Fantasy Creatures: Mermaid

Mermaids have fascinated mankind ever since man first ventured out in the oceans. I wonder who first described a mermaid and what made him (I am assuming it was a man who saw gorgeous fish-women in the waves; a woman seafarer would definitely have seen a handsome merman) imagine a woman who was half fish. Perhaps he had been a long time at sea and was lost in the thoughts of his young lady and that made his imagination run riot, perhaps it was some trick of the sun on waves or it is possible that he really saw a mermaid.

             Mermaids may even have been friendly to humans initially, but they came to know the humans too well after only a short while; and very wisely, they decided to retreat to deeper waters and not show themselves anymore to humans. Hmmm....

Here's Miss Mermaid with a Trident.