A complete guide to mermaid and merman history

Stories of mermaids and mermen have circulated in many cultures for thousands of years. The first stories can be traced back to Babylonian and Greek mythology, and they have since passed down into folklore, in much the same way as stories of fairies have been passed through the ages.

The offical explanation we are given is that sailors have mistaken manatees or dudougs for mermaids. Throughout history mermaids have been described as beautiful, with the upper body of a woman, long flowing hair, and in some cases, a beautiful bewitching voice. So for sailors to have mistaken manatees or dudougs for mermaids those sailors would have had to have been either very very drunk or very very stupid.

Some say that sailors made up the stories of mermaids to hide the truth, that truth being that they occasionally, and after being without the company of a real women for many months whilst at sea, would have intercourse with a manatee or dudoug. I'm not sure I believe this theory either, afterall, there are thousands of stories of shepherds having intercourse with sheep, but they don't go around making up stories of mythical creatures to save their blushes, they just keep quiet about it and hope no one finds out.

Whatever the truth is about mermaids, no one can fail to be fascinated by the stories about these wonderful creatures. No one that is except the Church, who in Medieval times decided mermaids were the devil's work, in much the same way as witches, and we all know what they did to women they decided were witches.

This mermaid website is not here to either prove or disprove the existance of mermaids. It is simply here to share with you mermaid stories from mythology and folklore. Whether you choose to believe the stories or not is up to you.

Now, if you are sitting comfortably, we shall begin....

In Mesopotamian mythology there was Oannes, a merman, he was said to have taught mankind wisdom.

Atargatis, was a Syrian goddess, also known as Derceto, and the mother of Semiramis, the great Assyrian queen.

In Greek mythology we have Oceanus and Tethys who together produced 3000 Oceanids. Oceanids were sea nymphs, and each one ruled over a river or stream in ancient Greece

Venus, also known as Aphrodite, is the goddess of love in Greek and Roman mythology. Venus was said to have risen from the sea on an open shell, and is often depicted holding an apple, presented to her by Paris, to signify her beauty above all others. The mirror and comb, which are common mermaid symbols, are also said to have originated from Venus.

Greek mythology also gives us many other sea gods and goddesses including Nereids, Nereids were water goddesses, sometimes called water nymphs. There were 50 Nereids, the beautiful daughters of Nereus and Doris and they were the patrons of sailors and fishermen. Pliny the Elder, the ancient author and naturalist wrote about Nereids, he described them as...

women with rough scaly bodies like fish....

Pliny the Elder, AD 23 – August 24, AD 79

African mythology also has its own water and mermaid goddesses, Yemaja, is a very important water goddess in African mythology. Yemaja meaning 'Mother whose children are like fishes', is known under many other names, and rules the waters of the world. Without Yemaja, who is the spirit of water, nothing else can live.

Mami Wata is an African mermaid goddess, with qualities similar to Venus or Aphrodite, she is described as being extremely beautiful and could often be found combing her long hair. In ancient texts Mami Wata is described as having the upper body of a human with her lower half being that of a fish.

In 1493 Christopher Columbus, the great navigator and explorer, reported seeing 3 mermaids on one of his voyages. He wrote in his log...

They were not as beautiful as they are painted, although to some extent they have a human appearance in the face....

Christopher Columbus, 1451 – May 20, 1506

From this time onwards there have been many more reports of mermaid sightings, even today reports of mermaids circulate in the media. My personal favourites are the stories of mermaids from around the British Isles

You can use the links on this page, shown in purple, or the links in the box at the left to find out more about these and many other mermaids and mermen.