The Sirens.

The Sirens were sea-nymphs who had the power of charming bytheir song all who heard them, so that the unhappy mariners were irresistibly impelled to castthemselves into the sea to their destruction. Circe directed Ulysses to fillthe ears of his seamen with wax, so that they should not hear the strain; and to cause himself to be bound to the mast, and his people to be strictly enjoined, whatever he might say or do, by no means to release himm till they should have passes the Sirens' island.
Ulysses obeyed these directions. He filled the ears of his people with wax, and suffered them to bind him with cords firmly to the mast. As they approached thr Sirens' island, the sea was calm, and over the waters came the notes of music so ravishing and attractive that Ulysses struggled to get loose, and by cries and signs to his people begged to be released; but they, obedient to his previous orders, sprang forward and bound him still faster. They held on their course, and the music grew fainter till it ceased to be heard, when with joy Ulysses gave him companions the signal to unseal their ears, and they relieved him from his bonds.
-----Thomas Bulfinch, The age of Fable or Stories of Gods and Heroes.