills the sleeping mariners."

=== Age of Exploration ===
However, in the 17th century, some [[Jesuit]] writers began to assert their actual existence, including [[Cornelius a Lapide]], who said of woman, "her glance is that of the fabled [[basilisk]], her voice a siren's voice—with her voice she enchants, with her beauty she deprives of reason—voice and sight alike deal destruction and death."<ref>Longworth, T. Clifton, and Paul Tice (2003). ''A Survey of Sex & Celibacy in Religion.'' San Diego: The Book Tree, 61. Originally published as ''The Devil a Monk Would Be: A Survey of Sex & Celibacy in Religion'' (1945).</ref> [[:es:Antonio de Lorea|Antonio de Lorea]] also argued for their existence, and [[Athanasius Kircher]] argued that compartments must have been built for them aboard [[Noah's Ark]].<ref>Carlson, Patricia Ann (ed.) (1986). ''Literature and Lore of the Sea.'' Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi, 270.</ref>

=== Late Modernity (1801–1900) ===
[[Charles Burney]] expounded {{circa|1789}}, in ''A General History of Music'': "The name, according to [[Samuel Bochart|Bochart]], who derives it from the Phoenician, implies a ''songstress.'' Hence it is probable, that in ancient times there may have been excellent singers, but of corrupt morals, on the coast of Sicily, who by seducing voyagers, gave rise to this fable."<ref>Austern, Linda Phyllis, and Inna Naroditskaya (eds.) (2006). ''Music of the Sirens.'' Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana Press, 72.</ref>

[[John Lemprière]] in his ''Classical Dictionary'' (1827) wrote, "Some suppose that the sirens were several lascivious women in Sicily, who prostituted themselves to strangers, and made them forget their pursuits while drowned in unlawful pleasures. The etymology of [[Samuel Bochart|Bochart]], who deduces the name from a [[Phoenician language|Phoenician term]] denoting a ''songstress,''<!--italics in original--> favours the explanation given of the fable by [[Christian Tobias Damm|Damm]].<ref>Damm, perhaps ''Mythologie der Griechen und Römer'' (ed. Leveiow). Berlin, 1820.</ref> This distinguished critic makes the sirens to have been excellent singers, and divesting the fables respecting them of all their terrific features, he supposes that by the charms of music and song, they detained travellers,<!--travellers in the original--> and made them altogether forgetful of their native land."<ref>Lemprière 768. Brackets in the original.</ref>