Transcript File Snake & Sirens

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The snake is often times used in literature to
symbolize evil or as an ominous sign, foreshadowing
a dark event. In the Bible, the snake tempted Eve
into eating from the forbidden tree, though God had
decreed “thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” Gen: 2.17.
Eve then brought the forbidden fruit to Adam who
also ate. God punished Adam and Eve with death. He
then cursed the snake to live its life eating dust and
sliding on its belly. Last he cursed both mankind and
the snake, saying “ I will put enmity between thee
and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Gen: 3:15. This event is referred to as original sin,
the act of man defying God, where innocence was
lost and evil revealed – deeming the serpent as the
ultimate antagonist against mankind.
What would it mean if an author
referred to the Sirens or their songs?
In Greek mythology the sirens were half
women, half bird, who tempted sailors with
their beautiful singing so that their ships would
be caught among the rocks and destroyed. “The
Argonauts were accompanied by the god
Orpheus and sailed past in the ship Argo, [who]
was able to drown out their singing with his
music so that only one man, Butes, heard them
and leapt overboard. The goddess Aphrodite
loved Butes and saved his life. Odysseus also
escaped, because, on the advice of Circe, he
blocked his men's ears with beeswax, and made
them tie him to the foot of the mast so he could
not be drawn away by the lure of the Sirens'
song. When he begged to be released, the crew
had orders to tighten his bonds.” http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/SIRE
NS.html