Commentary Purg XIX 20-21

The phrasing that expresses the Siren's power over men may put us in mind of the condition of Dante in the opening verses of the poem, when he, nel mezzo del cammin, was off his course and resembled a sailor who had nearly drowned.  Does he now see himself as having been seduced by a 'siren'?  Insofar as the she-wolf represents the sins of Incontinence, and thus, for Dante, lust (see C.Inf.I.32-54), the essential reason for his having lost the true way would now seem to be predominantly related to his sexual affections.