Ulysses and the Sirens Jon Elster used the name of Draper's painting as the title for his 1979 book about rationality and precommitment. Ulysses and the Sirens Ulysses and the Sirens is a 1909 oil painting by Herbert James Draper measuring 69.25 x 84 in. It is held at the Ferens Art Gallery in Kingston upon Hull, England. The gallery purchased the painting from Draper in 1910 for £600. Draper also painted a reduced replica that is housed at the Leeds Art Gallery. The subject of the painting is an episode in the epic poem "Odyssey" by Homer in which Ulysses is tormented by
Siege of Syracuse (397 BC) and the stench of decaying bodies hung in the air. Fear of infection may have prevented proper care being given to the sick. The cause of this calamity was attributed to the desecration of Greek temples and tombs. At the Siege of Akragas (406 BC) Himilco had dealt with a similar situation by sacrificing a child and various animals to appease this alleged divine anger. Whatever measures (if any) Himilco took at Syracuse to combat the plague proved ineffective; Punic forces were decimated and the fleet readiness was diminished. Himilco and the Carthaginians stubbornly stood their ground and remained in