Storied's video: The Fatal Song of the Sirens Monstrum

Don’t miss future episodes of Monstrum, subscribe! http://bit.ly/pbsstoried_sub We tend to picture sirens as seductive water creatures similar to mermaids, but the original first sirens weren’t actually fish-like creatures at all—they were sea-dwelling monsters with half human half bird bodies. The first depictions of sirens found from historical artifacts show these ocean-dwelling monsters with feathered bird bodies capable of flight, and of course...that ever beguiling song. That’s what really sets the siren apart—the hypnotic voice that drives all who hear it to destruction and even death. This episode explains how sirens appeared in ancient history, from literature to art, and looks at how the half human half bird creatures became more commonly associated with mermaids. From Ancient Greek legends to Medieval bestiaries, and even Egyptian hieroglyphics, the siren’s history is so much more complicated than you think. Written and Hosted by: Emily Zarka Director: David Schulte Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Producer: Stephanie Noone Illustrator: Samuel Allen Editor: Sara Roma Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. The world is full of monsters, myths, and legends and Monstrum isn’t afraid to take a closer look. The show, hosted by Emily Zarka, Ph.D., takes us on a journey to discover a new monster in each new episode. Monstrum looks at humans' unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature, and film and digs deep into the history of those mythologies. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monstrumpbs/ ----------- BIBLIOGRAPHY: Austern, Linda. Music of the Sirens. Indiana University Press, 2006. “Ba-bird.” The Met Museum. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545942. Bestiary, fol. 10r. c. late XII. Bestiary, with extracts from Giraldus Cambrensis on Irish birds. England, S. (Salisbury?), c. 13th century. Cooney, John D. “Siren and Ba, Birds of a Feather.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 55, No. 8, Oct. 1968, pp. 262–271. Evans, Elaine A. “Ancient Egyptian Ba-Bird.” McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture.https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/1993/11/01/ba-bird/. Gray, Douglas. Simple Forms: Essays on Medieval English Popular Literature. Oxford University Press Fitzgerald, David. “The Myth of the Sirens.” The Academy, Issue 487 (Sept. 3, 1881): pp. 182). Harrison, Jane E. "The Myth of Odysseus and the Sirens." The Magazine of Art, 1887, pp. 133-136. G., P. A most Strange and True Report of a Monsterous Fish, Who Appeared in the Forme of a Woman, from Her Waste Vpwards. London, for W.B, 1604. Homer. The Odyssey, Book 12. Trans. A.T. Murray, Classical Library, Vol. 1, Harvard University Press, 1924. https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomerOdyssey12.html. Kaplan, Matt. The Science of Monsters. Scribner, 2013. Northumberland Bestiary. c. 1250-1260. http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/240115/unknown-maker-northumberland-bestiary-english-about-1250-1260/. Muhlestein, Kerry, and John Gee. Evolving Egypt: Innovation, Appropriation, and Reinterpretation In Ancient Egypt. E-book, Oxford, UK: BAR Publishing, 2012, https://doi-org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.30861/9781407309903. Ovid. Metamorphoses. Trans. Rolfe Humphries, 1983. Peraldus. Theological miscellany, including the Summa de vitis. England, c. 13th century after c. 1236.https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=8798&CollID=8&NStart=3244. Psalter. England, between 1310-1320. https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=6467&CollID=16&NStart=20207. Rhodius, Apollonius. The Argonautica. Trans. R.C. Seaton. Project Gutenberg, 1912. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/830/830-h/830-h.htm. Romano, Stefania, et al. “Beyond the myth: The mermaid syndrome from Homerus to Andersen A tribute to Hans Christian Andersen’s bicentennial of birth.” European Journal of Radiology, 58, 2006, pp. 252–259. Tandjung, Beverly. “The Enchantress of the Medieval Bestiary.” The Iris, May 11, 2018. https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/the-enchantress-of-the-medieval-bestiary/. The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, edited by Stephen A. Barney, et al., Cambridge University Press, 2006. Zabkar, Louis V. “Herodotus and the Egyptian Idea of Immortality.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1, Jan. 1963, pp. 57–63.