Sirin is a mythological creature of Russian legends, with the head of a beautiful woman and the body of a bird (usually an owl), borrowed from the siren of the Greek mythology. According to myth, the Sirin lived in Iriy or around the Euphrates River.[1][2]
Later, in the 17th–18th centuries, the image of Sirin changed and she started to symbolize world harmony (as she lives near paradise). People in those times believed only happy people could hear a Sirin, while only very few could see one because she is as fast and difficult to catch as human happiness. She symbolizes eternal joy and heavenly happiness.[6]
This half-woman half-bird is directly based on the later folklore about sirens.[2][7][8] She was usually portrayed wearing a crown or with a nimbus.[9] Sirin sang beautiful songs to the saints, foretelling future blisses. The bird was dangerous. Men who heard her would forget everything on earth, follow her, and ultimately die. People would attempt to save themselves from Sirin by shooting cannons, ringing bells and making other loud noises to scare the bird off.[7]
According to folk tales, at the morning of the Apple Feast of the Saviour day, Sirin flies into the apple orchard and cries sadly. In the afternoon, the Alkonost flies to this place, beginning to rejoice and laugh. Alkonost brushes dew from her wings, granting healing powers to all fruits on the tree she is sitting on.[10]
Sometimes Sirin is seen as a metaphor for God's word going into the soul of a man. Sometimes she is seen as a metaphor of heretics tempting the weak. Sometimes Sirin was considered equivalent to the Wila. In Russian folklore, Sirin was mixed with the revered religious writer Saint Ephrem the Syrian. Thus, peasant lyrists such as Nikolay Klyuev often used Sirin as a synonym for poet.[1]
^ abcСирин. Bestiary (in Russian). Retrieved 2009-04-16.
^ abСвященные птицы. New Acropol (in Russian). Retrieved 2009-04-16.
^John Zumerchik; Steven L. Danver (2010). Seas and waterways of the world: an encyclopedia of history, uses, and issues. ABC-CLIO. pp. 236–237. OCLC1054962639.
^Bobrov A. A. (2004). Русский месяцеслов на все времена. Памятные даты, праздники, обряды, именины [Russian months for all time. Memorable dates, holidays, ceremonies, name days] (in Russian). M.: Veche. ISBN5-7838-1304-4.
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