Of all the fantastical stories that have been told about the mysterious oceans, there is one that has endured through the ages, and across cultures and civilisations. Tales of a half-woman, half-fish, sea-dwelling creature have existed from coastal settlements in Ireland to the landlocked Karoo Desert in South Africa.
With such a rich and varied history, the perception of the mermaid has been as changeable as the sea itself. In some cultures, she signified life and fertility, and in others, she embodied deception and destruction, serving as an omen for storms, unruly seas and disaster, and luring sailors to their deaths.
SOME VERSIONS OF THE MERMAID
Ancient Origins
The earliest depictions of fish-like humanoids can be traced back to the ancient civilisations of Sumeria, Babylon and Assyria.
The first records of half-fish, halfhuman creatures were of Oannes, a Babylonian god from 400 BCE. In the
