According to the general idea, a mermaid is unusual creature, main feature which consists of a human upper body and a fish tail instead of legs. Due to the constant presence under water, their skin is pale, almost White color. They have an alluring temperament and an amazing deep voice, while they can sing. So who are mermaids? Do they really exist? Let's try to figure it out.

How to become a mermaid?

The people know several hypotheses for the appearance of mermaids. So, according to one of the legends, it is impossible to become mythical creatures, because real mermaids are the daughters of Neptune, the god of water.

But part of the population believed that girls who were going to get married become mermaids, but never did it for some reason. Also, females could acquire a fishtail because of a broken heart by a loved one. Sometimes, according to legend, unbaptized children also became mermaids. Also, such a fate could befall a girl who, for some reason, was once cursed.

So who are mermaids? Are these beautiful creatures with an alluring voice and a kind heart? Or perhaps these are evil nymphs whose main goal is to drag more young people into the dark abyss of waters? And do they even exist?

Let's figure out who the mermaids are

In the old days, people did not just believe in the existence of mermaids, without any doubt about it. These creatures were called differently: undines, sirens, devils, nymphs, pitchforks, bathing suits. But the essence was the same - they were afraid of mermaids. People believed that their favorite place was the riverbed. Thus, real mermaids, as you can see, prefer fresh rather than salt water, contrary to popular belief.

As it was believed in the old days, water beauties attracted young men to themselves with the help of a beautiful melodic voice. The guys were fascinated, approached the undine, who began to tickle them until the victim lost consciousness. Then the sirens carried them into the depths of the sea. But young people who were aware of such tricks always carried a needle with them. It was believed that the nymphs were afraid of red-hot iron.

The erroneous opinion about who mermaids are is that they are creatures seeking to destroy as much as possible more people. Firstly, mermaids only attracted men. Secondly, they never touched children. And according to some sources, mermaids even often helped lost kids find the right path.

All these beauties have their own character and whims. So, depending on the desire or mood, they can save a drowning person, and, conversely, drag him to the bottom. They are also greedy for bright things. Some mermaids just steal them, and some may ask to give them back.

In addition, beauties love various pranks. They tangle fishing nets, drag boats to the bottom, and even break windmills. Especially they become playful in June during the "mermaid week". Now is the time for the feast of the Trinity.

Do they really exist?

Many legends and fairy tales have been written about mermaids. There is no exact evidence of their existence yet, but many people are sure that there is no smoke without fire. After all, in the culture of the most different peoples of the world, the same young ladies of the beautiful appearance and fishtail.

There is also a legend that if a mermaid wants to find a soul, she needs to give up water forever. Few of the nymphs dared to do this. For example, one of the little mermaids once fell in love with a priest with all her heart, and her love was mutual. She wept for a very long time and thought about winning a soul. Even her lover begged her to give up water. But the nymph was never able to betray the sea.

There is a fairy tale about the mermaid Ariel, very similar to this legend. Perhaps this is just a skillful copy of a beautiful story, or maybe a fabulous beauty really existed.

Sources of stories

The first stories about mermaids were told by sailors. Even the skeptical Columbus was sure that water nymphs were a reality. He repeatedly talked about beings with a human top and a fish bottom.

Perhaps these stories are just the imagination of male sailors who have not seen women for a long time, which is why their subconscious mind painted such a wonderful picture. But if real mermaids exist, then they do not harm anyone, at least no one has heard about this over the past century.

Should we believe in their existence?

Despite the fact that many photographs of mermaids have now been released, no source can guarantee that they are not fake. In addition, nymphs were not always described as beautiful and charming creatures with an alluring voice. According to some sources, what these creatures have in common with ancient legends one is a mermaid's tail. Her body is masculine, and instead of a beautiful face, she has a huge mouth and sharp teeth sticking out.

Mermaids from Eastern legends

Not only modern girls are wondering how to become a mermaid. The Eastern Slavs also thought about this in their time. But after much thought, people came to the conclusion that it was impossible to become a mermaid on purpose.

The birth of the nymph took place already in the afterlife. And it could be a girl whose mother committed suicide while pregnant. At the same time, a refined, extremely attractive little mermaid grew out of her with long hair the color of sea mud and a wreath on her head.

