The mermaid myth

The universe is full of mysteries that challenge our knowledge.
the figure of the mermaid has accompanied man's destiny for centuries. A mythological, symbolic and sometimes also a science fiction character. Mermaids are creatures with a body divided into two parts: one human and the other fish. In the collective imagination, they are young women who, instead of legs, have a large fin.

Among the first sources that connect with this magical figure, there are cave paintings that date back some 30,000 years. The first to speak of it were the Syrians with a myth, dated around 1000 B.C., that speaks of a beautiful goddess, who wanted to dive into the sea to become a fish. Its incredible beauty, however, did not allow it to become a complete marine animal, so its body took only half of its appearance.

In classical antiquity, however, the literary origin of the term mermaid comes from Homer's Odyssey, in which these creatures are presented as singing "guardians" of an island near Scylla and Caribdis. In the episode taken from Greek history, the mermaids approached the sailors with their soft voices and then made them die when they landed on the island. It is said that Homer had not described his physical appearance as a notion already consolidated by other myths such as the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts. In this story the mermaids would have had the task of consoling the souls of the dead by accompanying them, with their song, in Hades.

In the Far East, mermaids were the wives of the mighty dragons of the sea, and they served as sure messengers between their newlyweds and the emperor on earth. In Anglo-Saxon mythologies, the mermaid is assimilated to other figures such as nymphs and water spirits.

His figure accompanies man in the Middle Ages: he is found in the capitals of the cloister of the Cathedral of Monreale in Sicily and in the Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants, in Girona. These creatures were also included in a medieval bestiary from the 8th century AD, the Liber Monstrorum, in which its marine features are described for the first time in a text: "Mermaids are maidens who deceive sailors with their beautiful appearance and seduce them with their song, and from the head to the navel have the body of a maiden and are similar to the human species, but they have scaly tails of fish that are always hidden in whorls" (text taken from Liber Libertrorum, I, VI).

Before the Christian era, the mermaid was seen as a deity of the sea and of love. It was depicted with a quince in his hand and a comb on the other. The apple gave way to a mirror, as a symbol of vanity and lack of resistance to the desires and sins of the flesh.

Another interpretation is given to a wood sculpture in high relief depicting it: the work is preserved in St. Senara's Church in Zennor Churchtown, Cornwall, and for local Christians it was an inspiring figure, capable of illustrating the two natures of Christ, earthly and divine. The same figure was also important for the sailors: in fact they needed it to feel closer to the divine since most of the time they lived fighting against the sea, which can sometimes be calm but also stormy.

According to a local legend (the Legend of the Siren, by Zennor), a real event took place in that church with a man and a mermaid. Such a Matteo Trewhella, chorus girl of the parish church, would one day have attracted a mermaid from the depths of the sea thanks to her song. She would come to the mainland to listen to him, and then continue to visit him every Sunday during Mass. One day, however, the mermaid, unable to compete, would lead him to the current flowing in the center of the country and joining the Cove Pendour Sea. From that moment on Matteo Trewhella would have disappeared.

There are also other stories of men who came into contact with sirens. One of the most famous is that of Christopher Columbus. The explorer said that during his 1493 expedition near Haiti, he discovered these figures, saying he had not found them "as beautiful as they are described, in some cases their faces resemble those of a man," according to the U.S. National Museum of History.

Another case is that of Captain John Smith, who said he had seen a mermaid with big eyes and green hair in 1614 off the coast of Newfoundland. The testimony is reported in Incredible Mysteries and Legends of the Sea by Dodd Mead.

But the mermaid that comes into contact with man is not something that belongs only to the past. Even today this creature is related to sightings coming from all over the world. However, despite all the rumours, official statements exclude any possibility, such as, for example, the American National Atmospheric and Oceanic Association, which has stated that there is no evidence of their existence whatsoever. But the mystery remains: why have we always heard of sirens? What do you think of them, do you think they're real?