Mermaid 76592 226004476 2008-07-16T12:07:21Z Martim33 6081121 {{otheruses}} [[Image:Waterhouse a mermaid.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''A Mermaid'' by [[John William Waterhouse]].]] A '''mermaid''' is a [[legendary creature|legendary]] [[aquatic animal|aquatic]] creature with the head and torso of human female and the tail of, in most schools of thought, a fish, although their horizontal fin structure would be more indicative of an aquatic mammal. Various cultures throughout the world have similar figures. The names comes from the [[Middle English]] ''mere'' in the obsolete sense 'sea' (as in ''[[Oceans|maritime]]'', and the the Latin [[mare]], "sea") + ''maid(en)''. Much like [[sirens]], mermaids would sometimes sing to sailors and enchant them, distracting them from their work and causing them to walk off the deck or cause shipwrecks. Other stories would have them squeeze the life out of drowning men while trying to rescue them. They are also said to take them down to their underwater kingdoms. In [[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' it is said that they forget that humans cannot breathe underwater, while others say they drown men out of spite. The sirens of [[Greek mythology]] are sometimes portrayed in later [[folklore]] as mermaid-like; in fact, some languages (such as the Maltese word 'sirena') use the same word for both bird and fish creatures. Other related types of [[mythology|mythical]] or [[legend]]ary creature are [[water fairies]] (e.g. various [[Nymph|water nymphs]]) and [[selkie]]s, animals that can transform themselves from seals to humans. ===Ancient Near East=== [[Image:MermenLubok.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Mermen, 1866. Anonymous folk artist.]] Tales of mermaids are nearly universal. The first known mermaid [[folklore|stories]] appeared in [[Assyria]], ca. 1000 BC. [[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 beauty. Thereafter, she took the form of a mermaid &mdash; human above the waist, fish below &mdash; though the earliest representations of Atargatis showed her as being a fish with a human head and legs, similar to the [[Babylonia]]n [[Ea (Babylonian god)|Ea]]. The Greeks recognized Atargatis under the name Derketo. Prior to 546 BC, the [[Milesian]] philosopher [[Anaximander]] proposed that mankind had sprung from an aquatic species of animal. He thought that humans, with their extended [[infancy]], could not have survived early on. This idea does not appear to have survived Anaximander's death. A popular Greek legend has [[Alexander the Great]]'s sister, [[Thessalonice of Macedon|Thessalonike]], turn into a mermaid after she died.<ref> {{PDFlink|[http://www.mpt.org/programsinterests/mpt/alexander/guide/teachers_guide.pdf Teacher's Guide]|246&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 252547 bytes -->}}</ref> She lived, it was said, in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] and when sailors would encounter her, she would ask them only one question: ''"Is Alexander the king alive?"'' ([[Greek language|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 meant doom for the ship and every sailor onboard. [[Lucian|Lucian of Samosata]] in [[Syria]] (2nd century AD) 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 [[Atargatis|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 [[Jerusalem|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."<ref>Lucian of Samosata, ''De Dea Syria'' Part 2, Chapter 14</ref> ===Arabian Nights=== The [[Arabian Nights]] include several tales featuring "Sea People", such as ''Djullanar the Sea-girl''. Unlike the depiction in other mythologies, these are anatomically identical to land-bound humans, differing only in their ability to breathe and live underwater. They can (and do) interbreed with land humans, the children of such unions inheriting the ability to live underwater. ===British=== [[Image:Leighton-The Fisherman and the Syren-c. 1856-1858.jpg|left|thumb|200px|''The Fisherman and the Syren'', by [[Frederic Leighton]], c. 1856&ndash;1858]] Mermaids were noted in British folklore as unlucky omens - both foretelling disaster and provoking it.<ref name="briggs">Katharine Briggs, ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures'', "Mermaids", p 287. ISBN 0-394-73467-X</ref> Several variants of the [[ballad]] ''[[Sir Patrick Spens]]'' depict a mermaid speaking to the doomed ships; in some, she tells them they will never see land again, and in others, she claims they are near shore, which they are wise enough to know means the same thing. They can also be a sign of rough weather.