"The Murderous, Sometimes Sexy History of the Mermaid" Topic

"Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid is a heartwarming tale of a mermaid falling in love, battling evil to be with her love, and living happily ever after as a human. Just kidding. That's the Disney version. In Andersen's, the young mermaid has her tongue cut out, gets burned hard by the prince when he chooses another woman, and eventually dissolves into sea foam instead of saving her own life by ritualistically stabbing said prince through the heart and bathing in his blood. Seriously.

It was for this reason that Starbucks adopted the mermaid as its logo. (No it isn't, that's libel. Is it still libel if I admit it's libelous? I guess we'll find out.) Regardless, it took mermaids millennia of mythology to land on those coffee cups. But relations weren't always so good between our two species—mermaids have largely been thought of as hell-bent on seducing sailors into the depths, or just smashing boats with storms if they're not really feeling like putting the effort into being charming.

So why the mixed reviews? Where did the legend of the mermaid come from in the first place? From ancient deities to corporate lackeys, the history of our aquatic cousins is certainly a strange one…"

Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Where did the legend of the mermaid come from in the first place?

Innsmouth

Fhtagn! Fhtagn!

"Where did the legend of the mermaid come from in the first place?

Ummm… horny sailors?

LOL! (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Homer's sirens were mermaids of murderous intent. Other than their capacity to make intoxicatingly beautiful music to lure sailors by, they were said to be hideous creatures….

Sadly, they went the way of the s. Apparently the sailors would lure them in, as they were good eating , even if they weren't that good looking…. :-p