Untold Italy · Friday, August 28, 2026
The rocky islets of Li Galli, off the Amalfi Coast in Italy, are presented as the most likely location for the Sirens' domain from 'The Odyssey.' Professor Skidmore explains how these treacherous islands, known for luring sailors to their deaths, fit the poem's description of a landscape of seduction and danger.
“So once we leave the other world of Hades, we get to the Sorrentine Peninsula, which of course is kind of perfect right, and we get the rocky islet the Syrenouse li Ghali just off the Amalfi coast, where this legendary home of the half bird, half women, sirens whose songs lure sailors to their death.”
“So the geography is a trap. It's a geographical from a machine for killing sailors. And the Greeks and the later Romans associated the sirens with the coastline around still in Italy, particularly around Campagna, but the most famous place that it's identified are these siren islands near what's now punt To Campanella and the small archipelago is Lee Gali, and they're off the Amalfi coast.”
“Unfortunately, you cannot visit theirly Gali Islands because it is privately owned. They're privately owned. But you can take a boat trip round there and check it out.”