People have been writing about mermaids for thousands of years, and they remain incredibly popular in modern films and television series. Almost every culture has its own version of mermaid legends. Sometimes they are sirens who try to lure people to their deaths in the sea. Other times, they go out of their way to be friendly, and even wish to become human.
Today, almost everyone agrees that mermaids in ancient times were most likely a figment of sailors' imaginations or that manatees, seals, and dolphins were mistakenly referred to as mermaids. However, this doesn't make these legends any less fascinating, because who knows which mermaid legends are real and which are fictional.
1. Mermaid's Tears
In Scotland, there's a small island whose shore is strewn with small gray-green pebbles, which the locals call "mermaid's tears." The name stems from a legend about the love between a water maiden and a young monk. The mermaid visited her beloved daily at the monastery. The monk taught the girl prayers, and together they asked God to grant her an earthly soul and begged for the strength to leave the sea. But their prayers were unheard, and the mermaid was unable to leave the sea. Unable to withstand the ordeal, she swam away from the island forever, bitterly lamenting her fate. The tears that rolled from her face turned into the pebbles that now litter the Scottish coast.
2. Mermaid's jealousy
Legend tells a story that once happened in Caithness, Scotland. A mermaid and a young earl fell in love, and as a token of their love, the mermaid gave the young man diamonds, gold, and silver she had found on a sunken ship. The earl accepted the gifts, but after some time, he gave some of the jewelry to another woman, with whom he had an affair. He then forgot about the mermaid.
This act aroused jealousy and anger in the mermaid's soul. One day, when the young man was out to sea in his boat, she swam up to him and told him of the countless treasures hidden in the bay. At the mention of wealth, the young man forgot his past and could think of nothing else. At that moment, the mermaid miraculously lulled him to sleep and steered the boat toward a nearby cave.
When the young man woke up, he found that he was chained to a rock with golden chains, and
3. Ondina's Curse
An ancient German legend tells of the mermaid Ondina falling in love with a knight named Lawrence, and the love was mutual. Knowing that renouncing her mermaid nature would mean losing her immortality, Ondina nevertheless married her beloved. At the altar, the knight swore an oath, pledging his fidelity to her: "The pledge of my love and fidelity shall be every breath I take upon waking in the morning.".
A year later, their first child was born, but over time, her husband began to lose interest in his once-beloved wife. One day, Odina learned that Lawrence was now pledging his love to another woman and cursed him: "You swore by your morning breath! Now know—you will be able to breathe as long as you're awake; as soon as you fall asleep, your breath will leave your body!".
Even today, "Ondina's Curse" is the name given to sleep apnea syndrome. Those afflicted with this condition are only able to breathe during waking hours and survive thanks to ventilators.
4. Keask
A keasque is a Scottish mermaid, half woman and half salmon. Legend has it that if a sailor can capture a keasque, they will be granted three wishes. They were known to lure people to their doom, as are most siren legends. If you didn't befriend a keasque, the only way to kill it was to destroy its shell.
Like seal maidens, they can marry mortals, shedding their outer fish skin. Like swan maidens, they can flee their husbands by resuming their shed skin, but, like selkies, they always show interest in their human offspring, protecting them during storms or guiding them to a better catch. For example, it is believed that all famous pilots descended from such marriages.
The dark side of the Keask's nature is revealed in a tale published by George Henderson in "The Celtic Dragon Myth," in which a mermaid swallows the protagonist, but his beloved lures the mermaid ashore with her harp playing, and the hero escapes. The mermaid then swallows the harpist herself, and to save her, the hero must follow a classic fairy tale sequence: to finally defeat the Keask, one must destroy her outer shell, also called the "Separable Soul." This is kept in an egg hidden in a fish, which is then in a duck, which is then in a ram, buried under a house deep in the forest on an island in the center of a lake. Mackenzie, in "Scottish Folklore and Folklife," suggests that the wave maiden may have once been a sea spirit to whom human sacrifices were made.
If a sailor finds true love with a mermaid, she will transform into a human woman and walk the earth. Besides granting three wishes, she also grants good luck for the future. Some Scottish families even claimed their lineage descended from a mermaid and a human.
5. The Chilean Royal Family at Sea
In Chile, the mythological king of the sea was called Millalobo, who was half human and half sea lion. Unlike most mermaid legends, where these creatures are simply born magically, he was, unfortunately, the child of a human mother and a sea lion father.
Millalobo married a human woman, and they had a son named Pincoy and two daughters, Sirena and Pincoya. Sailors describe seeing the merman Pincoy when they were lost at sea, and he helped bring them back to shore. His sister, Pincoya, had long blonde hair and blue eyes. Tales describe her as the most beautiful woman in the world. She sits on a rock or dances. If she faces the sea, it means the fishermen will catch many fish this year. If she comes ashore, it means they will struggle to find food.
It's just that, like many ancient royal families, there's no telling how they came to have children when it comes to continuing the mermaid gene pool. It's not Game of Thrones, but Pincoy and Pincoya aren't just brother and sister... they're also husband and wife. According to one legend, Pincoya was seen emerging from the sea holding a child.
6. Triton
You probably recognized the name as Triton Ariel's father Little Mermaids.Disney borrowed this character from Greek mythology, the lake god Tritonis. Triton was the son of Poseidon, and he wielded a shell, which he could use as a horn, as well as his magical trident.
