Tell me everything you know about Mermaids!?

Question

And dont go off on this little charade that they dont exist, because I honestly believe they do. So dont bore me with that crap. I want to hear from people who know stuff about them. (Obviously the believers). Tell me any stories that maybe your great grandparents once told or stuff you've heard about them. Thank you! The most and best info gets 10 pts.

Answer 1

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.

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 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 conflated 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." [1]
A popular Greek legend has Alexander the Great's sister, Thessalonike, turn into a mermaid after her death.[2] She lived, it was said, in the Aegean and when sailors would encountered her, she would ask them only one question: "Is Alexander the king alive?" (Greek: Ζει ο βασιλιάς Αλέξανδρος), to which the correct answer would be "He lives and still rules" (Greek: Ζει και βασιλεύει). Any other answer would spur her into a rage, where she transformed into a Gorgon and mean doom for the ship and every sailor onboard.

Among the Neo-Taíno nations of the Caribbean the mermaid is called Aycayía[3] she of the beautiful voice.[4] Her attributes relate to the goddess Jagua, and the hibiscus flower of the majagua tree Hibiscus tiliaceous.[5] Examples from other cultures are the Mami Wata of West Africa, the Jengu of Cameroon, the Merrow of Ireland and Scotland, the Rusulki of Russia, and the Greek Oceanids, Nereids, and Naiads. One freshwater mermaid-like creature from European folklore is Melusine, who is sometimes depicted with two fish tails, and other times with the lower body of a serpent. It is said in Japan that eating the flesh of a mermaid can grant unaging immortality. In some European legends mermaids are said to grant wishes.

It has been widely suggested that manatees could be behind the myth of the mermaid. These large aquatic mammals are notable for the way in which they carry their young, cradled in their arms much as a human would carry a baby. It is possible that sailors seeing these unfamiliar beasts for the first time, would assume that they had in fact stumbled across some sort of humanoid species, and consequently spread their accounts of the sightings through their homelands on their return from voyages. It has even been posited that the traditional image of a mermaid with long flowing hair could be attributed to manatees breaking the ocean surface underneath patches of seaweed, and giving the unfamiliar observer the impression of having long hair.

There is however a second explanation. "The aquatic ape theory or aquatic ape hypothesis (AAT/AAH) is a hypothesis in evolutionary biology proposing that the ancestors of human ancestors went through one or more periods of time living in a semi-aquatic setting and that this accounts for many of the characteristics of species in the Homo genus that are not seen in other primates, such as chimpanzees or gorillas."

"Most orthodox paleoanthropologists adhere to the Savanna Theory, which holds that human ancestors evolved in hot and dry savanna environments. The AAT says that human ancestors evolved in warm and wet environments and went through one or more periods of time living in a waterside setting, gathering much of their foods from shallow sea-, lake- or riverside environments through beach-combing, wading and diving, for instance, coconuts, bird's eggs, turtles, shell- and crayfish, part of reeds, papyrus and other aquatic plants. There are interpretations which propose fresh-water habitats,[6] variations in the timescale[7] and the proposed degree of selection arising from moving through water. One interpretation is that the semi-aquatic episode coincided with the Pliocene-Pleistocene littoral diaspora of Homo along the East-African Rift valley lakes and the African and Indian Ocean coasts.

Prior to 546 B.C., the Milesian philosopher Anaximander proposed that mankind had sprung from an aquatic species of animal. For, he thought, man with his extended infancy could not have survived, originally, in the manner he does presently. This idea, based on elemental forces of mutation as opposed to evolution, does not appear to have survived Anaximander's death.

That said, it may be possible to imagine a sub-species of humanoid which was water-based and which may have contributed, at least in part, to the existence of the subject of mermaids.

Answer 2

Mermaids are not always nice. Some are more like Sirens and sing to men and after they get them underwater they eat them with their true form reveled, that being claws and fangs I believe. But if you catch a mermaid, and for her return to the sea she grant you 3 wishes from something I read. They also have their own language, are very beautiful, can sing amazingly, can't cry underwater do they don't know what tears are unless they've been to the surface and are either very gentle or vicious creatures. In some tales they don't know what love is. But please, do your OWN research next time. Hope this helped.

