Artwork Then and Now: The Odyssey


Artwork From the Greek Epic Odysseus


This Tunisian mosaic is titled: Ulysses and the Sirens. The work comes from the House of Ulysses at Dougga and displays Ulysses (aka Odysseus) tied to the mast of his boat. The piece is dated sometime about the third century and is constructed of tiles. It is a scene from The Odyssey when Odysseus instructs his men to tie him to the mast and not let him go so that he may hear the siren song and survive to tell the tale. The work is on display at the Musée national du Bardo in Tunisia (Ulysses and the Sirens).





This work was crafted by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917). He was an English man and Victorian Romanticist painter. This painting is called: Ulysses and the Sirens and dates to the year 1891. The painting is oil on canvas and can be found at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. The work also features Ulysses (Odysseus) bound to the mast of his ship as he and his men pass through the realm of the sirens (Waterhouse).

In comparing these two works, there are many similarities and differences, but it is important to discuss why a Victorian-era piece compares to a third-century piece. The Victorian era saw much more art based on realism, just as is seen in Waterhouse’s work. But much more comes from the imagination of the artist. It is important to note that art from the most present era would not have been the best choice because much of it is taken out of context, although it is based on the myth, and is also rather vague. The mosaic, though, is beautiful tile work that features Odysseus also tied to his mast, however, the boat and the men are smaller, making him the obvious focal point of the work. This differs from the work of Waterhouse where the men are all similarly sized and the boat is much larger. Waterhouse also gives us his idea of what the sirens might look like. Thus, we are given creatures that look much like harpies and less like the sirens we’ve come to know through the development of other descriptive interpretation of the story. While both pieces feature the scene of Odysseus tied to his mast, the third century mosaic shows little more than a man bound to his ship, while Waterhouse gives us a man whose neck is craned toward the sirens with his body leaning in, giving the viewer the sense that if he could Odysseus would go with them.







Works Cited


Ulysses and the Sirens; from the House of Ulysses at Dougga; detail of Ulysses Bound to the Mast of his              Boat. 3rd C. Artstor, library-artstor-org.libproxy.unm.edu/asset/SCALA_ARCHIVES_10310474169


Waterhouse, John William. Ulysses and the Sirens. National Gallery of Victoria. ARC Museum. Melbourne, 1891. Website. 1 Nov 2018. <https://www.artrenewal.org/Artwork/Index/813>.

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