Mythical Creatures: January 2011

From Harry Potter

What is a mermaid?
An aquatic creature with a female human head and torso and the tail of a fish. Some stories say they are a lot like sirens who sing to people and gods. They enchant them, distracting them from their work and causing them to walk off the deck or run their ships onshore. Other stories say they squeeze the life out of drowning men while attempting to rescue them. Not only that but they are also said to carry humans down to their underwater kingdoms. Other related mythical creatures are water fairies, water nymphs, and selkies. In 546 BC the Milesian philosopher Anaximander said that mankind had sprung from an aquatic species of animals. In British folklore they are noted as unlucky omens both foretelling disaster and provoking it. In the fairytales in China mermaids are a special species that has tears that can turn into priceless pearls and not only that but mermaids can also knit an extremely valuable material. Mermaids in China actually are a symbol of wonderful creatures that are delicate, beautiful, and adaptable.

What does mermaid mean?
It is a compound word. The first part, mere, which is an old English word for "sea", and the second part, maid, is a woman.

What is Sirenomelia?
It is called the mermaid syndrome. It is a rare congenital disorder where a child is born with his or her legs fused together and reduced genitalia. It is as rare as conjoined twins affecting one out of every 100,000 live births. It is usually fatal within a day or two of birth because of kidney and bladder complications. As of July 2003, there are four survivors who were known to be alive.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid

Examples:
Books/Stories:
Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquamarine_(novel)
The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen: http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html
De Dea Syria by Lucian of Samosata in Syria: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Dea_Syria
The Mermaid and the Minotaur by Dorothy Dinnerstein
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd: http://www.suemonkkidd.com/MermaidChair/default.aspx
One Thousand and One Nights: Djullanar the Sea-girl
                                                   Abdullah the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman
                                                   The Adventures of Bulukiya
                                                   Julnar the Sea-Born and Her Son King Badr Basim of Persia
In Music:
Fair Melusina by Felix Mendelssohn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGCpnou_NKU
The Weeping Mermaid by Fan-Long Ko
Comics/Art:
An 8 page comic in which the mermaid queen Atargatis captures two adventurers and attempts to imprison them forever by Saint James Comics.

A Mermaid created by John William Waterhouse