The Vampire Diaries hasn’t revealed much about its latest villain yet, but we can still look for our own clues about what she’s up to.
Over the course of seven seasons, The Vampire Diaries gang has had to deal with more than their fair share of villains. Everything from a council full of concerned parents to a psychopathic siphon has threatened their safety and happiness in the town that they call home.
Despite the many villainous characters that have made their mark on the series, only a few mythological families have really been explored. We’ve had our vampires, werewolves, witches, doppelgängers, hunters, and that’s really all.
Of course, there have been twists on these legends, including the introduction of the origins of the species’ and just about every hybrid species possible, but the show hasn’t strayed too far from the original myths that it introduced. Now, in The Vampire Diaries season 8, it looks like we could finally be dealing with something completely different.
After an entire summer of wondering what could have a hold on Damon and Enzo, we were thrilled when Bonnie put Enzo’s brilliant clues together to get us one step closer to the truth. Using her (reluctantly acquired) knowledge of The Odyssey by Homer, she figured out that the creature that’s controlling Damon and Enzo is a siren!
Bonnie and Enzo pretty much covered what The Odyssey has to say about the creature. Sailors would be lured to their death on the rocky shores that the sirens inhabited, by their beautiful songs. However, Odysseus was able to escape this fate by putting wax in the ears of his crew. He had his crew tie him tightly to the mast of the ship so that he could hear the siren song himself without the risk of being lured into their trap.
Enzo’s clues of the wax and body placement were based around the actions that Odysseus took to avoid being drawn in by their song. The state of the bodies that the siren was feeding on and her song at the end of The Vampire Diaries season 8, episode 1, all fit with the creatures portrayed in The Odyssey.
Related: The Vampire Diaries season 8 premiere review: Hope hurts
As evidenced by the “human bones that whiten all the ground,” on the sirens’ shore, Odysseus wasn’t the only sailor that the sirens sang to. They appear in many other Greek myths which give up some more information on the creatures. We still don’t know how closely The Vampire Diaries will follow the legends of the siren, but we’ve gone through some of these myths to gain whatever clues we can about this new villain!
There’s more than one siren
Sirens aren’t like vampires, werewolves or witches, of which there can be an infinite number, but according to legend, there is more than one. Depending on the story you’re reading, the number ranges from two to five. According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the sirens were originally the handmaidens to the Greek goddess, Persephone. When Persephone was taken by Hades, Demeter gave the sirens wings to search for her.
So far, we’ve barely even seen one siren on The Vampire Diaries and she’s already done plenty of damage. If her counterparts are also hiding out somewhere, or worse, if any of the other powerful Greek gods/goddesses get involved in the story, Salvatore and co. could be in deep trouble.
Sirens are half bird and half woman
Although sirens are often portrayed as mermaid-like creatures in pop culture, they’re actually half bird! As we mentioned above, they were given wings by Demeter. They’re sometimes shown as birds with the heads of women, but other times are shown as winged women with the legs of birds… pretty.
The siren that Damon and Enzo are dealing with is more conventionally attractive than either of those descriptions, so her character might stray from this part of the mythology. However, just because she doesn’t appear to have wings, doesn’t mean she won’t be able to fly. She emerged from the water far too soundlessly and gracefully to be cursed with the annoying human responsibility of walking.
The affinity she seems to have for water could mean she also shares some traits of the popular, mermaid side of the siren myth. If she has superior abilities in the water, the air, and on the land, she’ll definitely be a formidable opponent for our heroes.
The sirens promise wisdom
The siren song from The Odyssey wasn’t just tempting because it was beautiful to hear (so we’ve been told). In the song, the sirens also promise that the sailor shall “learn new wisdom from the wise.”
This is extremely vague, but Damon was spouting off a lot of nonsense about things that the siren had “shown” him. We know that our villain is pretty talented at mind control, and it looks like she’s able to impart knowledge, real or fake, directly to her victims as well. Whatever she told Damon, it seemed to make him fall in line pretty quickly.
The sirens are found near Italy
Given the proximity of Greece and Italy and the tangled history of the Greeks and the Romans, the home of pizza, lasagna, and the gondola plays a prominent role in many Greek myths, including Odysseus’ journey.
Of course, this doesn’t really tell us anything about the villain that’ll be calling the shots for a while in The Vampire Diaries season 8. However, it could be relevant given the heritage of our favorite immortal brothers (move over, Mikaelsons). We just might be treated to a flashback of some ancient Salvatores and their dealings with these creatures!
Resisting a siren could be the key to defeating her
Hyginus’ Fabulae (number 141) expands on the myth of Odysseus to include what happened to the sirens after he successfully escaped. Odysseus was able to hear the sirens’ song and escape with his life, as he had been tied tightly to the mast, so the sirens “threw themselves into the sea” and committed suicide.
If this part of the legend rings true in The Vampire Diaries, saving Damon and Enzo could be as simple as finding something that will help them defy her. Damon’s humanity switch may, or may not, be off, but his love for Elena, Stefan, or even Bonnie could still help bring him back. A clear choice for Enzo would be his love for Bonnie, but if Damon successfully convinced him to flip his switch, we could be waiting a while for these boys to win their freedom.