| I think that people who are unfamiliar with | | | | attributes. From these goddesses come the |
| mermaid stories will be surprised by them. | | | | legends of the mermaid. Mermaids are |
| Most probably think that the mermaid is a | | | | beautiful and Aphrodite and Venus are known |
| passive, vulnerable creature like the mermaid | | | | for their beauty. There is a popular image of |
| in the movie "Splash". Nothing could be | | | | a mermaid combing her hair while she holds a |
| further from the truth. These are powerful | | | | mirror in her hand - the mirror and comb are |
| beings with strong personalities. In various | | | | symbols of Venus. Raising storms and dominion |
| legends they cause storms, sink ships and | | | | over the creatures of the sea are common |
| drown the crews, cure illness, foretell the | | | | attributes of sea gods. |
| future and, of course, bewitch men. | | | | |
| | | | Folk tales about mermaids incorporated these |
| The origin of the mermaid reveals the source | | | | ideas. In folklore, mermaids are usually the |
| of their strength: they were goddesses - and | | | | aggressors. They are strong and willful and |
| important ones at that. In the oldest | | | | sometimes murderous. In some folk tales |
| religions the creator god is usually a | | | | mermaids go on land to search for lovers. |
| goddess. Later goddesses are often associated | | | | Lovers they will destroy when they are |
| with fertility which is another form of the | | | | finished with them. If the local population |
| power of creation. Long before the theory of | | | | gives them trouble they will call down on |
| evolution, the ancient philosophers believed | | | | them monsters and foul weather. They have |
| that life came from the sea. From the | | | | used their magical powers to curse |
| intersection of these two ideas we have | | | | individuals and entire families. |
| Aphrodite and Venus. Goddesses of love, and | | | | |
| therefore fertility and creation, they are | | | | Mermaids, like the goddesses they evolved |
| also associated with the sea. 'Aphrodite' | | | | from, have a sunnier side, too, especially if |
| means foam-born (born from the foam of the | | | | they are treated with respect. They can be |
| ocean waves). Venus is often associated with | | | | kind, generous, affectionate and loving. |
| the sea as in Botticelli's famous picture | | | | There is a family in Ireland that claims |
| "The Birth of Venus" which shows the goddess | | | | descent from a mermaid. She taught them the |
| riding in a scalloped seashell. Do not let | | | | secrets of healing and made many of them |
| the title "goddess of love" fool you. | | | | famous physicians. Mermaids have given men |
| Aphrodite was also called the goddess of | | | | the boons of wealth and knowledge, and |
| Life-in-Death, and was said to be the oldest | | | | sometimes their own love. It should be noted |
| of the Fates and punisher of the sinful. She | | | | that having the love of a mermaid is a dicey |
| was frequently cruel, jealous and proud. | | | | affair. The men involved have come to bad |
| | | | ends more often than not. It is the same for |
| I am using Aphrodite and Venus as examples of | | | | men who have had the love of goddesses like |
| the fertility goddess but there are many | | | | Aphrodite or Venus. |
| others that share some or all of their | | | | |