Nymphs lived not only in reservoirs. According to legend, they could choose clouds, the underworld and even coffins. And only during the “mermaid week” did the beauties come out of their hiding places to play pranks properly.

Is it worth dating a mermaid?

There are many tales on this subject, but the most popular is that mermaids adore children and young men. But women and the elderly simply can not stand.

In order not to fall into the network of a mermaid, you need to quickly get out of dangerous place until she started to sing. You can determine its imminent appearance by the sound, which resembles the chirping of a magpie.

Also, legends say that salvation from a mermaid is always imaginary. If a man knew her love, or she managed to kiss him and let him go, then very soon he will either become very ill or commit suicide. Salvation from such consequences were special rites and amulets. Particularly persistent guys could try to frighten off the mermaid on their own by hitting her shadow with a stick.

Beliefs also say that nymphs are afraid of nettles like fire.

Mermaid from a fairy tale

Already mentioned above fabulous image little mermaid Ariel. This is a character from the Walt Disney film adaptation. There, the little mermaid emerges from the sea for the sake of a handsome prince and love for him. Having overcome all obstacles, they get married and live happily ever after.

But the fairy tale of Hans Christian Andersen is not so optimistic. The little mermaid saves the life of a handsome prince during a storm and falls head over heels in love with him. For the sake of her beloved, she makes a deal with a witch. Having gained the ability to walk on land, the girl loses her magical voice, which the prince remembered so well. At the same time, every step brings her unbearable pain. As a result, the Little Mermaid loses and turns into sea foam. Perhaps this is the most famous fairy tale about the mythical girl.

Mermaids are extremely popular heroes of myths, legends, fairy tales, cartoons, films and legends. To believe or not to believe in the existence of nymphs, you need to decide for yourself. But even recognized researchers believe that it is no accident that the image of a mermaid is so ingrained in existing stories.

In 2009 a huge mania gripped Israel. The phenomenon could be described as a "mermaid craze". This story began with a small beach in Kiryat Yam, where, according to eyewitnesses, they saw a real mermaid. Locals and tourists flock to this beach to watch the mermaid appear and disappear into the sea. The woman with the tail of the fish was beautiful and beautiful... At the beginning locals vacationers on the beach mistook her for an ordinary tourist. But approaching her closer people noticed a greenish fish tail. The mermaid, seeing that they paid attention to her, dived into the water and swam away towards the sunset ... The locals were 100% sure that they had witnessed the existence of a real living mermaid.

After this incident, a craze for mermaids began in Israel. Information began to come in from other eyewitnesses who claimed that they also saw a mermaid on this beach. She appeared only at sunset, and it seemed that she was just playing with those who were watching her ... But she never let anyone get too close to her. And if someone tried to get closer, the mermaid immediately hid in the depths of the ocean. The Kiryat Yams attracted many tourists after the mermaid incident, and a one million dollar prize was awarded to the person who could capture the mermaid on film. But unfortunately, no one managed to photograph the beautiful mermaid, who was too careful to be photographed.

Where else have you seen mermaids?

There are eyewitness accounts who met mermaids. So, one man, once being in the ocean, heard the singing of mermaids from its bottom. On the deck of the ship, he and his assistants heard the seductive singing of mermaids, which sounded from the bottom of the ocean. Some men, being in a trance from a charming song, tried to jump from the ship overboard.

In the waters off the coast of Antarctica there were real observations of. The Japanese called them "ningen" sightings. These sea creatures are very similar to humans, but they are completely white, and apparently live underwater in the same way as other mermaids.

During the Middle Ages, in the 12th century, a merman was caught off the coast of Orfold Castle in Suffolk, England. The owners of the castle kept the merman for six months, but then he managed to escape and return to the ocean. The story tells that this merman was silent, and never uttered a single word, and ate only fish from food, refusing anything else.

In Dyved, twelve people watched a beautiful mermaid bathing in the water. She had a body beautiful woman, but then they noticed a black tail splashing from behind her back. This real sighting of a mermaid occurred in July 1826, and thereafter it was talked about for many years.

Another case associated with the appearance of a mermaid occurred in Zimbabwe in 2002. The men working at the reservoir were expelled by the mermaids, after which the men refused to ever return to this place. The report on the mermaids was published in the newspapers and supported by Minister Nkomo.