According to legend, sailors got lost on the lake, and Triton helped them by creating a patch of land that is now called the island of Thera. The sailors were able to rest while Triton explained how to return to the open sea.
Of course, not all of Triton's deeds were positive. When livestock disappeared, or sailors perished at sea during a storm, many assumed Triton was to blame. People knew they had no chance if they tried to go toe-to-toe with the god, so the best they could do to appease his wrath was to drink a cup of wine to him on the shore, as an offering of peace.
7. MAMI Vata
Mami Wata is an African mermaid goddess, considered a compassionate healer and mother to all aquatic creatures. Stories of her spread across the continent and eventually reached the Caribbean islands. There, Mami Wata was observed in lakes, rivers, and on the ocean shore. She was often seen holding a water snake around her shoulders. They say she can transform into a woman, a fish, or a mermaid, depending on her mood.
Today, people are still fascinated by the legend of Mamie Wata. Statues and souvenirs depicting her are sold in souvenir shops. There are even religious groups named after her that glorify the goddess, with individual followers being called "Mamie Wata's child." They claim that "Mamie Wata" is the name of a collective of a dozen water deities. Followers claim to see Mamie Wata the Mermaid in their dreams, and she calls upon them to undergo spiritual purification.
8. Finfolk Mermaid
In Scotland and Ireland, finfolk were believed to be mermaids who lived in an underwater kingdom called Finfolkenheim. On the island of Hildaland, they would appear momentarily before disappearing, making them impossible for humans to find. Finfolk were shapeshifters, so they could transform from fish into full human form, or swim like mermaids. Stories that finfolk men and women were very beautiful attracted people. If they managed to find a person to love, they could drain their youth and live forever. So, if someone was kidnapped or sailors lost at sea, they were blamed on finfolk, who they believed were captured as sex slaves.
However, if Finfolk married within their own species, the "finwife" was condemned to assume the guise of an elderly woman in order to find work on the land to earn silver to keep them alive. They described the characteristics of the "finwife" as an old, unmarried woman who bred cats and practiced witchcraft. Apparently, this is just one of many ways people have attempted to accuse lonely, elderly women of being witches throughout human history.
9. Two Siren Tails
Have you ever wondered why Starbucks has two-tailed mermaids as its logo? The original image comes from 7th-century Italy. It was one of many illustrations in the Otranto Cathedral in Italy, located on the Mediterranean coast. The mermaid was included alongside images of biblical stories like the Tree of Life, as well as depictions of the Egyptian Sphinx and Alexander the Great. It was meant to represent the exchange of religions, philosophies, and ideas that took place during the Middle Ages. Some believe it is based on the legend of Melusine, a French water spirit who was said to transform into a human woman or a siren with two fish tails.
Over the years, many artists have copied the image of the two-tailed siren. Starbucks claims to have been inspired by a 16th-century Scandinavian woodcut of this mermaid. Apparently, they chose this image as their coffee logo because they wanted their coffee to be as seductive as the mermaid.
10. Iary
According to Brazilian legend, Iari was a brave and intelligent girl living in the Amazon. She was a warrior who could fight better than her own brothers. She was so well-liked and respected in society that her brothers' achievements paled in comparison. Their envy was so strong that they killed her and threw her body into the Amazon River. The Moon Goddess took pity on her and brought her back to life as a mermaid.
Having become a mermaid, Iara spent the rest of her days seeking revenge on humans. Every time a person drowned in the river, people blamed Iara for it. Later, a man named Jaraguari stumbled upon Iara, and they fell in love. He told his mother about a beautiful mermaid he'd met while fishing in the Amazon River, and he decided to join her in her underwater life. Some believe that since then, her evil spirit has finally found peace.
11. Jamestown Mermaid
You may remember John Smith from the story of Pocahontas and his involvement in the colonization of Jamestown, Virginia. During his sea voyage, he claimed to have seen a beautiful woman with green hair swimming near his boat. When she dived underwater, he realized she was actually a mermaid.
Admittedly, this has been the subject of heated historical debate, with many believing John Smith never publicly claimed this, and writers telling stories of their voyages of creative freedom. Even so, it wasn't only time travelers colonizing the New World who claimed to have seen mermaids. Today, these sightings are considered misrepresentations of manatees.
12. Dutch Mermaid
In 1403, a dam in the city of Kampen in the Netherlands cracked, opening it to the sea. Water began to flood the river. After repairs were made, citizens of Kampen claimed to have seen a mermaid swimming in the city's river. At first, people were frightened, but the woman continued to swim undisturbed. The people eventually decided to capture this woman and return her to land, where she transformed into a two-legged human. She couldn't speak, but they removed her and forced her to go to church and become a Christian. She tried to break free and jump into the water several times, but someone always stopped her.
Some historians believe she was a woman who was never a mermaid at all. She was deaf and mute, and she really enjoyed swimming.
13. Jiaorén
In Chinese folklore, jiaoren weren't just beautiful mermaids. They were highly skilled craftsmen who could weave a beautiful white fabric called "dragon thread" that was impervious to water. It was said that if a mermaid cried, her tears would turn into pearls. During the Jin Dynasty, one tale tells of a mermaid who emerged from the water and decided to sell the dragon thread to a human.
If someone was kind to her and gave her a place to stay, she would thank them, crying into a jar and filling it with precious pearls. Throughout history, there are several accounts of high society figures claiming to own canvases made from the dragon's thread spun by the mermaid.