Answer 3

Well here in the Philippines, we call them "Serena". The male counterpart is not as good looking as you see on Little mermaid ... rather it is somewhat gruesome image of a human fish that we call "Siokoy." Well there are a lot of stories here about them. About a serena, a young memaid wished to have a legs (like aeriel) but everytime she gets wet her tails shows up ... until the day came he met his prince charming and got married .. the curse went away and she gets to have a legs that she dreamt of. A syokoy on the other hand, I have heard this story; a Wife was waiting for her fisherman husband. That night her husband arrived, they made love. When she woke up, the morning after that, she saw these weired footprints in the sand inside their house (near the beach). Then later that morning the husband just arrived, saying he havent had a chance to go home last night because of some problems during the fishing. The wife was left wondering, she got pregnant and then she bore a siokoy-like face of a baby. Now that siokoy-human is already a man. I have seen on TV ... he really looks like a siokoy.

Answer 4

In German fairy tales, we have two different types of mermaids:

A) The standard type:

living in the sea. They are a bit moody. Sometimes they make ships break and drown the crew, at other times they rescue people from drowning. They are known to be excellent singers.
There appear to be no males (which leaves room for speculations - either the males never appear on the surface or these mermaids propagate partenogeneticly or mate with fish).
It's uncertain what they eat.
They look like your mermaids - half human, half fish.


B) The more interesting type:

living in freshwater. They are usually very friendly. They do have legs and you can tell them from humans only because the hems of their clothes are always wet.
Occasionally the females become godmothers of human girls or befriend human women. Usually these childen and women have a very unusual fate with much trouble and a happy end.

This type is known to have males. These usually don't make contact with humans except for rare occasions when they need help. If treared friendly and with respect, they pay well for the assistance (either with pearls or with a rich catch of fish). However, if treated badly, they take a very bloody revenge or drown those who wronged them.
Contrary to their females, who live mainly in wells and smaller streams, scarcely in rivers but always in running water, the males prefer stillwaters and deep lakes as their habitat.

This species is known to like human food, especially cakes and sweet dishes (makes sense, since they couldn't bake things under water and sugar would dissolve).

They are organized in a social structure similar to a renaissance society. There are lower mermaids, and a class of nobles. They are ruled by regional Kings. A kingdom consists of a major river and all of its tributaries, plus all the lakes in this area. Large tributaries have their own local nobles (like counts and dukes).

Though there are differences and quarrels, to my knowledge they never were at war with each other but rather solve their problems by discussing them in meetings or they accept a compromise suggested by a third party. (Obviousely, certain politicians could learn a lot from the mermaids)

The males tend to be rather jealous and don't treat their females (nor their competitors) well.
Both genders occasionally mate with humans and the offspring frequently are very prosperous and live a happy and very long life (around 100 years)

The lifespan of purebred sweetwater mermaids is several hundred years.

Answer 5

Obviously, mermaids are half fish and half human female. But many people disagree on their other characteristics. In the non-animated Peter Pan movie, mermaids are shown to have blue-green skin, and be violent and evil. In Harry Potter, mermaids have no voice above the ground, but underwater their screeches turn to words. Many people believe that mermaid sightings are really just sea lions, but those that have seen them swear they know what the saw. There are so many different stories about mermaids it is hard to describe the mermaid, you will have to decide for yourself which of them to believe.

Answer 6

my great great grandparents said there were tons of mermaids of where they used to live at. but the mermaids were really sassy and mean, even greedy. they were beautiful, that was a fact, but they get what they wanted no matter what. not alot of ppl saw them but they're always around somewhere in the seas.

yea, i believe in them. just because its fun to have imagination and because i love myths.

Answer 7

I have a friend who nearly drown in the ocean when he was a young child. He swears that a mermaid carried him to the surface, breathing air into his lungs. Once on the surface of the water, his older brother grabbed him and swam him to shore. No one else saw the mermaid, but my friend swears she was real.

Answer 8

I had an encounter with 2 of them on a Hawaiian beach this past winter. They had their tails entwined and were sitting/laying on the beach looking into the wet reflection in the wave washed shore. In the reflection, the two of them looked to be one large dragonfly. They were imagining what it would be like to be a dragonfly. That is why I named this painting "To Be a Dragonfly".

Answer 9

LOL
They have a mermaid in the soap opera Passions. And in human form Siren is very vindictive.

Answer 10

they sing ALOT! and there skin starts pealing off and they get sick because they eat are food

Answer 11

I saw one in Disneyland and her name is "Ariel"!!!.. lol...

Whether you agree with me or not, I don't think mermaids do exist for real. they're just a product of imagination.