In Canada, a mermaid sighting occurred in 1967 when people saw a woman with a dolphin's tail. She had beautiful blonde hair and was seen eating salmon. After this incident, almost the entire city went crazy, but unfortunately, no one else could see her.

Mermaids have been seen in the UK for hundreds of years. One particularly intriguing story, written and published in the British press, took place in 1810 and tells of two baby mermaids found on the Isle of Man. Several fishermen, hearing a strange noise, thought it was some kind of dying bird or beast. The fishermen headed towards the scream. There they found the body of one dead mermaid child, and the body of a second, which had been severely injured by a recent storm. They took the injured mermaid child to their home and nursed him back to health. He was about 60 cm long, had the body of a normal child and the tail of a fish, and his hair was like seaweed... it was green in color.

Myths and stories about mermaids

In Ireland and parts of Scotland, mermaids are called merrows, and many stories of these elusive creatures date back to the 9th century AD. e. Many stories about these creatures are full of warnings about mermaids or merfolk. Many sailors of past centuries believed that meeting a real mermaid meant imminent death ... or terrible storms and shipwrecks. Sometimes merfolk, as sailors assumed, could even cause storms that destroyed ships, and supposedly merfolk they were so evil that they ate drowning sailors.

These mermaid legends are a far cry from the story of the Disney Little Mermaid that our children know from books. Young children in Britain, Ireland and Scotland were warned not to get too close to lakes, rivers, and even wells, as they could be caught by merrows there.

According to eyewitness accounts from Ireland and Scotland, female mermaids were usually very beautiful, while male mermaids were very ugly. That is why many believed that mermaid women leave their ocean to love people. Mermaids usually have long green hair, and white webbed hands. Most often, mermaids were seen at the moment when they were combing their hair, sitting on the rocks or near the coastline (this is depicted in a large part artwork that we see today).

Sirens are Greek mermaids of incredible talent and cbks. They were said to have once been goddesses who were punished by the Greek goddess Demeter for not saving Demeter's daughter, Persephone. They lived on an island in the Mediterranean and seduced sailors by playing charming music. The music was so beautiful and charming that the sailors lost control of the ship, which crashed against the rocks. In some stories, the sirens were not mermaids at all, they were women with bird wings; however, most stories and paintings today show Greek sirens in the form of a mermaid.

Mythical creatures from Scottish and Irish folklore, Selkies (Selkies), seal people. In fact, they were werewolves-mermaids. When they were in the water, they had the bodies of mermaids, but when they went ashore, they could change and take the form of a person. Many legends speak of selkie women who became human wives, but had to leave their husbands as soon as the ocean called them back. There is a legend - if a person can hide or destroy the skin of a selkie, then it will be his forever. But if she finds her seal skin, then she had to go to the sea forever, never returning from there ... For a woman to meet a selkie man, she must shout seven times into the ocean, and he will come.

Mermaids and mermen have been around for centuries, and they won't go away. Whether these creatures exist, or whether they existed at some point in history, is one of the questions that lovers of the unknown ask themselves. If the world of science decides not to believe in amazing things, including mermaids, I prefer to believe in mermaids, as this brings into our lives a certain mystery, mystery, the belief that the depths of the ocean are not lifeless.

There are so many mysteries in the world unrevealed secrets and questions that have yet to be answered. For example, do mermaids really exist. The image of this creature is present in cartoons and movies. There are many folk tales about how a man met a mermaid. So what is it: reality or fiction of people?

A beautiful woman with long green hair and a large fish tail, dressed in white beautiful clothes - this is what a real mermaid looks like, according to popular belief. It is believed that these creatures live in natural reservoirs and are the daughters of Neptune, the sea king. Another legend says that they become:

  • souls of dead unmarried girls;
  • children of murdered pregnant women born in the afterlife;
  • unbaptized cursed children;
  • the fair sex, who killed themselves with water because of unrequited, unrequited love.

She has the gift of clairvoyance psychic abilities and is able to control the elements: cause rain, hail, wind and others natural phenomena. Actually a girl with a tail is very dangerous for an ordinary person.

