Facts About Mermaids

Mermaids have fascinated humans since the beginning of time. Some people even claimed they have seen these creatures. Christopher Columbus was one of them, recalling his encounter with them during his voyage.

Even nowadays, many people still admire these elegant beings and want to learn as much about them as possible. If you are one of those people, this article will help you find the information you are looking for.

Facts About Mermaids

1. They Are the Personifications of Water Deities

Goddesses and Gods take many forms, including both an animal and a human. Some of them take the form of the thing they represent, such as oak trees for dryads and waves for naiads. Some water deities also combine representative and human forms into one. For example, Poseidon’s son, Triton, took a merman form, while Rusalki, a Slavic water nymph, took a mermaid form.

2. They Are Vegetarians

Even though the existence of mermaids was never confirmed, people still debate over the diet of these creatures. Some believe they ate seafood while others disagree. However, according to scientists, their diet depended on where they lived.

3. There Was a Time They Were Considered Marine Animals

During the Medieval Ages, people believed that these water beings were organic like fish. Also, it’s worth mentioning that they were often featured in the decoration of medieval churches, usually on misericords and capitals, to represent Lust, known as one of the 7 Deadly Sins.

4. Their Alluring Singing Could Lure the Sailors to Death

In addition to their enchanting beauty, mermaids also had a captivating voice that people needed to be cautious of, especially sailors. According to one superstition, sailors used to put some wax in their ears so they would not hear mermaids singing. Otherwise, they would end up jumping into the water after these mythical creatures, sinking to the bottom.

5. Certain Goddesses Took the Mermaid Form

There are many mermaid goddesses spread all across the world. Some of them include Lara, the Brazilian water snake, Merrow, an Irish human fish, and Melusine, a French feminine spirit.

However, the most famous mermaid figure has to be Mami Wata, an African water spirit. She’s half-fish and half-human and can sometimes walk the earth as well.

6. Sirens Are Not the Same As Mermaids

Although people often mix up these two sea creatures, they are completely different from each other. The first one is a winged creature that has a bird’s body and a woman’s head, while the second one is half-fish and half-human. The only similarity they share is their alluring singing voices.

7. No One Knows for Certain How They Reproduce

There are two main theories regarding this mystery; either a mermaid produces the eggs that a merman can fertilize or the merfolk couple has the ability to procreate while they are in their human forms, still giving birth to the merfolk baby. Many individuals also believe that the gestation period will be nine months like in the case of humans.

8. Blackbeard Was Afraid of Merfolk

During his time, many people were terrified of the infamous pirate Blackbeard. But many of them would have probably never imagined that one day, such a fearsome pirate would become scared of the merfolk. After his encounter with them in the 1700s, he recorded all the areas in the logbook where merfolk may inhabit because he never wanted to stumble upon them again.

9. Kappa is a Mix of Merfolk and a Monster

In Japanese merfolk, Kappa is considered both a water deity and a monster. They are amphibious, green, human-like beings who have webbed hands and feet, along with a turtle shell. They also like challenging people to sumo wrestling.

10. Selkie is a Mermaid With the Ability to Transform Her Fins into the Human Legs

Selkies are Ireland’s concept of mermaids. They are also known as the seal people who are half-human and half-fish. They are seals in the water but can shed skin and transform into a human form whenever they are on land.

11. In The Arabian Nights, There is a Story About a Merman and a fisherman

According to the story, a fisherman Abdullah catches a merman who shares the same faith and name as him. The human Abdullah ends up becoming friends with the merman Abdullah after trading gems and fruits.

But their friendship ends after a fisherman finds it disturbing that mermaids are naked as well as happily celebrating funerals. After this, a merman becomes upset, explaining that he can’t trust somebody who doesn’t rejoice in the soul being deposited on earth and returning to Allah.

12. King Triton’s Daughters Are the Representations of the Seven Seas

In The Little Mermaid, Disney’s animated film, each of King Triton’s daughters represents each of the Seven Seas; Attina (Bering Sea), Adella (Mediterranean Sea), Andrina (Caribbean Sea), Alana (Black Sea), Arista (White Sea), Aquata (Coral Sea), and Ariel (Red Sea).

But the original Greek mythology version differs from this. According to it, The Sea God had two daughters called Triteia (the mate of Ares, the God of war) and Pallas (the messenger of seas). He was also Athena’s foster father.

13. The God Oannes Was No Ordinary Merman

Based on the description of Berosus, the Babylonian priest, Oannes was a god who had a fish form, the man’s head under the fish’s head as well as the feet of the man under the fish’s tail. He used to visit a Persian Gulf shore while he was in the fish-human form so he could teach sciences, arts, and language before going back to the sea.

14. Some Believe That Aquamarine Was the Gift from Mermaids

Apparently, mermaids had a tendency to leave gifts to those special humans they liked. The most common ones were special pearls and magical seashells. On rare occasions, they also gifted humans their tears.

As for aquamarine, it’s a clear-bluish Pisces birthstone regarded as mermaid tears that can protect a person carrying them.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are many interesting facts about these fascinating sea creatures that are worth knowing. Hopefully, you enjoyed reading this article and getting to know more about them.