For years, mythological creatures have managed to attract human beings, their stories are so fantastic that it is impossible not to feel attracted to them. We invite you to read this article about the legend of the sirens, so you can learn all about them and their wonderful world.
The sirens
The mystical world is very attractive. When we talk about myths and legends, mythological creatures, monsters and animals cause mystery, which makes people want to investigate more about these stories. The main characters in these narratives are almost always false. However, that does not diminish the general enthusiasm that exists when talking about them.
Even when some stories have real elements, the most attractive thing about these legends is not that, but the added element of fantasy. Mermaids are one of the creatures that most generate curiosity and expectation. Therefore, there are many stories about them, from ancient Greece to the animated world of Disney, these characters are known worldwide.
Each legend tells something different about them, discovering exactly how many stories of them exist is impossible. Since even the original stories have been modified over the years to fit a more modern society. Today, they are best known for possessing that half-fish, half-woman body. Despite this view, the representation of mermaids is highly subjective. