Odysseus and the Sirens.

Among the oldest recorded mermaid tales is the story of 'The Sirens'. These were beautiful but brutal nymphs who drifted in treacherous waters that surrounded their peaceful islet. With enchanting songs they lured Greek sailors to their deaths. The story of the sirens is part of Homers epic tale The Odyssey. On this part of the journey Odysseus is guided by the enchantress Circe.She warns him that the Sirens will try to lure him and his men to a watery grave with their singing, which offers wisdom and secrets of the Gods. However Odyseus heeds her warning and plugs his mens' ears with wax and has himself tied to the mast of his ship.Although he is nearly driven mad by his yearning to be with the beautiful creatures their ship soon passes and all are safe. Originally, Sirens were not associated with water, they were actually birds. This indicates ‘that divine power and womanly allure became combined with the power and promise of the sea when ancient cultures undertook maritime war and trade’. (Easterlin 2001)

Whilst the Sirens tempted Odysseus with worldly knowledge and wisdom the motif of the mermaid continued to evolve into one of a temptress of fleshly desires.

many common elements.They are often seen sitting on rocks and ledges sometimes combing their hair or holding a magical object such as a cap (the Irish merrow), an apron or shawl. Mermaids are often changelings, able to take on human shape whilst on land. They are beautiful in appearance and in voice and many stories feature a mortal man who steals a mermaids magical object so as to keep her as his wife. Similar to stories of Selkies and their skins, these mermaids inevitably retrieve their magical objects and retreat back to their watery homes.They often possess supernatural powers and have fascinated generations with their promises of wisdom and their sexual allurements. Hastings (2004) believes that ‘their most common role in folklore is to lure sailors to their deaths’ as in the story of Odysseus encounter with the sirens and in German Romantic poet Heinrich Heines Die Lorelei in which the Lorelie live in the Rhine River and similarly lure boatmen to drown. Part of the mystery and enchantment of mermaids relates to the mystery and great unknown of the sea. Some of our oldest stories are water warnings that caution of its dangers. 'That’s why we are told of terrifying mermaids as well as enchanting ones, and why tales about these mysterious underwater creatures don’t always live happily ever after' (Climo 1997: )

Mermaids from around the world

Tales of mermaids span nearly every culture worldwide and are still a part of popular culture today. Each new story brings new elements and meaning to the motif. 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 common fish, but the waters would not conceal her divine nature. Thereafter, she took the form of a mermaid.. The Greeks recognised Atargatis under the name Derketo, where her identity was often joined with that of Aphrodite(wikipedia 2006). In other ancient cultures there are similar stories of sea creature myths featuring gods and godesses from the oceans, that over time evolved into the merfolk. Due to its origins in 'pagan' mythology, the motif of the Mermaid became a representation of sin and lust for the Christian church who sought to folk religion and immoral living. Carvings found on medieval Irish cathedrals depict mermaids swimming with fish which served as a warning to the faithful to beware of temptation. 'Where a mermaid is shown holding a fish or starfish, it is meant as an image of a Christian soul captured by lust' (Radford 2003).

Folklore

Stories of mythical creatures that have inhabited the waters of the world have been told for over 1000 years. One type of these mythical creatures are Mermaids. In myth and folklore mermaids are sea-dwelling creatures with the upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish. Mysterious and beautiful, the motif of mermaids have

Yawkyawk Mermaid Dreaming

Although the most well known mermaid stories come from Europe, tales about similar creatures are known in many other parts of the world. One of these stories is from a community in Arnhem Land in Australia. It tells of the mermaid spirit Yawkyawk who lies in the water. Sometimes she is one and the same spirit as the Rainbow serpent. She is the one who created the billabongs. After she had created the water she ate everything that was good and out of that everything grew up; turtles, water goanna, water beetles, ducks and all kinds of water animals (Oliver 2001: 20)