A-Z Challenge: S is for Sirens & T is for Triton

Today I'm posting a dual post for the letter S & T with the AtoZ Challenge. This next sea creature is a must with my Under the Sea Myths & Legends theme. For the letter S, I'm posting about one of the mysterious creatures of the sea. S is for

Sirens

According to Greek mythology, sirens were evil temptresses who would use their magical voices to seduce sailors and their ships toward treacherous rocks and cliffs, delivering them to their doom. Sailors were warned not to hear the call of the wanton sirens. These sea myths are not to be confused with mermaids. Although they are similar, sirens are deadlier. Sirens were referred to as part women, part bird for their sing-song beautiful voice. In ancient times, many ceramic references show Sirens with wings and feathered tails.

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I found this interesting since I never knew that about these mythological beings. Sources also say that they are descendants of the Greek god, Poseidon, which is incredibly cool.

Homer's Odyssey is one of the famous Greek stories passed down mentioning the sirens. The crux of this tale is that Odyssey had his sailors plug their ears with beeswax to deafen the siren's song and also had them tie himself to the mast. It was told that a siren would die if a person heard their song as was still about to pass through their waters. I guess Odyssey must have killed many sirens that day or so the story says. Pretty cool, huh?

That's ancient Greek mythology though. What about today? Well, other than some fantastic fiction novels and ancient mythological tales, there's little scientific evidence that proves the sirens are real. Sirens are monstrous creatures who live more in our imaginations and in folklore than in reality. If you're interested in watching a hip new television series that features siren/mermaid-like creatures, FreeForm, has "Siren" television show which recently debuted.  I watched a few episodes and it's okay. I think it would be cooler if it had less of a damsel in distress writing and more of a murderous mermaid on a rampage. I don't know. Has anyone else seen this?

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The Letter T

For my Under the Sea Myths & Legends theme, I'm posting about Triton, the Greek mythological creature who's the son of the Poseidon and Amphitrite. I previously blogged about the Poseidon here so take a look if you're interested in learning about Triton's Dad.

Initially, I learned Poseidon is the Greek mythology's God of the sea. When he had his son, Triton, he named him the King of the sea, and according to sources, made Triton his messenger. 

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Triton is described as a merman, with part fish with fin and scales and the other part a human male. When we think of Triton, most of us think of Disney's The Little Mermaid, with King Triton, the father of Ariel. He's likable charming and overprotective of his children. As a king, he uses a trident similar to his Dad, Poseidon. Some people may not know this, but Triton's conch shell was a great source of power. When blown, he could summon or calm the waves or even rile other water creatures. As a son of Poseidon and a king in his own right, I suspect he had much power.

Later, Triton the mythological creature was referred to more of a group of mermaids and mermen, as were called the Tritons. Many schools and universities use the mythological creatures as their mascot, including University of California in San Diego.


And that's it for the letters S & T! We're getting close, guys. Six more days left! Whew!

 

Mina Burrows