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