Odysseus and the Sirens.
    Before Odysseus left her island, Circe warned him to avoid the Sirens, sea creatures halfbird and half-woman, whose enchanting songs could lure sailors to their death. The Sirens lived on an island in the straits of Messina, near Scylla and Charybdis. Circe suggested that Odysseus and his crew fill their ears with wax as the ship passed the island, so that they could not hear the Sirens’ voices. Odysseus, however, desiring to acquire knowledge at every opportunity, did not block his ears, but had his men lash him to the ship’s mast. The Sirens tempted him with songs of the past and the future, and Odysseus entreated his men to release him. However, since they could not hear they ignored him and kept rowing.
    Later classical writers said that if any sailor heard their song but resisted it and passed the island, the Sirens themselves would die. According to this legend, after Odysseus had safely passed, the despairing Sirens jumped into the sea to drown.

Listings are arranged under the following headings:
Odysseus, General list; Odysseus, the Lotus-eaters; Odysseus, Polyphemus; Odysseus, Circe; Odysseus in the Underworld; Odysseus and the Sirens; Odysseus, Scylla and Charybdis; Odysseus and Calypso; Odysseus and Leucothea; Odysseus and Nausicaä; Return of Odysseus; Death of Odysseus; Odysseus' Last Voyage

See also Parthenope and Sirens