<ref>Francis James Child, ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', v 2, p 19, Dover Publications, New York 1965</ref> Some mermaids were described as monstrous in size, up to 160 feet.<ref name="briggs"/> Mermaids could also swim up rivers to freshwater lakes. One day, in a lake near his house, the [[Laird]] of Lorntie saw, as he thought, a woman drowning, and went to aid her; a servant of his pulled him back, warning that it was a mermaid, and the mermaid screamed after that she would have killed him if it were not for his servant.<ref>K. M. Briggs, ''The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature'', p 57 University of Chicago Press, London, 1967</ref> On occasion, mermaids could be more beneficient, giving humans means of cure.<ref>Katharine Briggs, ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures'', "Mermaids", p 288. ISBN 0-394-73467-X</ref> Some tales raised the question of whether mermaids had immortal souls to answer it in the negative.<ref>Katharine Briggs, ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures'', "Mermaids", p 289. ISBN 0-394-73467-X</ref> The figure of Liban appears as a sanctified mermaid, but she was originally a human being transformed into a mermaid; after three centuries, when Christianity had come to Ireland, she came to be baptized.<ref>Katharine Briggs, ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures'', "Liban", p 266-7. ISBN 0-394-73467-X</ref> Mermen were also noted, as wilder and uglier than mermaids, but they were described as having little interest in humans.<ref>Katharine Briggs, ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures'', "Mermen", p 290. ISBN 0-394-73467-X</ref> ===Warsaw Mermaid=== [[Image:Warsaw Sirene 1659.PNG|thumb|right|upright|1659, Coat of arms of Old Warsaw on the cover of an accounting book of the city.]] The mermaid, or ''syrenka'', is the symbol of [[Warsaw]].<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.ucl.ac.uk/atlas/polish/mywarsaw/warsaw10.html |title =The Mermaid | accessmonthday = February 11 |accessyear =2008 | language = English }}</ref> Image of a mermaid have been used on the crest of Warsaw as its symbol, since the mid of the 14th century.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.um.warszawa.pl/v_syrenka/perelki/index_en.php?mi_id=47&dz_id=2 |title = Warsaw Mermaid's Statue | accessmonthday = July 10 |accessyear =2008 | language = English }}</ref> The origin of the legendary figure is not fully known. Tellers of many stories and legends have tried to explain where she came from. The best-known legend, by Artur Oppman, it that a long time ago two of [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]]'s daughters set out on a journey through the depths of the oceans and seas. One of them decided to stay on the coast of [[Denmark]] and ever since we can see her sitting at the entrance to the port of [[Copenhagen]].<ref name="legend">{{en icon}} {{cite web |author = |url = http://www.e-warsaw.pl/miasto/herb-1.htm |title = History of Warsaw's Coat of Arms |work = www.e-warsaw.pl |publisher = |pages = |page = |date = |accessdate = 2008-07-10}}</ref> The second mer-maiden reached the mouth of the [[Vistula River]] and plunged into its waters. She stopped to rest on a sandy beach by the village of Warszowa. Local fishermen came to admire her beauty and listen to her beautiful voice. A greedy merchant also heard her songs; he followed the fishermen and captured the mermaid.<ref name="legend" /> Another legend says that a mermaid once swam to Warsaw from the [[Baltic Sea]] for the love of the Griffin, the ancient defender of the city, who was killed in a struggle against the [[Deluge (history)|Swedish invasions]] of the 17th century. The Mermaid, wishing to avenge his death, took the position of defender of Warsaw, becoming the symbol of the city.<ref name="legend" /> === Other === Among the [[Neo-Taíno nations]] of the Caribbean the mermaid is called [[Aycayía]].<ref>http://www.conexioncubana.net/tradiciones/diccionario/a.htm</ref> Her attributes relate to the goddess [[Jagua]], and the hibiscus flower of the majagua tree [[Hibiscus tiliaceus]].<ref>[http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/hibiscus_tiliaceus.htm Hibiscus tiliaceus - Hau (Malvaceae) - Plants of Hawaii<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Examples from other cultures are the [[Mami Wata]] of [[West Africa|West]] and [[Central Africa]], the [[Jengu]] of [[Cameroon]], the [[Merrow]] of [[Ireland]] and [[Scotland]], the [[Rusalka]]s of [[Russia]] and [[Ukraine]], and the Greek [[Oceanid]]s, [[Nereid]]s, and [[Naiad]]s. 