In
Greek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, the
Sirenum scopuli were three small rocky islands where the
SirensIn Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous bird-women, portrayed as seductresses, who lived on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
lived and lured sailors to their deaths.
Diverse locations were assigned to the isles of the sirens by various authorities. According to
HomerHomer is a legendary ancient Greek epic poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey...
, they were between
AeaeaAeaea or Eëa was a possibly mythological island said to be the home of the sorceress Circe. Odysseus tells Alcinous that he stayed here for a year on his way home to Ithaca....
and the rock of
ScyllaScylla , was one of the two monsters in Greek mythology that lived on either side of a narrow channel of water...
. Often they have been placed in the
Tyrrhenian SeaThe Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.It is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, and Calabria , and Sicily .The maximum depth of the sea is ....
, off the coast of south-western
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
near
PaestumPaestum is the classical Roman name of a major Graeco-Roman city in the Campania region of Italy. It is located in the north of Cilento, near the coast about 85 km SE of Naples in the province of Salerno, and belongs to the commune of Capaccio, officially also named...
or between
SorrentoSorrento is the name of many cities and towns:*Sorrento, Italy*Sorrento, Florida, United States*Sorrento, Louisiana, United States*Sorrento, Maine, United States*Sorrento, Victoria, a township on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia...
and
CapriCapri is an Italian island off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of southern Italy...
.
Similarly,
Anthemoessa (or
Anthemusa) was the island home of the Sirens in other versions of the myth.
In
Greek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, the
Sirenum scopuli were three small rocky islands where the
SirensIn Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous bird-women, portrayed as seductresses, who lived on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
lived and lured sailors to their deaths.
Diverse locations were assigned to the isles of the sirens by various authorities. According to
HomerHomer is a legendary ancient Greek epic poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey...
, they were between
AeaeaAeaea or Eëa was a possibly mythological island said to be the home of the sorceress Circe. Odysseus tells Alcinous that he stayed here for a year on his way home to Ithaca....
and the rock of
ScyllaScylla , was one of the two monsters in Greek mythology that lived on either side of a narrow channel of water...
. Often they have been placed in the
Tyrrhenian SeaThe Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.It is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, and Calabria , and Sicily .The maximum depth of the sea is ....
, off the coast of south-western
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
near
PaestumPaestum is the classical Roman name of a major Graeco-Roman city in the Campania region of Italy. It is located in the north of Cilento, near the coast about 85 km SE of Naples in the province of Salerno, and belongs to the commune of Capaccio, officially also named...
or between
SorrentoSorrento is the name of many cities and towns:*Sorrento, Italy*Sorrento, Florida, United States*Sorrento, Louisiana, United States*Sorrento, Maine, United States*Sorrento, Victoria, a township on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia...
and
CapriCapri is an Italian island off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of southern Italy...
.
Similarly,
Anthemoessa (or
Anthemusa) was the island home of the Sirens in other versions of the myth. Although the name no longer exists, varying accounts attribute Anthemoessa to either the island of
IschiaIschia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples. The roughly trapezoidal island lies about 30 km from Naples and measures around 10 km east to west and 7 km north to south with a coastline and a surface area of...
or
CapriCapri is an Italian island off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of southern Italy...
.
Further traditions place the sirens on Capo Peloro or the
SirenuseLe Sirenuse are an archipelago of little islands off the Amalfi Coast of Italy near Positano and the Isle of Capri. The name, Sirenuse, is a reference to the mythological sirens said to have lived there...
islands near
PaestumPaestum is the classical Roman name of a major Graeco-Roman city in the Campania region of Italy. It is located in the north of Cilento, near the coast about 85 km SE of Naples in the province of Salerno, and belongs to the commune of Capaccio, officially also named...
.
All locations were described to be surrounded by cliffs and rocks.