Tales of mermaids and mermen have existed since Ancient times. Stories and legends regarding the existence of merpeople can be found in almost every culture throughout the world. Even today in modern societies, the appeal of these mythical creatures is evident in popular culture. We can find mermaids in movies, on television in books and even inked on human flesh. We do not know if they truly exist, but they are an integral part of nearly every culture’s folklore.

Mermaids and Mermen in Folklore and Mythology

There are countless tales and depictions of merpeople throughout history. While descriptions of their characteristics may vary from story to story their general anatomy remains the same. Merpeople are human-like creatures with fish-like tails rather than legs.

In Greek mythology, the merpeople existed in the form of Triton and his offspring, the Tritons. Triton is the son of the Greek god Poseidon and a mortal woman named Amphitrites. Both Triton and his offspring are described as having the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish. Another popular Greek story is that of Alexander the Great’s sister, Thessalonike, who became a mermaid after her death.

In One Thousand and One Nights, the narrator, Scheherazade tells a few tales that contain merpeople. However, Scheherazade’s mermaids and mermen do not have the lower half of a fish. Their only fish-like quality is the ability to breathe underwater.

Commonly in myths and folklore mermaids are depicted as beautiful sirens that would lure sailors to their deaths with their seductive songs. However, sirens were not always described as mermaids. Before 300 b.c sirens were described as a woman with the body of a bird. It was not until after 300 b.c that sirens became alluring mermaids.

Descriptions and sightings of Mermaids and Mermen Throughout History

Greek geographer and writer, Pausanias claimed to have seen two Tritons. He wrote this of them in his Description of Greece. “Their bodies are bristling with very fine scales. They have gills behind the ears and a human nose, but a very big mouth and the teeth of a wild beast . . . from the breast and belly down they have a dolphin tail instead of feet.”

In 1608, English navigator, Henry Hudson described something two of his crewmen saw in his journal. He wrote this of their account. “From the naval upward, her back and breasts were like a woman’s . . . her body as big as one of us; her skin very white and long hair hanging down behind, of the color black; in her going down they saw her tail, which was the tail of a porpoise, and speckled like a mackerel.”

In 1403 in Edam, Holland a few women claimed to have rescued a mermaid and allowed her to live amongst them. In 1635, minister John Swain wrote this of the event. “She suffered herself to be clothed and fed . . . she learned to spin and perform other petty offices of women . . . she would kneel down with her mistress before the crucifix, she never spake, but lived dumb and continued alive (as some say) fifteen years.

On January 4, 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote this in his journal about mermaids. ” They were not as beautiful as they are painted, although to some extent they have a human appearance in the face . . . ” Columbus claimed to have seen mermaids off of the coast of Haiti and off of the coast of Guinea, Africa.

Alexander Carmichael reported in 1900 that he had met people who had seen and touched a mermaid. He wrote this of their account. “The upper part of the creature was about the size of a well-fed child of three or four . . . with an abnormally developed breast. The hair was long, dark and glossy, while the skin was soft and tender. The lower part of the body was like a salmon, but without scales.”

Mermaid Hoaxes

The most famous mermaid hoax was that of the “Feejee Mermaid.” P.T. Barnum flouted this hoax to his customers in 1842. It was not until later that it was proved to be a hoax. There were many other hoaxes like this, especially during that time period. These fake mermaids were most likely made from attaching the upper portion of a shaved monkey to the lower portion of a fish.

Many people believe that these sightings of so-called mermaids and mermen are merely sightings of known sea creatures that are mistaken as merpeople. Other people believe that there is a possibility that mermaids are out there, however slim. The truth of the matter is that the oceans are a vast and largely unknown frontier and there is much still left to be discovered in their depths. No one knows what we may find there in the future.

Sources

Reader’s Digest, Unsolved Mysteries of the past, 1991, pages 76-77, Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.

Reader’s Digest, Man and Beast, 1993, pages 101-104, Reader’s Digest Association Inc.