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“Ulysses and the Sirens,” by John William Waterhouse, 1891 (Click to enlarge!)

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John William Waterhouse’s “Ulysses and the Sirens” is extraordinary.  I tried to download a high-resolution file here … if you’re so inclined, click to enlarge and then click again to zoom in on the troubled sailor being accosted by the “siren” that has managed to perch.  Look at the expression on the faces of him and his would-be temptress.

Anyway, I am slightly confused by the painting despite its beauty … Yes, we have Odysseus (Ulysses) tied to the mast and able to hear the monsters’ irresistible call, while his men oar on with wax in their ears so that they cannot succumb to its attraction.  But … am I nuts, or are those harpies, and not sirens?

2048px-WATERHOUSE_-_Ulises_y_las_Sirenas_(National_Gallery_of_Victoria,_Melbourne,_1891._Óleo_sobre_lienzo,_100.6_x_202_cm)

4 thoughts on ““Ulysses and the Sirens,” by John William Waterhouse, 1891 (Click to enlarge!)”

  1. I was telling this story to my daughter two weeks ago while holidaying on Crete. It’s nice to be able to show her this picture now – thanks.

    I agree that it’s a surprise to see them with wings, but they’re certainly not harpies. It’s possible the wings are symbolic, in that the sirens may be distant but their voices are immediate and compelling; more likely it’s just artistic license, having beautiful women in the foreground with the men, making them more intimate and seductive.

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    1. Anytime, Frank! 🙂 Crete sounds like an amazing vacation. And always happy to hear that you’re perusing my blog.

      Thanks for the clarification about the creatures. Come to think of it, I actually am not sure what a siren should look like. I always pictured them in the form of mermaids, but I guess that’s a different myth, isn’t it?

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      1. I’m no expert – I always picture beautiful, lonely women on a barren rock, but…

        “If any one unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and children will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to death with the sweetness of their song. There is a great heap of dead men’s bones lying all around, with the flesh still rotting off them.”
        – 5th para., http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.12.xii.html

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      2. Hey that’s beautiful – I might use that on the blog here; thanks.

        And I, too, occasionally picture beautiful, lonely women on a barren rock. Not in connection with myth or anything … I just picture them …

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