The Siren Vase

 

The Siren Vase (480-470 BC)

          

 

       The Siren Vase is an Ancient Greek art piece, created approximately during the time period of 480-470 BC. In Homer's Odyssey, one of the founding epics of Greek literature, Odysseus longs to hear the seductive yet dangerous song of the sirens that lure sailors to their deaths. So all his crew plug their ears, and Odysseus has himself lashed to the mast. This powerful painting captures the tension as Odysseus strains at his bonds, his whole body agonised, his head raised in rapt listening.