The Siren

The Siren is a remake of J.W.Waterhouse's painting of the same name (c.1900). His version is probably one of the most famous depictions of these mythical beings and it inspired me to re-tell the story. Within Greek Myth, Sirens (or Seirenes) are said to enchant sailors with their songs and lure them to their deaths in the sea. While some depictions paint them as either part fish or part bird, I thought Waterhouse's depiction is the most suggestive one. The sailor is lost in the great, unending and treacherous sea of the unconscious. He is almost dead, thirsty, beaten by the relentless waves. Blindly, he follows the musical notes of a distant lyre, until he sees the beautiful being sitting on the rocks above. Perhaps the Siren is a representation of man's soul or the gods hidden in the unconscious depths of our psyche, and the sailor is the one who gets lost in his pursuit for enlightenment or knowledge of self. His ship is destroyed, there is no way back. There is no guarantee that the Siren will save him, either, but within tumultuous waters he sees her appearance as a divine gift - the help, or the goddess he'd always been searching for. And perhaps one Must become shipwrecked in order to taste the dangerous waves, and hear Her song.