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 (symbolism)|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. Also, some people claim they have seen dead or living mermaids in places like [[Scotland]], [[Malaysia]],{{Fact|date=April 2008}} [[Java]],{{Fact|date=May 2008}} [[British Columbia]] and [[Haiti]]. Two recent Canadian reports took place in the [[Strait of Georgia]]. <ref>[http://www.tourismvictoria.com/Content/EN/747.asp Myths & Legends<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> <ref>[http://www.folklore.bc.ca/Folkexamples.htm Folklore Examples in British Columbia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Mermaids and [[mermen]] are also characters of [[Philippine folklore]], where they are locally known as ''[[Philippine mythical creatures|sirena'' and ''siyokoy]]'', respectively.<ref name="TE">"Tagalog-English Dictionary by Leo James English, Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, Manila, distributed by National Book Store, 1583 pages, ISBN 971910550X</ref> The Javanese people believs that the southern beach in Java is a home of Javanese mermaid queen [[Nyi Roro Kidul]]. Mermaids are said to be known for their vanity, but also for their innocence. They often fall in love with human men, and are willing to go to great extents to prove their love with humans (see [[mermaid problem]]). Unfortunately, especially younger mermaids, often tend to forget humans cannot breathe underwater. Their male counterparts, [[mermen]], are rarely interested in human issues, but in the [[Finnish mythology]] mermen are able to grant wishes, heal sickness, lift curses and brew magic potions{{Fact|date=April 2008}}. ==Symbolism== According to [[Dorothy Dinnerstein]]’s book, ''The Mermaid and the Minotaur'', human-animal hybrids such as the minotaur and the mermaid convey the emergent understanding of the ancients that human beings were both one with and different from animals and that, as such, humans' "nature is internally inconsistent, that our continuities with, and our differences from, the earth's other animals are mysterious and profound; and in these continuities, and these differences, lie both a sense of strangeness on earth and the possible key to a way of feeling at home here".<ref name=Dinnerstein> [[Dorothy Dinnerstein]], ''The Mermaid and the Minotaur''. New York: Harper and Row, 1963. Cited by [http://northstargallery.com/mermaids/MermaidHistory2.htm Northstar Gallery]</ref> ==Art and literature== One influential image was created by [[John William Waterhouse]], from 1895 to 1905, entitled ''A Mermaid'', (see the top of this article). An example of late British Academy style artwork, the piece debuted to considerable acclaim (and secured Waterhouse's place as a member of the [[Royal Academy]]), but disappeared into a private collection and did not resurface until the 1970s. It is currently in the collection of [[Lord Lloyd-Webber|Andrew Lloyd-Webber]]. The most famous in more recent centuries is [[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s [[fairytale]] ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' (1836), which has been translated into many languages. Andersen's portrayal, immortalized with a famous bronze sculpture in [[Copenhagen]] harbour, has arguably become the standard and has influenced most modern Western depictions of mermaids since it was published. The mermaid, as conceived by Andersen, appears to represent the [[Ondine (mythology)|Undine]]s of [[Paracelsus]], which also could only obtain an immortal soul by marrying a human being. [[Image:Zennor Mermaid Chair.JPG|thumb|left|100px|16th century [[Zennor]] mermaid chair]] The best known musical depictions of mermaids are those by [[Felix Mendelssohn]] in his ''Fair Melusina'' overture and the three "Rhine daughters" in [[Richard Wagner]]'s [[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]. A more recent depiction in contemporary concert music is ''The Weeping Mermaid'' by Taiwanese composer [[Fan-Long Ko]]. [[Sue Monk Kidd]] has written a book called ''[[The Mermaid Chair]]''. The title comes from a mermaid who becomes a (fictional) saint. Movie depictions include the 1984 hit comedy [[Splash]] starring [[Daryl Hannah]]. A 1963 episode of the hit television series [[Route 66 (TV series)|''Route 66'']], featured an episode ''The Cruelest Sea'' about a real mermaid working at [[Weekee Watchee]] aquatic park. ===Heraldry=== [[Image:POL Warszawa COA 1.svg|thumb|right|100px|Coat of arms of Warsaw]] In [[heraldry]], the charge of a mermaid is commonly represented with a comb and a mirror, and blazoned as a 'mermaid in her vanity.' Merfolk were used to symbolize eloquence in speech. A shield and sword-wielding mermaid (''[[Siren|Syrenka]]'') is on the official [[Coat