Mermaids hunt young men, lure them into the water and drown them. They say that if she starts to sing, then the person who hears her voice instantly turns to stone and stays in this state for a very long time. Fascinated by her unearthly beauty and voice, the man falls in love, as they say, to death. Even if he avoids drowning, he will still not live later - he will die of an illness caused by love longing or lay hands on himself. The kiss of this girl also leads to an early death.

But for old people and children who are in trouble on the deep sea, this creature will help to escape and get to the shore. It happens that a sea resident takes the child with her into the abyss in order to realize the dream of motherhood. It is possible that the dislike for men is connected precisely with the reason why the girl died and became a resident of the water - unhappy love for a man. Whether this is true or not, no one knows.

According to the stories of sailors, girls with a tail have a thieving and evil character, as they drag valuable things from fishing boats and ships. Having a desire to have fun, living mermaids spoil fishing gear, sink ships - they try in every possible way to annoy the person they meet on their way.

Mermaid image

Different eyewitnesses describe this creation in different ways: who speaks of beautiful girl, others saw a male mermaid. Therefore, what do mermaids look like in real life, no one knows for sure.

In the 19th century people distinguished between sea maidens and mermaids. The first were considered evil tailed creatures that killed any person they met. The second are the undead souls of drowned girls without tails, who do not pose a danger to people. At a later time, these two images merged into one.

Russian artists and writers dedicated their creations to these mysterious creatures. In Russia, it was believed that mermaids really exist in the world: in winter they are in the water, and in spring they come out of rivers, lakes and seas to the fields. All summer, people walked around the ponds on the tenth side, they were afraid to swim in them, because they believed that girls with tails could kidnap them and drown them. Girls wove flower wreaths and hung them on trees in order to please the tailed ladies.

Facts and evidence

Exists lots of evidence the existence of these marine inhabitants. They were collected all over the world and come from the first mouth of eyewitnesses:

  1. It is difficult to call sea fairies with tails instead of legs a fiction, as they are depicted in rock art from the Stone Age. The drawings show scenes where ancient people hunt creatures in the water that look like a man and a fish at the same time.
  2. And also mermaids are mentioned in the Irish chronicles of the XII century. It was about a creature caught by fishermen - half woman, half fish. In the same place, in the 14th century, after a strong storm, a fish woman entangled in algae was washed ashore.
  3. In 1608, the navigator Hudson and his crew saw a mermaid in the sea. real, living woman with a bare chest, long hair and a scaly tail, she watched their ship with interest, and after a while disappeared from view. This fact was recorded in the ship's log.
  4. In 1647, in the city of Las Arenas, a sixteen-year-old teenager was swimming in the sea and disappeared without a trace. For a long time they searched for him, but to no avail. 5 years after this incident, sailors found a strange creature in one of the bays: thin, pale and with red hair. The same missing boy was identified in him, only now he looked and behaved differently: there were scales all over his body, between the fingers - membranes, like frogs have. He growled and said nothing. For three weeks, the priests performed the rite of exorcism from a teenager, but this did not change much. The young man was left to live with his mother. For two years he ate only raw meat and fish, and then escaped by diving into the sea. Nobody else saw him.
  5. In the USSR, this creature was met by our servicemen in 1982 on Lake Baikal, where combat swimmers were trained. When diving to a depth of more than 50 meters, people found scary creatures: their height was about 3 meters, they were wearing something like a transparent helmet on their heads, and their clothes were very shiny. The movements of these strangers were very fast and precise, they did not have any equipment or devices to support breathing. The command decided to catch one of them in order to better examine the strange guests. Seven people went down to the depths, taking with them a large strong net. When trying to set a trap for strange creature, all swimmers were abruptly thrown to the surface by some unknown energy impulse. Subsequently, after some time, three people died, the rest remained disabled for life.
  6. In 1992, residents of one of the US states discovered a half-fish, half-man, half a kilometer from the shore. He had big head, long arms with webbed fingers. The fishermen swam closer to the stranger, but he, having made a couple of circles around the ship, went into the depths.

Such eyewitness accounts are plentiful, so the existence of creatures with tails can rightfully be considered a reliable fact. Who are they, where did they come from - questions to which there are no unambiguous answers.

Maybe these are mutant people or evolving inhabitants of the seas, existing separately from humans. Perhaps these creatures are a creation of a parallel reality and enter our world by accident, because we do not meet them too often.

