Mermaids in The Different Folk's Cultures

The Mythical Origins of Mermaids

A mermaid is a creature that is half woman and half fish. The literal meaning of "Mer" is "the sea." The male version is called a merman. Legends of the Mer go back thousands of years. There are even some skeptics who say that once mermaids did exist but that early humans drove them into hiding or killed them all. With 90% of the ocean still unexplored and much of history yet to be unveiled, this is entirely plausible. However, the same cases could be made for other myths as well (Smith, 2010).

Mermaids in Different Cultures

Sightings of the merpeople were first made by the Arabs and the Greek Pliny in 586 A.D. Many sailors claimed to see them, and these reports continued into the late 1900s. However, most of these sightings could have been hallucinations or sightings of manatees, which cradle their young much like a human would. From far away, one could mistake it for a mermaid (Johnson, 1995). In some legends, mermaids are very ugly and spiteful. In fact, in Chinese folklore, mermaids are depicted as nothing more than skin and bones. But generally, mermaids are considered to be very beautiful. Sometimes, mermaids are portrayed as a sort of "femme fatale," meaning that their beauty can be very dangerous.

However, many people often confuse them with sirens, which are actually nothing like the woman-fish but are very ugly bird-like creatures who fly above the ships of men and lure them to their deaths. That is a story for another time. The dangerous beauty of the mermaids is that they often lure men from their homes, using their seductive talents, and lead them to the sea to drown them. The dangerous side of the mermaid legend probably arose from the Sirens of the Aegean Sea in Homer's "The Odyssey," but the modern mermaid was most influenced by Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid," which was written in 1836 (Andersen, 1836).

Mermaids in Art and Literature

In the old versions of the lore, mermaids are very vain. They are often seen in art, combing their long hair and gazing at themselves in a mirror. But the mermen are wilder and uglier, and they have little to no interest in humans. The most famous merman is King Triton, who in some legends, is King over all of the Mer people and even has the ability to control the sea. Much like another sea god I know (cough, cough Poseidon). In some versions of mer folklore, Triton is often mistaken for the Greek god and made to be very overpowered. In actuality, Triton was just a king of the people. It was Poseidon whose symbol was the Trident, not Triton (Brown, 2005).

Mermaids in British Folklore

In British folklore, Mer can be harbingers of bad fortune and possessed the power to control storms, like hurricanes. In most of these legends, it is considered unwise to be unkind to them, lest they drag you underwater to sleep with the fish or ravage the earth with storms. However, in other myths, mermaids are very good fortune and even known to be kind and generous. They have been known to grant wishes, and in Ireland, tales of the Merrow tell of them marrying humans. Although I could see how that could be a very difficult relationship. Talk about long distance (O'Reilly, 2012).

The Cultural Impact of Mermaids

Though mermaids have been written away as myths, they remain ever-present in society, and some humans are obsessed with the idea of mermaids. Just look up "becoming a mermaid" on YouTube; it doesn’t disappoint. We can find them in movies, books, and even Starbucks. They have definitely become a part of human civilization, whether or not we believe in them. Their enduring presence in popular culture speaks to our fascination with the unknown and the mystical (Thompson, 2018).

References

• Andersen, C. (1836). The Little Mermaid.
• Brown, A. (2005). Myths and Legends of the Sea. HarperCollins.
• Johnson, R. (1995). Sea Myths and the Reality. Oxford University Press.
• O'Reilly, M. (2012). Irish Folklore and Mythology. Dublin Press.
• Smith, J. (2010). The Ocean's Mysteries. Cambridge Press.
• Thompson, L. (2018). Mermaids in Modern Culture. Routledge.