dwellerinthelibrary:“Another tradition describes the Sirens as fatal birds. They were in communicati
dwellerinthelibrary:“Another tradition describes the Sirens as fatal birds. They were in communication with the underworld and their singing comforted the deceased on their journey to the realm of the dead. From about 400 BC, Sirens also occur on tombs. They more or less evolved into angels of death, who conducted the deceased to the Islands of the Blessed… The same thing happened with other sea creatures, for instance Scylla. The mermaid-like Siren shown here cradles a small child in her arms. Statuettes such as this one were used as funeral gifts, to illustrate that the deceased was making the journey to the afterworld under the guidance of a Siren.” (This siren, a funeral gift, is from South Italy, where the belief in siren-as-psychopomp was “particularly common”.)- Moya Smith (ed). Ancient Lives: Greeks, Romans & Etruscans: artefacts from the collection of the National Museum of Antiquities at Leiden, the Netherlands. -- source link
#siren#figurine#funeral gift#magna graecia#ancient#greek art#leiden museum