A siren tattoo symbolizes the melding of temptation, desire, and risk, and has been staple of tattoo motifs since superstitious sailors made them popular at the turn of the 19th century.
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were creatures akin to mermaids but darker and more dangerous. They used singing and musical enchantment to lure nearby sailors to shipwreck on the coast of their island.
The siren remains a popular tattoos design in a range of styles and applications from American Traditional tattoo to new wave and black and gray.
The gallery below depicts 57 awesome examples of siren tattoos that can be used as inspiration for your next design.
1. American Traditional Tattoos
2. Arm Tattoo Designs
3. Black and Gray Body Art
4. Colorful Tattoos
Source: @danipadron08 via Instagram
5. Leg Tattoos
6. Mystical Tattoo Designs
7. Neo Traditional and New Wave Tattoos
8. Linework Ink
9. Undead Siren Tattoos
FAQs
What does a siren tattoo symbolize?
A siren tattoo symbolizes the melding of temptation, desire, and risk. Sirens were creatures akin to mermaids but darker and more dangerous, who were able to lure men to their deaths through musical enchantments.
They’re often depicted as dark aspect mermaids mixing great beauty, fang and scale, with webbed hands and gills.
What is the difference between sirens and mermaids in tattoo art?
The Tattoo Dictionary doesn’t differentiate between sirens and mermaids. They are “often depicted sitting on rocks, just out of reach, bare-breasted and combing their hair – a symbol of temptation and seduction.”
Where they do diverge is the positive depictions of mermaids in various ocean societies, and now in popular culture with characters such as Ariel, the Little Mermaid.
Sirens at no stage have been considered creatures with positive characteristics, just the association with moral weaknesses lust, seduction and temptation that lead to a person’s destruction.
What style siren tattoo should I choose?
The siren is a beautiful and interesting design choice that can be used with almost any tattoo style. Due to its old school sensibilities siren tattoos are popular American Traditional designs. If you want to funk it up a bit more, neo traditional introduces a wider color palette and more blingy art effects.
The siren also makes for brilliant portrait designs, or classical black and gray tattoo art based on subtle variations of shading and linework.
What are some tattoo characteristics that can make my siren stand out?
There are a few applications you can apply to make your siren tattoo stand out as both a creature of allure and danger:
- Darkness, such as dark shading, water, or even visage
- Fish skin and webbed fingers
- A good set of fangs, like a hot aquatic vampire
- Bones, rents, rips, and rot
- Gills
- Accompanying badass creatures such as piranha, sharks, octopus, or Kraken
Why are sirens popular sailors’ tattoos?
Sailors have always been a superstitious bunch, which they’ve applied to tattoo decision making since Cook’s sailors brought them back from the Tahitian Islands late in the 1700s.
By choosing siren tattoos sailors hope to avoid the clutches of lust and temptation while they’re away at sea, but also literally to help them if they are washed overboard. By having sirens tattooed on them, sailors figure they’ve already been claimed by sirens so won’t be grabbed when in the water.
Did you enjoy these siren tattoos? Check out the galleries below for more creatures of the deep and traditional tattoo design art: