Siren
Σειρήν
Monsters who lured passing sailors to their deaths with song.
Odysseus plugged his crew's ears with wax and had himself tied to the mast so he could listen.
The song was not just beautiful — it promised "we will tell you everything you wish to know." A monster that tempts with knowledge.
The word siren, as in alarm, comes from here — both are sounds that stop people in their tracks.
SourcesHomer, Odyssey
Commonly confused
In early Greek art, Sirens are not mermaids but bird-bodied creatures with human faces. The fish tail was added in the Middle Ages.