Harry Potter Wiki
Advertisement
Harry Potter Wiki

"The oldest recorded merpeople were known as sirens (Greece) and it is in warmer waters that we find the beautiful mermaids more frequently depicted in Muggle literature and painting."
Newton Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them[src]

The sirens were the earliest recorded race of merpeople. They lived in Greece. Like most merpeople that live in warm water, sirens were exceptionally beautiful as compared to colder water merpeople like Selkies and Merrows. It is believed that these merpeople used their singing voices to lure unwary sailors into the water like in Muggle legend.[1]

History[]

Siren Stained Glass GIF

A siren appeared in a portrait in the Prefects' Bathroom on the Fifth Floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry inside Hogwarts Castle. It appeared to help the Triwizard Champions chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament in 1994, namely Cedric Diggory.[2]

Behind the scenes[]

  • In mythology, the sirens were island-dwelling maidens that sung beautiful songs to travelling mariners to lure them into sailing closer and crashing on the treacherous rocks around their island homes.
    • In the original myths, sirens were half-woman and half-bird creatures, similar to harpies. Despite the depiction similar to that of a harpy, over time the siren has undergone various interpretations that portrayed her as a mermaid-like creature or as a sea-nymph.
  • In the film adaptation (or only in the magic stained-glass window in the Prefects' Bathroom) the Sirens have a physiology inspired by sturgeons like the Selkies, even if they look more pretty than the latter. The hair is ginger coloured, compared to books which are blonde. Their tail is bright light green in colour and the skin is pale-white.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

Advertisement