Parthenope (siren)

Lore & Background

According to Greek legend, Parthenope cast herself into the sea and drowned when her songs failed to entice Odysseus. Her body washed ashore at Naples, on the island of Megaride, where the Castel dell'Ovo is now located. Her tomb on the island was called 'constraction of sirens'. When people from the city of Cumae settled there, they named their city Parthenope in her honour.

A Roman myth tells a different version of the tale, in which a centaur named Vesuvius was enamored with Parthenope. Angered, Jupiter turned the centaur into a stratovolcano and Parthenope into the city of Naples. Thwarted in his desire, Vesuvius' rage is manifested in the volcano's frequent violent eruptions.

Reader's Guide

Parthenope has been depicted in various forms of literature and art, from ancient coins that bore her semblance to the Fountain of the Spinacorona, where she is depicted quenching the fires of Vesuvius with water from her breasts. In his Georgics, Virgil stated that he had been nurtured by Parthenope. Parthenope has served as the inspiration for several other works, such as Manuel de Zumaya's Partenope and the ancient Greek novel Mētiokhos kai Parthenopē. Several operas based on the myth of Parthenope were composed in the 18th century by Sarro, Vinci, Handel, Vivaldi, and Hasse. The poem An Afternoon in Naples at the Time of Bomba by Herman Melville cites Parthenope as a source of Naples' mythological identity. Ennio Morricone composed an opera based on the legend of Parthenope in 1995, which was premiered in 2025 as part of the celebrations surrounding the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of Naples.

Did You Know?

• Parthenope's name means 'maiden-voiced' from Greek parthenos and ops.
• She drowned after failing to lure Odysseus with her song.
• A Roman myth says the centaur Vesuvius was turned into a volcano after loving Parthenope.