Hello!
If you have read very many of my blogs, or follow me on Facebook or Pinterest, you know I love mermaids.
A lot.
I regularly post mermaid paper dolls, illustrations, paintings, etc.
Mermen when I can find them!
I realized I have never delved into the history of mermaids.
So here we go on a wild ocean adventure to see where we might find a mermaid or two…or three…
Mermaids have been around, or at least stories about them have been around, for a very very long time.
Pretty much each culture around the globe have stories of mermaid-like creatures.
Sulamith Wolfing, ‘The Little Mermaid’
They have different names, like:
marrow - Ireland
iaru - Brazil
ceasy - Scotland
jengu - Cameroon
haffru’ - Iceland
ben-varrey - Isle of Man
havfrue/havmand - Denmark
margygr/marmennill - Norway
In the Philippines (Tagalong) they are called sirena and sixokoy
In China mer-folk are called Di people.
In Japan they are ningyo (human fish).
In Slavic countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, the Rusalkas live in lakes and rivers.
In West, Central and Southern Africa they have MamiWater (mother of the water).
In Zimbabwe there are njuzu (literally ‘ocean spirits’).
Persian countries have maneli.
Antique advertisingAs early as 3 BC there is Greek art depicting mermaid type creatures.
Often they have ‘split’ tails that look very similar to legs. Early Etruscan 6th century art show 2 tails as part of the ancient myth of Scylla and Charybois.
Another common variety are half snake/half woman.
Through the ages these slowly morphed into half fish/half woman.
Painted on a wooden ceiling, c1109 - 1114, St. Martin Church, Zillo, Switzerland
Other names for mermaids are oceanids, nereids, naiads, deities, water nymphs, tritonesses or merfolk…
Depending on where in the world, it is believed mermaids foretell disasters, and even provoke disasters into happening. They can warn of approaching rough weather, and seeing one is considered an unlucky omen.
In other cultures mermaids are seen as benevolent and helpful to mankind.
The ancient Assyrian goddess Atargatis evolved with both benevolent and dangerous traits. This was a reflection of that era’s opinion on the vagaries of female emotions and actions, and the unpredictable behavior of the sea.
Storms, shipwrecks, drownings - let’s blame it on a supernatural creature. Oh. And let’s make that creature woman-like!
Then the mermaid became a siren.
Then the mermaid became a siren.
Not only was she dangerous and unpredictable, now she was deliberately luring poor sailors to their death.
She used her beauty and lovely singing voice to trick these hapless men.
The 7th - 8th century added a comb and mirror as symbols for the sea maidens. She had become vain and self absorbed.
Mer-woman, water sprite, sea-maiden, siren - no matter the name mermaids have remained popular throughout the ages. Books have been written about her, poems penned and paintings created with the mermaid as the central theme.
Mermaids remain a popular subject for movies and tv shows. Just a few are Miranda, 1948; Night Tide, 1961; Splash, 1984; Disney’s The Little Mermaid, 1989; Aquamarine, 2006; and H2O Just Add Water, 2006-2010.
Famous composers Mendelssohn and Wagner both wrote musical scores about mermaids (Fair Melusina overture and Der Ring des Nibelungen respectively).
Famous artists such as John William Waterhouse, Howard Pyle and John Reinhardt Weguelin have painted mermaids as their main subject.
Mermaids even lend their tails to advertise all sorts of things from canned tuna fish to airlines to perfume.
Whether Christopher Columbus saw actual mermaids or manatees, legends of the sea sirens seem here to stay.
I’m so glad!
Here’s another by the same artist:
‘Til next time,
inkspired
Some of the websites I visited for information, in no particular order:
Wikipedia
Encyclopedia Britannica
Pinterest
Mythologyworldwide.com
historytools.org
historytools.org
