Mermaids swim and splash through our imaginations in a flurry of shells, seaweed and scales. They give us mental images of gorgeous beaches, serene lagoons, sunken pirate ships and underwater cities made of coral. Not to mention grottos full of human treasures such as gadgets, gizmos, whozits, whatsits and thingamabobs galore. The secretive nature of these elusive men and women of the sea leave us with many questions.
Surf through these awesome Mermaid facts and feel free to shell them out as you “sea” fit.
You can find mermaid stories — or variations of mermaids — on every continent. Unfortunately, most of the stories are very sad.
The first mermaid story is from 1000 BC, and focuses on the Assyrian goddess Atargatis. After falling in love with a mortal, whom she accidentally killed, Atargatis dove into a lake and turned into a mermaid.
A more modern mermaid story is that Alexander the Great’s sister, Thessalonike, became a mermaid. Grieving after her brother died, Thessalonike threw herself into the sea and became a mermaid. Now, as an immortal mermaid, Thessalonike passes judgement on whether or not mariners can sail through her waters. According to the legend, she asks the sailors “Is Alexander the king alive?” The correct answer (correct in this case meaning the answer you give if you wish to live) is “He lives and reigns and conquers the world.”
Most early mermaids were personifications of water deities, celebrated as symbols of life and fertility. This is due to the ocean being seen as an endless provider of food in the form of fish.
However, mermen are less frequent in stories. Some say that this is because mermen are incredibly shy and secretive — their female counterparts are much bolder.
The first recorded merman story is the Babylonian sea god Ea. This story is older than that of Atargatis, so mermen came first but mermaids are more well-known.
There have been many “sightings” of mermaids over the centuries. However, more often than not, those “sightings” are manatees. This is especially so in the Atlantic ocean.
The classification order that manatees belong to is “Sirenia,” which is a reference to Sirens — a dangerous type of mermaid.
Sirens are known for having beautiful voices that lure sailors to their doom. In the original Greek mythology, however, Sirens had feathered wings instead of being associated with the sea.
Another popular type of mermaid is the Selkie. Particularly popular in folktales in Scotland, Ireland and Iceland, the Selkie is a shapeshifting creature. A Selkie can take the form of a human or a seal. Selkies can remove their sealskin to become human, and if it is stolen or goes missing, the Selkie cannot change back into a seal.
Nixies are mermaids that live in rivers, and are common in Scandinavia and Germany.
The gemstone Aquamarine is believed to be made of mermaid tears.
There are stories featuring mermaids in the collection of stories One Thousand and One Nights.
A Japanese version of the mermaid called the ningyo has a fish body and a human head. The titular character of the Studio Ghibli film Ponyo is a ningyo.
