Sirens that lure sailors to their death by their sweet voice, the ravenous Sphinx guarding the entrance to a city,
Scylla a beautiful sea nymph turned into a hideous man-eating monster
...
these Greek mythological creatures combine female beauty with beastly ugliness and have inspired generations
of artists create well-known masterpieces.
MOREAU, GustaveOedipus and the Sphinx1864Oil on canvas, 206 x 105 cmMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York
THE SPHINX
a crazy monster with the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a lioness, the wings of a bird, and (some say)
a snake for a tail.
Her favorite activity is sitting on a big rock outside of Thebes and asking everybody a riddle.
When people get it wrong (and they always do) she strangles them, or eats them, or some other such awful thing.
OEDIPUS:
The Sphinx Gets Frisky ... Maybe, I should've married her. It would've been a lot less trouble.
PERRIER, FrançoisAeneas and his Companions Fighting the Harpies1646-1647Oil on canvas, 155 x 218 cmMusée du Louvre, Paris
THE HARPIES
...these awful creatures have a nasty habit of swooping down from the sky, snatching whatever food
they see, and then pooping on the remains. (Um... gross.)
MEDUSA
definitely isn't going to win any beauty pageants.
She and her Gorgon sisters, Euryale and Stheno, are totally revolting.
They have snakes for hair and anyone who looks them in the eyes instantly turns into stone.
Medusa became famous when the hero Perseus chopped off her head (with a little help from the goddess Athena).
Medusa
Hey, Perseus, why don’t you give me back my friggin head?
Perseus
I thought you were dead. Ummm, I kind of gave it to Athena.
Medusa
One night, very soon, your bed will be filled with snakes.
WATERHOUSE, John WilliamUlysses and the Sirens1891Oil on canvas, 202,0x100,6 cm National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
THE SIRENS
These sexy ladies are often confused with mermaids, but they're actually half-bird instead of half-fish.
The Sirens are most famous for their gorgeous songs.
... but
their songs may be beautiful, but they also hypnotize sailors, luring them to their deaths on jagged rocks.
Orpheus
Don't miss my show at the Elysian Dome tonight! Special guests include Calliope and the Muses!
The Sirens
The Muses? What a joke.
Have the Muses ever sung so beautifully that they lured men to their deaths?
NEER, Eglon van derCirce Punishes Glaucus by Turning Scylla into a Monster1695Oil on panel, 64x 53.3cmRijksmuseum, Amsterdam
GLAUCUS AND SCYLLA
Some lonely dude Glaucus, the immortal merman, who spies a beautiful girl, Scylla, the sea nymph, walking
naked on the beach.
Dude is smitten and asks a drug dealer, Circe, the sea witch, for a potion to bend the girl to his will.
...
The end of the story: the pretty nymph is transformed into a man-eating monster by her stalker's obsession.
Scylla
Wishing that lovely young Glaucus would come by for a visit…
Glaucus
Ooooh, sorry I've just been really busy, you know?
Scylla
Uh huh, and that doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I'm a big ugly monster now instead of a beautiful
young nymph, right?
Glaucus
Come on baby, do you really think I'm that superficial?
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