Originally sirens were not mermaids but bird-women who carried souls away to the land of the dead

The Tale of the Mermaid's Tail

by Vincent Carlucci

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The First Merman

The first mermaid was a man. The god Oannes, of the Babylonians, was sometimes depicted as a man with a fish's tail. He is described in writing as having the head and body of a fish, but under the fish head was a man's head, and under the fish tail was the feet of a man.

Oannes is said to have brought civilization to man. He was a mystical god dispensing wisdom and teaching writing, law, the arts of agriculture and various sciences.

Feathers

We use the word siren as a synonym for mermaid today but originally the sirens were bird-women. This is the source of their beautiful singing voices. There were two or three of them according to different authors.

The sirens were daughters of Earth whose songs were dirges and their job to carry the deceased king to the land of the dead. Later on their role was expanded to ferrying any mortal to the land of the dead. Bird sirens were carved on tombstones in classical times.

The sirens lost their wings, or at least their ability to fly, after losing a singing contest with the Muses. The Muses were daughters of Zeus associated with the fine arts.

Some later pictures show the sirens flying about Odysseus as he sails past their island. He had his men stuff their ears with wax against the sirens' song but he wanted to hear it. He had himself tied to the mast of his ship and told his men to ignore any orders he gave while under the sirens' spell.

Tails or No Tails?

For the Greeks the person-with-a-tail form was restricted to men. Females associated with water were usually nymphs. Beautiful creatures but they always had legs.

The Nereids were sea-nymphs and the daughters of Nereus and Doris. There were 50 of them. Their father was famous for his ability to foretell the future and change form. The former ability appears from time to time in mermaid stories. His form-changing ability also reappears with certain mermaids. Especially, those who have legs on land and a tail in the sea.

The goddesses Venus and Aphrodite are both associated with the sea. Aphrodite was born from the sea-foam, in fact her name means "foam-born". When the powerful god Typhon attacked Olympus the frightened gods fled to Egypt and disguised themselves as animals. Aphrodite took the form of a fish.

Two symbols of Venus are her comb and mirror. We all know that mermaids are also associated with these things. For the mermaid the comb and mirror symbolize vanity. The mirror is so closely associated with Venus that the symbol for the planet Venus is a mirror (the circle with the "+" under it).

One other I should mention is Echidne. She was half lovely woman and half speckled snake. She lived in a deep cave where she ate men raw and raised a brood of monsters with her husband Typhon.

I often think that snake-women are the true source of the mermaid form because the mermaid's tail is long and curvy. Fish, even dolphins and whales, have stiff tails that cannot bend very much.

One Tail or Two?

For the next step in mermaid evolution we have to take a trip to France in the Middle Ages. There we have the legend of Melusine and the image of the two-tailed mermaid in heraldry.

In the legend, Melusine agrees to marry a man on condition that she be left alone one day a week to do as she pleases in private. After some years the man becomes jealous and breaks into her room. There he discovers that his wife has assumed the form of a two-tailed mermaid. Angry that he has broken his promise Melusine leaps out of the window and he never sees her again.

In heraldry the two-tailed mermaid is shown full face with the ends of her tails held in each hand. Both types of mermaids symbolize eloquence. If she has her comb and mirror with her then it means vanity.

The two-tailed mermaid is the basis for the Starbuck's logo. It has been somewhat edited because some people found the original image too sexually suggestive.

Scales and Feathers

For a brief period during the Middle Ages mermaids with wings were carved on tombstones. These are probably descendents of the bird-sirens used in classical times. They are meant to represent both mourners and guides bringing the spirit of the dead to the afterlife.

Recently, the winged mermaid has begun to appear again. She is usually some combination of mermaid/fairy or mermaid/angel. Sometimes she is called a sea-fairy or sea-angel. Generally, she seems to represent both a protector and a link between our mundane lives and the spiritual world.

The Modern Mermaid

After this long, eventful trip we arrive back where we started. The modern mermaid image is the traditional lady with a tail but there is a difference.

From her centuries of evolution she has gained a large number of associations, attributes, forms and powers. These may appear in any combination. The only limit is the creative imaginations of people writing and telling mermaid tales today.

About the author: You can find many more myths and legends about mermaids at the following pages: http://www.beautiful-mermaid-art.com/mermaid-mythology.html http://www.beautiful-mermaid-art.com/legend-of-the-mermaid.html As well as some great mermaid art at: http://www.beautiful-mermaid-art.com/mermaid-art-gallery.html