Modern Data

Scientists around the world are trying to answer the question of whether mermaids exist in real life, or is it just a myth. The fact is that in the cellars of Japanese monasteries there are mummies that are unlike human in appearance. People of science suspect that these may be the remains of both alien inhabitants and mermaids. Also, according to them, the skeletons of animals are stored there, the species of which are unfamiliar to modern science.

It is known for sure that the mummy of a female creature is kept in the Sinai monastery, which received the name "sea princess", since her body is covered with scales, and there are fins on her back.

All living people, without exception, are familiar with the red-haired beauty Ariel - the famous Disney little mermaid. The cartoon, of which she is the main character, based on the plot of the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, still excites children's girlish hearts, making them dream of finding a tail and bombard parents with questions about the reality of the existence of real mermaids.

But it seems to be completely baby question: "Are there mermaids?" - confuses many adults, because this riddle sea ​​depths so far has not been unraveled.

Name etymology

The mermaid, as you know, is a character primordially Slavic mythology. This term, according to various sources, comes from the word "channel", that is, the riverbed is a favorite habitat of mermaids. However, the name "mermaid" also has a number of synonyms used in common and foreign languages: for example, siren, undine, crowberry and bathing suit.

Myths and legends

Since ancient times, the belief has been preserved that communication with a mermaid will not lead to good, because they have proven themselves far from being the most in the best way: enticing men with a sweet, terribly melodic voice, mermaids dragged them into the depths of the seas to certain death. Water nymphs did not touch small children even with a finger, although quite often they helped the kids to return home if they were suddenly lost.

Mermaids managed to spoil the lives of not only the sailors who had the “luck” to meet them on their way, but also the fishermen: tangling fishing nets and sinking boats has always been a kind of fun game for sea beauties.

However, in Slavic mythology, the image of a mermaid was not so rosy: these creatures seemed to be very pale and skinny drowned girls, whose hair was always disheveled, and their arms were long and cold. Water nymphs lived in deep lakes and swamps, only occasionally appearing to people during the Trinity week.

Why is a relationship with a mermaid dangerous for a person?

According to ancient epics, beauties at all times gave their preference to men. And it is for them that the sirens pose a great danger: seduced by the beauty of the inhabitants of the sea depths, men risk becoming their slaves forever.

And those who were “lucky enough” to fall in love with a mermaid faced a rather tragic fate: they soon became seriously and permanently ill or ended their lives by suicide.

Do mermaids exist?

Now in modern world, the mystery of these mysterious creatures continues to be a mystery, closed from the human world by a dark veil of obscurity. However, the presence of such characters in folklore huge amount peoples makes you think about their reality, because, as you know, there is no “smoke without fire”.

In the twenty-first century, the Internet is replete with all kinds of photographs supposedly proving the reality of the existence of sea beauties, but most of them simply demonstrate the level of Photoshop skills of the person who created such a photo.

However, there are more plausible pictures - those that clearly show fins, skin covered with scales and pimples, an open mouth with disgustingly long teeth.

Such photos, even though they depict far from the beautiful creatures that people have imagined thanks to Walt Disney and a number of other filmmakers, really make skeptics draw a grimace of surprise on their faces and reconsider their beliefs about mermaids.

Another proof of the existence of undines is the stories of experienced sailors. From each of their voyages, the sailors brought many stories about these naked seductresses with charming voices, and the more experience such a sea explorer has, the more stories about mermaids.

In the end, all that can be said on the question of whether it is true that mermaids exist is limited to just one phrase: "97% of the ocean has not yet been studied, so it cannot be argued that mermaids do not exist."

Video on the topic of the article

Mermaids - do they really exist? Mermaids - it's enigmatic mythical creatures who live in the water element. People have always tried to find evidence of their existence.

Memoirs of missionaries

The question of whether mermaids really exist has worried mankind since ancient times. There are old memoirs of missionaries who tried to catch mermaids.

The missionary of the Capuchin Order, said that he managed to see such a scene from the ship, on the way to the Congo: mermaids and newts were collecting algae in shallow water. The sailors decided to catch the marine inhabitants in the net, but they were able to avoid capture.

