When the long siege of Troy was over and flames from the burning city still scorched the skies, Odysseus of Ithaca, together with his companions, set sail for home.
But the seas were full of dangers and the islands of monsters and enchanters, strange and strangely shaped. And, as a certain rock rose up before them, the heroes knew their greatest trial was still ahead. For this was the rock of the Sirens, whose songs lured sailors to their deaths.
Forewarned by the goddess who loved him, Odysseus took wax and placed it in his companions' ears. Then he bound himself to the mast with ropes that cut his flesh. And the ship sailed past the rock. And the SirensΓÇÖ songs rose all around him.
For as long as their voices filled his ears - honey-sweet and full of promise - Odysseus struggled and cried out, begging his men to free him, longing to leap into the sea and swim to that fatal rock. But their ears were stopped and they could not hear him.
Then, as the ship sailed on and the voices grew fainter, up rose the Sirens on enchanted wings. Their forms, which had been those of women, changed terribly. And their songs became the crying of vultures, filling the air with terror and despair.
