Σειρήν Ancient Greek · revision 3218

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|attested=Homer, Odyssey}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /seː.rɛ̌ːn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /siˈrin/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /siˈrin/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Σειρήν''' (Seirḗn) ''f'' (genitive Σειρῆνος); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Attic vase inscriptions have ⟨Σιρ-⟩.^(Beekes 2010) Doric ''Σηρήν''.^(CGL 2021)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is uncertain, since the word's first meaning is unknown.^(Frisk 1960)^(Beekes 2010) Formally it can be linked either with [[σειρά|tr=seirá|t=rope, cord]], as “the one who ensnares”, or with [[Σείριος|tr=Seírios|t=Sirius]], as a personification of the noonday heat and its magic, which Solmsen preferred.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)^(Wiktionary) Chantraine favoured a Pre-Greek or Mediterranean origin because of the suffix ⟨-ήν⟩, and Furnée took the name of the wild bees to be Pre-Greek.^(Beekes 2010)^(Wiktionary) Others proposed a Thracian or Phrygian source.^(Frisk 1960) A Mycenaean compound with it has been suggested, but Risch doubted it.^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the twelfth book of the ''Odyssey'' the Sirens are creatures who lure passing sailors with their beautiful song and destroy them.^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Later the Sirens were imagined as bird-women: Euripides calls them “winged maidens”.^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010) Their images stood on graves, and Euripides summons them to accompany a dirge.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021) In Plato's ''Republic'' a Siren sits on each circle of the cosmic spindle, each singing one note, the music of the spheres.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+

+ Figuratively it was any enchanting singer, as Alcman calls the Muse a Siren; a deceitful temptress in Euripides; and the charm of eloquence in Aeschines and Plutarch.^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940) Aristotle uses it for a kind of wild bee.^(Beekes 2010)^(Wiktionary) The Septuagint has the adjective ''Σειρήνειος''.^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Homer – The ''Odyssey'' tells of the Sirens' song.^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940)

+ * 7th century BC – Alcman calls the Muse a Siren.^(CGL 2021)

+ * 5th century BC – Euripides calls them winged maidens and uses it for a temptress.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ * 5th–4th century BC – Plato places Sirens on the circles of the cosmic spindle.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ * 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for a wild bee, and Aeschines for the charm of speech.^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(mythology)'' A [[m|en|Siren]], a creature that lures sailors to their death with song.^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010)

+ # An enchanting singer; one of the Sirens of the music of the spheres.^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A deceitful [[m|en|temptress]].^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Enchanting charm, as of eloquence.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+ # A kind of wild bee.^(Beekes 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[σειρά|tr=seirá]]

+ * [[Σείριος|tr=Seírios]]

+ * [[en|siren]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}