One of the main themes of Homer's Odyssey is the importance of cunning over strength. This is also the case with Odysseus and his long ten-year journey home after fighting at Troy. Odysseus uses his intelligence rather than strength to "fight" through difficult times and return home to Ithaca. Ulysses uses his intelligence when he gets tied up by his men while passing in front of the Sirens, so he himself can listen to their beautiful song, but not be entranced by their singing. He also uses cunning to escape the Cyclops' cave without being harmed. He then uses his cunning by storing all the suitors' armory, shields and knives so he can kill them easily. Ulysses uses his brain to overcome the Sirens without being enchanted by their sweet song. A mermaid is a bird-woman who enchants anyone who approaches. The Mermaid women sing a seductive song. Their song has many powers. As Nugent says “as in the time of the musician Orpheus, music still has the power to calm the wild beast, to ease anxiety, and to connect with the divine through contemplation” (Nugent 45-54). Circe tells Ulysses: “There is no return home for the man who approaches them by surprise and hears the voices of the Sirens” (Homer XII, 40). . Odysseus follows the advice Circe gave him to put beeswax in his men's ears so they won't be enchanted. Odysseus then tells his men "but she has commissioned me only to listen to their voices..." (XII, 160), when, in truth, Circe states: "But if you want to listen yourself, have your hands and feet tied on the table and place them standing near the tree's housing, with the ends of the rope tied to the tree itself” (XII, 49). ..... middle of paper...... story, because if it weren't for his mind, he would be dead and would never return home to Ithaca of strength by tying himself to the mast as he passes by the Sirens. He then uses cunning on the great strength of others by devising a plan to escape the Cyclops' cave alive. cunning rather than strength to kill all the suitors in his house so he and his family can return to the happiness they had before leaving for war. Works Cited Homer. The Odyssey. England: Penguin Group, 2003. Print.Nugent, Pauline B. “The Sounds of Sirens; Odyssey 12. 184-91.” University Literature 35.4 (2008): 45-54. Wilson Web. Network. February 10, 2010.Hernández, Pura Nieto. "Back in the Cyclops' Cave." The American Journal of Philology 121.3 (2000): 352. JSTOR. Network. February 9 2010.