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And heard a mermaid on a dolphin's back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres,
To hear the sea-maid's music..."
from A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare
Mermaids Around the World
The Little Mermaid of Copenhagen
The Little Mermaid has been on the Copenhagen coast since 1913. Now a symbol of the city, the statue based on the fairy tale is the work of Danish sculptor Edvard Erikson. Nearby the statue is the home of Hans Christian Anderson (1805-1875) who wrote the original fairy tale "The Little Mermaid".
The Mermaid of Warsaw
There is a legend of a mermaid in Warsaw, Poland. Half woman, half fish, Syrenka lived in the waters of the Vistula River and would sit on a stone and comb her hair, singing. One day three peasants decided to catch her for a prince's gift. Filling their ears with wax so as not to hear her singing, they threw a net over Syrenka and shut her in a barn for the night. As they planned to journey the next morning to the prince,they asked a small shephard to stand guard. Syrenka sang and begged for freedom, and the shephard set her free. She dove into the river saying, 'Ilived here and sang for ordinary people but they have disappointed me. I will leave and you will never see me again. However, because I love this place, when difficult times come I will return and arm the city with a shield and sword." Based on this legend, Warsaw established its coat-of-arms with the symbol of Syrenka.
The Cathedral at Monreale
The cathedral and cloister in Monreale, Sicily is dated to c. 1175-89. It has been described as the richest, largest in scale, and most complete of its kind. During this time period, the church identified mermaids with the Sirens of Homer' s Iliad who tried to seduce Ulysses and his men with their song. There are two depictions of mermaids in the north walk at Monreale, one with two tails. Other two tailed mermaids around the world and throughout history include the German mermaid Melusine, as well as mermaids depicted on examples of British heraldry.
Sirena, Water Goddess
To the Pech Indians of Honduras, the nine eyed mermaid Sirena is the mother of all fish. The Pech hero Patakako verified that there were sirenas living in each river. The Pech people would have special ceremonies before fishing to ask the sirena for permission to take some of her fish. They left offerings of gourd bowls full of cacao and sacred wine to thank the Sirena for giving them fish to eat. Pre-Columbian pottery that has been found in streams may have once contained food gifts. To take fish without permission could lead to illness or even death. Most Miskito children wear amulets to protect them from drowning because they believe that a mermaid or merman might drag them into the river.
Melusina, The Mermaid of Luxembourg
Melusina is said to have been the wife of the founder of Luxembourg, Count Siegfried. When they married, she had one particular request, namely that Siegfried must leave her alone for one full day and night every month, and that he should not ask or try to find out what she was doing. Of course, Melusina was such a beautiful girl, that Siegfried could not refuse her this one wish, and all went well for years and years, when on the first Wednesday of the month, Melusina would retire into her chambers in the "Casemates", a network of caverns underneath the city, not to be seen again until early light on Thursday.
But one day, Siegfried's curiosity got the better of him. Wondering what on Earth she might be doing alone all the time, he peeped through the keyhole, and was shocked to see that Melusina was lying in the bathtub, with a fishtail hanging over the rim. As you all know, mermaids like Melusina, have a very keen sixth sense, which tells them instantly that they are being watched, and thus she recognised her husband through the door, and jumped out of the window into the river Alzette below, never to be seen again ... except every now and then, some people say they saw a beautiful girl's head pop out of the river, and a fishtail rippling the calm waters of the river Alzette.
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