Mermaids
"A Mermaid" by John William Waterhouse.
Mermaids hover between the zones of make believe and reality, often coming dangerously close to the latter. Historic sailors such as Christopher Columbus have asserted that they exist, though are not half as pretty as they are purported to be. Years spent at sea on a diet of rum and no female company can do things to your imagination, and make frolicking dolphins assume female forms.
We may however, have to give Columbus and his ilk the benefit of the doubt, because mermaids have been a part of folklore since the ancient times. The classic depiction was that of a mermaid seated on a rock, combing her long tresses while gazing absentmindedly into an ornate handheld mirror. They were supposed to be fantastically beautiful once you got used to the fishy smell, and had great powers of enticements. A wicked temper to go with this beauty often spelt trouble for lovers or whoever happened to catch their fancy.
The Fisherman and the Syren, by Frederic Leighton, c. 1856–1858
In Greek mythology, mermaids or their equivalents were often the result of gods taking their amorous escapades to the realm of the sea. The Sirens would have to be the most famous of these creatures. Homer’s Odyssey has a riveting account of the hero Ulysses’ encounter with the Sirens. Warned by Circe, he plugged the ears of his crew with wax, but not before ordering them to tie him up to the mast head. This accomplished, he was witness to the powerful tempting voices of the Sirens that lured him closer. The whole point of the exercise was to get them to crash the vessel on the jagged rocks beneath the foam and be dashed to pieces. Though what they sought to gain from this would be anyone’s guess, it does point to the hazards of having a lot of free time on your hands.
Marriages between mortals and mermaids are not unknown in mythology, and the most recent example would be that of Hans Anderson’s Little Mermaid. But not all these matrimonial engagements have similar happy endings and most are often do or die efforts, on the part of the mortal. Mermaids pose great danger to their mortal partners due to their streaks of cruelty and irresponsibility. Incompatibilities ranging from mermaids’ inability to walk on land and the mortals’ inability to breather under water often pose great problems. They are known to drag the mortal chap deep into the waters often forgetting this fact, though this might be just their way of teaching recalcitrant partners a lesson.
When you have about three thousand daughters you are bound to run out of names for the younger ones. But to call the eldest Styx, which means Hateful, is inexplicable to say the least. Okeanos (Oceanus) and Tethys probably had a lot of explaining to do; however, Styx rose to great heights due to the [...]
In Greek mythology, Hades was probably the most feared of all gods compared to his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, and with good reason too. He was the god who presided over the netherworld and was also the custodian of the dead. He had a stern unrelenting demeanour to go with the job, and this precluded [...]
In Greek mythology, Medusa was an extremely beautiful mortal woman well known for her cascading golden locks. She was even compared to the goddess Athena who was inflamed with jealousy as well as annoyed at this audacity. Medusa had many suitors whom she turned away disappointed. Poseidon, the god of the sea however, took things [...]
Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek hero Herakles or Heracles; the Romans adopted the Greek stories about Heracles essentially unchanged, adding only a bit of anecdotal detail of their own.
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Artemis is the daughter of Zeus, twin sister of Apollo, and a totally independent goddess who chose to remain an eternal virgin. While the behaviour of most nymphs and goddesses would give feminists a wedgie, Artemis is one who’s right up their alley. Her fearless actions, especially of tearing up young men into pieces before [...]
Mermaids hover between the zones of make believe and reality, often coming dangerously close to the latter. Historic sailors such as Christopher Columbus have asserted that they exist, though are not half as pretty as they are purported to be. Years spent at sea on a diet of rum and no female company can do [...]
When someone is said to resemble a Greek god , the god in question is Apollo, even though the speaker may not be aware of it. This alludes to his chiselled good looks, athletic body, and curly golden hair if not the amorous life-style that this would automatically entail. Apollo was born to Zeus and [...]
This is one goddess who needs no introduction. She is popular even today in the world of arts and literature as she was in Olympus long ago. Her birth was from the foam of the ocean and she emerged from the waves fully formed. Of stunning beauty and a passionate nature she was soon recognized [...]
Hathor was worshipped in ancient Egypt as the winged cow of creation who held up the whole universe on her four feet. She was depicted as having cow’s horns with the sun in the middle. These days she would have to be called the goddess of multi-tasking for there was nothing she couldn’t do. She [...]