Set on a remote island, Netflix’s Sirens, with its numerous references from Greek mythology, seems like a modern retelling of Persephone and Hades’ story, focusing on the perspective of Persephone and her handmaidens, the mythical sirens. Most ancient accounts, written by male poets, haven’t really discussed the sirens’ point of view, which the Netflix show tries to explore through its narrative. On the surface, the story centers around a rich socialite, Michaela “Kiki” Kell, and her personal assistant, Simone DeWitt. The two had been eagerly preparing for a grand gala at the beach house when suddenly Simone’s estranged sister, Devon, arrives on the island seeking answers why Simone hasn’t been addressing her distress calls. Things escalate further between Devon and Michaela as Devon tries to rescue her sister from the clutches of her cult-ish boss. However, if you look deeper into the details, then the various parallels from the mythology become quite apparent, so without any further ado, allow me to list all those easter eggs I was able to catch in the Sirens.
Spoiler Alert
The Cliff House Is Hades’ Palace
While there’s no mythological representation of Hades’ palace in the underworld, several fan-fiction books and popular media, specifically Blood of Zeus and Percy Jackson and the Olympians, have depicted Hades’ castle, where he used to live with his wife, Persephone, and their children. Peter’s Cliff House, just like Hades’ underground, is cut off from the rest of the world and can only be reached by a ferry. The only colorful thing in Hades’ grim palace is Persephone’s Garden, which is being looked after by the goddess herself. In Sirens, it is Michaela who manages the aviary on Peter’s island mansion and tries to fill the gaps in her lonely life by looking after endangered birds. In this modern retelling, Michaela doesn’t have children of her own. Peter has kids from his first wife, Jocelyn, but failed to maintain a healthy relationship with them after he started an affair with Michaela and left the children’s mother for a younger and prettier wife. In the fourth episode, Peter even tells Devon that he always has the craziest dreams when he’s on the island, further hinting at the dark and gloomy nature of his remote palace.
Michaela and Peter mirror Persephone and Hades
I guess it’s quite obvious that Peter and Michaela’s characters are inspired by Persephone and Hades. In Blood of Zeus, Hades, the dark lord of the underworld, fell in love with Persephone at first sight and tried to win her over and marry her. However, an ancient Greek poet mentioned that Hades whisked her away, which was later interpreted as Hades abducting her to the underworld. As shown in Blood of Zeus season 2, Persephone came to the underworld of her own free will, as she wanted to spend her life with Hades; however, her mother’s intervention to separate her from her husband turned their lives into a living hell. Now, we never got to know Persephone’s side of the story, as most of the myths center around Hades and his tragic love story. But Netflix’s Sirens brings another perspective to the story, hinting that even though her friends and colleagues were quite dazzled when she became Mrs. Peter Kell, only Michaela could see the reality. There was nothing fun or romantic about her life. She was a mere prisoner on an isolated island from which she would never be able to escape. In simple words, Michaela was vastly misunderstood, not only by her husband but also by the world, and throughout her time at the Cliff House, she tried to find her existence in her foundation and a sense of belonging in the prosperous garden she had created.
The Sirens
Soon after Persephone went missing, her mother, Demeter, gave wings to her human companions, turning them into what we know as sirens so these hybrid creatures could scout every corner of the earth and bring her daughter back. It was because of Demeter that these mythical creatures were part bird and part woman. However, once Persephone was located and no longer needed human handmaidens in the underworld, her past companions, the sirens, were given a new role. It’s argued that Zeus sent them to the island of Anthemoessa, though the detail lacks evidence in Greek mythology. As per the popular myth, these winged nymphs are believed to entice sailors passing through with their mesmerizing song and make them crash their boats and die. Also, if you look closely, the walls of the Cliff House are filled with images of water nymphs and mermaids, hinting that these sirens play a crucial role in the story. There are also several sculptures in a set of three outside the house, which symbolize the three sirens in the show, that is, Michaela, Devon, and Simone.
In Netflix’s Sirens, one could argue that it was Michaela who trapped Peter with her beauty and started an affair with him, creating a domino effect that separated him from his first wife and children. We don’t know if Peter’s version of the story holds any water, but what Peter did with Simone only makes me believe that it wasn’t Michaela’s fault at all. It was always Peter, or the rich men in general, who are always seeking young wives with whom they can have children and continue their lineage. It was something Michaela pointed out that Peter wanted to feel young by having kids at this age.
A similar thing took place in the Ethan-Simone case, where the former called his lover a monster after she rejected his marriage proposal. Ethan likely considered Simone a gold digger because she left him for another rich man, which wasn’t the exact case. Hence, the show points out how women, just like the sirens, have often been misunderstood and misinterpreted by men in power. These mythical creatures might just be singing their sad song, but it was the sailors who lost their minds and arrived on the island following their siren song, just like Peter ran towards the beach in the show’s ending. Again, here it wasn’t Simone who suggested that Peter should replace Michaela with Simone, but it was the billionaire’s idea, who got bored of his second wife and decided to take Simone as his new bride. It was Peter who crossed the line and kissed Simone because she just spent some time with the old man. So the sailors crashing their boat is the result of their own negligence, and they shouldn’t go around blaming the woman for their miseries. Furthermore, in the show, Peter accused Michaela of ruining his relationship with his kids, but the sad truth was it was Peter who had distanced himself from his children and was now regretting it in old age. After he saw his grandson, Peter wanted to have kids of his own on the island, but Michaela couldn’t give him any, which was one of the reasons why he left her. And just to mention, in the show’s finale, Devon’s boss and her college boyfriend, Raymond, had decided to leave his wife to settle down with Devon, but she wasn’t interested. It was just a casual fling between them, but Raymond started feeling jealous when she got close to Jordan, and in the end, he accused Devon of everything bad happening in his life. Her wife found out about the affair, and Raymond very conveniently pinned the entire blame on Devon.
Jose the Ferryman
I think the entire group of Peter’s house help were the most fun characters in the show. It was a gloomy and lonely island, but folks like Jose, Patrice, and others brought life to the dead house. Speaking of Jose, it was quite obvious that Peter’s most trusted man, who managed the whole house, could be seen as the Greek ferryman, Charon, who brought guests to his desolate mansion and drove them when their purpose was fulfilled.
The Fates
Cloe, Astrid, and Lisa, who were a part of Michaela’s close-knit circle, could often be seen wearing dresses of similar color/pattern or design, just like the Sisters of Fate from ancient Greek mythology. Their role was more clearly defined in the third episode of the show when Michaela “sirened” Devon and sent her away for shopping with her three devoted followers. At the boutique, the three women suddenly start predicting Devon’s future, telling her that she’s a goddess and if she radiates confidence just like them, then Mother Nature will bend to her will and men will come running after her. Well, it wasn’t what actually happened later when both Raymond and Jordan and the gardener started pursuing Devon on the beach. However, the role of these fate sisters is mostly for comic relief in the show, and I don’t think it has any significant impact on the narrative.
So, these are the few mythological references that I was able to catch in Netflix’s Sirens, and I am sure I have only scratched the surface, so if you can spot any other interesting detail or easter egg, please feel free to drop your addition in the comments box below.
