Gourt > Society > Folklore > Literature > Tales > Fabulous Creatures > Mermaids
A mermaid (from mere in the obsolete sense 'sea' + maid(en)) is a legendary aquatic creature with the head and torso of human female and the tail of a fish. The male version of a mermaid is called a merman. Various cultures throughout the world have similar figures. They were known to sing sailors to their deaths, like the Siren, or squeeze the life out of drowning men, while trying to rescue them.
The Sirens of Greek mythology are sometimes portrayed in later folklore ; in fact in some languages the name sirena is used interchangeably for both creatures. Other related types of mythical or legendary creature are water fairies (e.g. various water nymphs) and selkies.
Legend and myth
Tales of mermaids are nearly universal. The first known mermaid stories appeared in Assyria, ca. 1000 BCE. Atargatis, the mother of Assyrian queen Semiramis, was a goddess who loved a mortal shepherd and in the process killed him. Ashamed, she jumped into a lake to take the form of a fish, but the waters would not conceal her divine nature. Thereafter, she took the form of a mermaid — human above the waist, fish below — though the earliest representations of Atargatis showed her as being a fish with a human head and legs, similar to the Babylonian Ea. The Greeks recognized Atargatis under the name Derketo, where she was often conflate with Aphrodite.
Lucian of Samosata in Syria (2nd century CE) in De Dea Syria ("Concerning the Syrian Goddess") wrote of the Syrian temples he had visited:
- "Among them - Now that is the traditional story among them concerning the temple. But other men swear that Semiramis of Babylonia, whose deeds are many in Asia, also founded this site, and not for Hera Atargatis but for her own Mother, whose name was Derketo"
- "I saw the likeness of Derketo in Phoenicia, a strange marvel. It is woman for half its length, but the other half, from thighs to feet, stretched out in a fish's tail. But the image in the Holy City is entirely a woman, and the grounds for their account are not very clear. They consider fishes to be sacred, and they never eat them; and though they eat all other fowls, they do not eat the dove, for she is holy so they believe. And these things are done, they believe, because of Derketo and Semiramis, the first because Derketo has the shape of a fish, and the other because ultimately Semiramis turned into a dove. Well, I may grant that the temple was a work of Semiramis perhaps; but that it belongs to Derketo I do not believe in any way. For among the Egyptians, some people do not eat fish, and that is not done to honor Derketo." Lucian of Samosata, De Dea Syria Part 2, Chapter 14
Mermaids :: Fantasy Races and Creatures
Amen to that! Love that movie! RT @Sleauxn: "Please God don't let me fall in love and want to do disgusting things." #Mermaids
TheFabu1ousOne (Heather C) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:03:13 -0000
Amen to that! Love that movie! RT @Sleauxn: "Please God don't let me fall in love and want to do disgusting things." #Mermaids
@Superdave89 @TheRealBraden @Juiceee318 if you haven't seen "Mermaids" starring Cher, Winona Ryder & Christina Ricci, SEE IT. you'll lv it
Sleauxn (Sloan Rollins) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:59:46 -0000
@Superdave89 @TheRealBraden @Juiceee318 if you haven't seen "Mermaids" starring Cher, Winona Ryder & Christina Ricci, SEE IT. you'll lv it
RT @Sleauxn: "Please God don't let me fall in love and want to do disgusting things." #Mermaids
Juiceee318 (Liam:]) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:55:50 -0000
RT @Sleauxn: "Please God don't let me fall in love and want to do disgusting things." #Mermaids
"Please God don't let me fall in love and want to do disgusting things." #Mermaids
Sleauxn (Sloan Rollins) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:52:30 -0000
"Please God don't let me fall in love and want to do disgusting things." #Mermaids
@mermaidl0vato i like ur username.. mermaids are cool :)
TaylorS13FAKE (Taylor (fake) Swift) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:38:42 -0000
@mermaidl0vato i like ur username.. mermaids are cool :)
"i love him because he wears moccasins in winter even tho his feet must feel like blocks of ice" -Winona Ryder, #Mermaids
Sleauxn (Sloan Rollins) Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:31:10 -0000
"i love him because he wears moccasins in winter even tho his feet must feel like blocks of ice" -Winona Ryder, #Mermaids
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