of arms of Warsaw]], the capital of [[Poland]]. The city of [[Norfolk, Virginia]] also uses a mermaid as a symbol, and a civic art project with variously decorated mermaid sculptures has been displayed all over the municipal area. The capital city of [[Hamilton, Bermuda]] has the mermaid in its coat of arms, displayed across the city. The personal coat of arms of [[Michaëlle Jean]], Canada's [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]], features two [[Simbi]], mermaid-like spirits from [[Haiti]]an [[Vodou]], as supporters. ==Hoaxes== During the [[Renaissance]] and [[Baroque]] eras, [[dugong]]s, [[Jenny Haniver|fraud]]s and victims of [[sirenomelia]] were exhibited in [[wunderkammer]]s as mermaids. In the 19th century, [[P. T. Barnum]] displayed in his museum a [[taxidermy|taxidermal]] hoax called the ''[[Fiji mermaid]].'' Others have perpetrated similar hoaxes, which are usually [[papier-mâché]] fabrications or parts of deceased creatures, usually monkeys and fish, stitched together for the appearance of a grotesque mermaid. In the wake of the [[2004 tsunami]], pictures of Fiji "mermaids" were passed around on the internet as something that had washed up amid the devastation, though they were no more real than Barnum's exhibit.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/photos/tsunami/mermaid.asp Urban Legends Reference Pages: Mermaid to Order<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==Sirenia== [[Sirenia]] is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous [[mammal]]s that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. Sirenians, including [[manatees]] and the [[Dugong]], have major aquatic adaptations: forelimbs have modified into arms used for steering, the tail has modified into a paddle used for propulsion, hind limbs (legs) are but two small remnant bones floating deep in the muscle. They appear fat, but are fusiform, hydrodynamic, and highly muscular. Prior to the mid 19th century, mariners referred to these animals as mermaids.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} ==Sirenomelia== [[Sirenomelia]], also called "mermaid syndrome", is a rare [[congenital]] [[disease|disorder]] in which a child is born with his or her legs fused together and the [[Sex organ|genitalia]] are reduced. This condition is about as rare as [[conjoined twins]], affecting one out of every 70,000 live births<ref name="Kallen">{{cite journal | author=Kallen B, Castilla EE, Lancaster PA, Mutchinick O, Knudsen LB, Martinez-Frias ML, Mastroiacovo P, Robert E | title=The cyclops and the mermaid: an epidemiological study of two types of rare malformation | journal=J Med Genet | year=1992 | pages=30–5 | volume=29 | issue=1 | pmid=1552541}}</ref> and is usually fatal within a day or two of birth because of [[kidney]] and [[Urinary bladder|bladder]] complications. Four survivors are known to be alive today.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WKP-4950J75-14&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_rig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=e3c14c888d56c7c1a6191a3567cfd7c5 |title=Journal of Pediatric Surgery: A surviving infant with sirenomelia (mermaid syndrome) associated with absent bladder |accessdate=2008-02-16 |work=ScienceDirect }}</ref> ==See also== *[[Cecaelia]] *[[Cryptid]] ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== {{commons}} {{wiktionary|mermaid}} *[http://members.cox.net/mermaid31/merhist.htm Mermaid History] *[http://www.endicott-studio.com/jMA03Summer/theMermaid.html "The Mermaid"] by Heinz Insu Fenkl, from the mermaid-themed Summer 2003 issue of the ''Journal of Mythic Arts'' *[http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/2938/deasyria1.html The mermaid goddess Derketo] from Lucian of Samosata's ''On the Syrian God'' (2c. AD) *[http://northstargallery.com/pages/MermaidHome.htm Coney Island Mermaid Parade] mermaids on parade *[http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/26001 17th century pamphlet telling the story of an alleged sighting of a mermaid near Pendine, Wales, in 1603] [[Category:Mythological hybrids]] [[Category:Heraldic beasts]] [[Category:Mermaids|*]] [[ar:حورية البحر]] [[bg:Русалка]] [[da:Havfrue]] [[de:Meerjungfrau]] [[es:Sirena]] [[eo:Sireno (mitologio)]] [[fa:پری دریایی]] [[fo:Havfrúgv]] [[fr:Sirène (mythologie)]] [[ga:Maighdean mhara]] [[gd:Maighdean-mhara]] [[ko:인어]] [[id:Ikan duyung]] [[it:Sirena (mitologia)]] [[he:בת ים (מיתולוגיה)]] [[lv:Nāra]] [[ms:Ikan duyung]] [[nl:Zeemeermin]] [[ja:人魚]] [[no:Havfrue]] [[pl:Syrena (mitologia)]] [[pt:Sereia]] [[ru:Русалка]] [[fi:Merenneito]] [[sv:Sjöjungfru]] [[th:เงือก]] [[tr:Deniz kızı]] [[uk:Русалки]] [[zh:美人魚]]