THE ODYSSEY CONNECTION
The Mediterranean Area
The Greeks were great seafaring voyagers. They voyaged
to trade, fight, and for adventure. One of the great epic Greek Myths involves
the hero Odysseus and his ten-year voyage with fantastic experiences.
One experience involves the Islands of the Sirens. These rocks
were in a dangerous stormy area with wild winds. It was said that
sailors who heard the singing of the beautiful voices of the "sirens"
would be driven mad and drown. The sirens were birdlike creatures
that had women's voices.
According to the story, Odysseus had himself tied
to the mast of his ship, and in doing so, survived hearing the
sirens and sailed on. No one knows how much truth the story of
The Odyssey contains, but the Islands of the Sirens
do exist in a windy, sometimes stormy, part of the Mediterranean
Sea close to the shore of an ancient seaport not far from Pompeii
called Positano. You can see the islands from the shore, but they
often have clouds floating around them, so it is difficult to
see if there are sirens. Local people say the story might be true.
What do you think?
Here is a photograph of the steep cliffs of Positano. Today, Positano is a warm seaside town that has a deep harbor and a beach that is very nice. The beach is pebbled with broken pottery that has been rubbed smooth by the waves of a thousand years. People in the town know a long history of being attacked by seagoing warriors and traders. The beach is called the Cove of the Saracens, named after one of the warring groups that attacked long ago. There is a hotel called The Sireneuse (The Sireness). Many of the buildings in the village are hundreds of years old.
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE POMPEII HOMEPAGE
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE GREEKCIV HOMEPAGE
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PREVIOUS PAGE.