A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature that is half-human, half-aquatic creature (e.g. a fish or dolphin). Various cultures throughout the world have similar figures. (The word is a compound of mere, the Old English word for "sea," and maid, which has retained its original sense.)
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. Some stories say that they forget that humans cannot breathe underwater, while others say they drown men out of spite.
Tales of mermaids are nearly universal. The first known mermaid 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 human above the waist, fish below though the earliest representations of Atargatis showed her as being a fish with a human head and legs.
Mermaids were noted in British folklore as unlucky omens - both foretelling disaster and provoking it 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.
In Greek Mythology, Mermaid-like creatures were often the results of unions between Gods and sea creatures, such as Zeus and Poseidon, and they were identified with the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, who was born from the sea, and who symbolized erotic love to the Greeks. Aphrodite was also the Goddess of Fertility, and goddess of fair sailing, along with her companion the sacred dolphin.
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. Unfortunately, especially with younger mermaids, they 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.
Mermaid tattoos represent beauty and a love of the sea or water activities. You will find mermaid tattoos on sailors, divers or swimmers.
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