The word 'Sirens' conjures up many images, possibly of beautiful mermaid-like creatures luring sailors to their watery deaths. These ancient Greek mythical creatures, linked to the Queen of the Underworld Persephone, feature in well known myths such as Jason and the Argonauts and Homer’s story of Odysseus - The Odyssey. But their popular modern portrayal as 'sexy maidens' does not originate from ancient Greece, that is a much later invention.

Sarah Clegg joins Tristan Hughes to discuss the story of the Sirens and how their legacy is intertwined with a number of other mythical creatures such as nymphs, the Mesopotamian demoness Lilith and, of course mermaids.

Listen to Tristan and Sarah Clegg's previous episode on Lillith here: https://podfollow.com/the-ancients/episode/83e3167b27baefea4d862da99ce26425ba43e291/view

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight, the senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

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The Sirens 39:58 Share

The Ancients

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The Sirens