Mermaids: The Enchanting Sea Creatures - Mythological Bestiary - See U in History

The mythological depiction of the mermaid is known worldwide. We can find it in African myths, in Japanese mythology, and even in Brazilian folklore. But it gained notoriety in Greek mythology. At first, mermaids were a hybrid of bird and woman, like the harpies, but as years went by, the image that we know today was crystallized. Mermaids are half woman and half fish, but the order of the factors obviously changes the outcome. As a rule of thumb, the mermaids were beautiful women with a fish tail. With their beautiful melodies, they attracted the sailors and led their boats to the rocks, sinking them. The mermaid's melody was irresistible. Anyone who heard it threw themselves into the sea to reach the mermaids. Today's mermaids have been deeply influenced by the sirens in Greek mythology. These were female birds, who lived on Capri Island. Like the mermaids, they had an irresistible song. The hero Odysseus, as he returned home, passed by the island of the sirens and wished to hear the creatures singing. For this, Odysseus ordered his crew to clog their own ears with wax, and the hero was tied to the mast of the ship. That way, he managed to hear their seductive and disturbing siren music. The Tritons were the male equivalent of mermaids. They descended from Triton, the son and heir of Poseidon, the god of the seas in Greek mythology. There is a Greek legend which says that Princess Thessaloniki, sister of Alexander the Great, had been turned into a mermaid after her death, inhabiting the Aegean Sea. The princess with a mermaid body approached the sailors nearby and asked about her brother's fate. Alexander had died a long time ago, but the sailors told the mermaid he still reigned over the world to calm her. Any other answer would enrage her, capsizing the boat and dragging the crew to the bottom of the ocean. From the Middle Ages to the Age of Discovery, there were several reports of mermaid sightings. Even Christopher Columbus himself reported an encounter with mermaids. Nevertheless, they were not nearly as beautiful as the stories claimed. Scientists believe that Columbus encountered manatees instead. Mermaids remain popular up to this very day, particularly among girls. We can find them in movies, series, and drawings. The most famous work on them is The Little Mermaid, written by the Danish Hans Christian Andersen, work that later would be adapted by Disney. And the fantastic mermaids, using their enchanting melody, continue to seduce us.