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 Sardis (547 BC) Siege of Sardis (547 BC) In the Siege of Sardis (547/546 BC), the last decisive conflict after the Battle of Thymbra, which was fought between the forces of Croesus of Lydia and Cyrus the Great, Cyrus followed Croesus to his city. He laid siege to it for 14 days, and then captured it. In the previous year king Croesus of Lydia, impelled by various considerations, invaded the kingdom of Cyrus the Great; he hoped to quell the growing power of Achaemenid Persia; to expand his own dominions; and revenge the deposition of his brother-in-law Astyages; also, he thought himself certain