Deborah Cepeda
Mr. McCain
English 11
13 November 2014
Are They Real? Ever since the dawn of time people have questioned the existence of other unknown creatures around us. These creatures include aliens, dragons, sasquatch, fairies, unicorns, etc. Lots of people have an open mind and have taken further steps to investigate the existence of these creatures. There are many theories that explain the possible existence of these creatures. I would find myself being one of those open minded people. In my opinion I believe that the world is so big it would take millions of years to discover every single organism around us. Just like these past million years there has been such an evolution of us human beings I don’t think another species wouldn’t have done the same. In this essay I would like to introduce to you the theory of mermaids. What is a mermaid? It all would depend who you asked. Just like every theory there are ; Non-believers who would define the mermaid as “ a mythical half-human sea creature with the head and torso of a woman and tail of a fish instead of legs”. You may also hear mermaids defined as sirens. You may see people try explain their sightings as manatees which would be another common name for mermaids. If you went back a century ago and asked about a mermaid you would find yourself being told of a beast that appeared to be beautiful. How it’s haunting melodies you’d hear in a lonely river or out over the waves to lure you to them. In modern times now you hear many different definitions of what a mermaid is. Many people would classify thems Like the Greeks many other cultures and thrives made up gods and creatures to explain the world around them. In the Mesopotamian culture it was said to be the merman Oannes who rose every day from the water and gave man knowledge, reasoning and brought writing, wisdom, science and other instructions for civilization. The Assyrians have the tale of half human half fish like creatures in records which date back to 1000 BC. The tale says the first mermaid was a goddess that loved a human shepherd, and eventually killed him. It goes forth that she tried to hide in a lake out of sheer ill fame and agony, but the waters could not contain the power of her beauty. The Greeks also told of the Assyrian Mermaid and mentioned her as Derketo. According to the Greek myth, King Alexander the Great’s sister was transformed to a Mermaid after her death. It is said that she still lives in the seas in the Aegean.
The Arabians and Persians also mention the Mermaids and Mermen in their folk lore the Arabian Nights. References to Merpeople are made in many stories. However, the Arabian version of the Mermaid looked like a normal human being, but had the ability to breathe underwater. They also mention of the mermaids that have the hypnotic effect on sailors. They said the beautiful and irresistible songs that the mermaids sing to lure them into their traps. The British and English mention of the Mermaid in their folklore they consider that the Mermaid is usually an indication of an upcoming thunderstorm, hurricane or a ship that will eventually sink and go down. The sight of a Mermaid meant death for all the sailors of the ship that sighted the Mermaid.
African culture gives the mermaid a special place in their religion. The god of water Yemaja, which is an actual mermaid, is referred as the ““mother” whose offspring are like ““mother”. The Africans deem the water goddess Yemaja as a very important and crucial personality among all their gods. According to them, the water goddess Yemaje
