Hospitals, careers, bosses, any one of these can swallow up our identity by using a particular tool: temptation.
Homer's ancient epic, The Odyssey, offers stories of Bible-like temptations as instructive today as they were 3000 years ago. The ancient Sirens used a particularly insidious version.
On his Mediterranean journey, Ulysses' ship approaches the home of the Sirens, gorgeous maidens whose irresistible songs tempt sailors to jump overboard and swim to them...and to their death. Ulysses knows the danger. To protect his sailors, he blocks their ears with wax.
But he is both wildly curious to listen anyway. He has himself lashed to the mast so he cannot jump overboard.
The moment the Sirens' songs enter his ears, Ulysses begs to be freed. The Sirens promise themselves and a bigger gift: absolute knowledge and power. In return, Ulysses must yield to their captivity.
Does this sound like addiction? Does it smack of vanity?
Pavlina Vagioni writes: "The Sirens, as their name in Greek implies, (Σειρήν, σειρή=tie up and drag) are expert manipulators....The victims...will become dependent on their manipulator."
So what? "Many people like being victims because they enjoy others taking care of them," Vagioni continues. "When we transfer to someone else our self-sovereignty because “they know better”, our lives then slowly decay. When we let others 'take care' of our...security, health, or existence, we guarantee that we will have an undignified ending."
The warning embedded in the myth is profound: "The sailors’ eventual death symbolizes the stagnation that occurs after surrendering to others our capacity to think for ourselves," she claims. "For safety or convenience, we have surrendered ourselves." And may not even understand "because we become accustomed to the superficial comfort of being in...“expert” hands..."
Life's temptations can threaten our safety. Can today's Sirens hijack our voice, seduce us into drowning our identity and dissolve what makes us unique?
-Erie Chapman
Quotes © 2020 Pavlina Vagioni
Painting: John Waterhouse, Ulysses & Sirens 1891
