Nolan cracks the Sirens scene in his film adaptation of The Odyssey

Full text

This article contains spoilers for 'The Odyssey'. Christopher Nolan 's The Odyssey is full of moments that feel almost impossible to adapt. Bringing the Cyclops to life is one thing. Convincingly depicting gods interfering in the lives of mortals is another. But arguably the hardest scene in Homer 's epic doesn't rely on visual effects or spectacle at all: it relies on a song. The Sirens have become one of the defining monsters of Greek mythology , luring sailors to their deaths with voices so irresistible that no one can hear them without surrendering to temptation. Knowing exactly what awaits him, Odysseus orders his crew to fill their ears with beeswax and tie him tightly to the mast of the ship. No matter how much he begs, screams, or threatens them, they are not to let him go until the danger has passed.