Another missionary, Father Francis, from the Italian city of Pavia, who visited Angola in 1701, did not want to believe the stories of the townspeople about the mermaids that lived in their lake. Then the locals decided to catch one of them and show it to the man. He examined the capture and described it in detail, and a day later she died.

In 1560, the church came close to answering the question of whether there were living mermaids. Not far from the island of Mannar, near Ceylon, they managed to catch seven mermaids at once. The booty went to the Dutch sailors. They were examined by Bosquet, physician to the Viceroy of Holland in Goa. After dissecting mermaids, he came to the conclusion that they are human-like, their internal and external structure identical to ours. Apparently, the doctor performed an autopsy on already deceased creatures, since according to the data, they could live in captivity for only a few days.

In 1682, near the town of Sestri in Italy, a marine inhabitant resembling a man was caught. Witnesses of the event reported in manuscripts that he could sit on a chair, which indicated that he had joints, and that he lived only a couple of days, did not take human food, but only moaned plaintively.

In another story about mermaids, a real portrait was preserved, belonging to the "illustrious Sue Gauthier." In Paris, in 1758, a mermaid was exhibited in an aquarium at the fair in Saint-Germain. According to the records of one visitor to the fair, she was given fish and bread. She was glad to be in the water.

In 1619, two advisers to the king of the Danish state during their sea ​​travel from Norway to Sweden they noticed a creature that looked very much like a person. The sailors decided to throw a small bait into the water, and it caught mysterious creature, but when they lifted it on deck, it began to scream terribly, then the sailors decided to let it go.

A similar incident occurred when fishermen casting a net near the Scottish Isles were able to catch a mermaid. This was reported in the Edinburgh magazine. According to the description, she had a gray skin color, there were no scales on her tail. The fishermen, having examined the prey, decided to return it to the sea, as they considered that trouble could happen in the sea, and they would be held responsible.

Mermaids in the lakes of Russia

Russian mermaids are interesting because they do not have tails. There are many legends about the existence of mermaids in Russia. These are river mermaids, some have no tail. There is one interesting entry in 1891, in which one peasant says that once, in old times, according to the stories of the old people, someone brought 2 mermaids to the village. They had long hair, they only grieved, and when they decided to let them go free, they began to sing and ran into the forest.

One more misterious story occurred in July 1992, when a programmer from Moscow, Igor Peskov, and his dog Sakur decided to go fishing in the Tver region. Listening to the radio, he learns that the night ahead of him on the lake, near the village of Rozhdestvennoye, falls at the beginning of the Mermaid Week. With the advent of midnight, the fire died down, the ringing of bells began to be heard from somewhere, but the church was not close. Suddenly, a strange bluish light appeared above the lake, Igor felt that he was being hypnotized. Igor was pulled straight into the lake, it seemed to him that the algae around him were pulling him to the bottom. There was no strength to resist, then the dog began to bark, which helped to escape young man. When he began to come to his senses, he saw human silhouettes. He was able to get out of the water, but now Sakur was in trouble. The guy called out to him, and then he began to swim to the shore, when he was already safe, Igor saw that the dog's neck was bloodied.

Another story happened in Tolyatti on one artificial reservoir. D. Pogodin says that he, along with his friends, came to the reservoir, and two ambulances were standing near him. One guy who happened to be nearby told us about what happened there, says Pogodin. He and his friends wanted to swim. As soon as they began to enter the water, they immediately heard a mysterious voice that beckoned them. They noticed a plump woman, using the power of her voice, she bewitched one of her friends, and he began to head towards her. His friend began to throw stones at her. The woman hissed, making terrible sounds, and then disappeared somewhere. The guy who was bewitched fell with an attack of epilepsy, although he was previously completely healthy, and the second was simply dumb, but recovered over time, but his friend spent a lot of time in the hospital.

They say that there are natural mermaids. They are immortal and are born by evil spirits. Another confirmation of the existence of these mysterious sea ​​creatures can serve as a bronze statue of a mermaid (Middle East), she is over 3000 years old.

It can be seen that the descriptions of sea creatures are generally similar to each other, despite the centuries separating them by eyewitnesses. Today, people began to see less mermaids, this may be due to the fact that most of the time modern man spends in the city, far from the depths of the sea. But also going on Scientific research on this occasion, since the question of the existence of mermaids is still relevant.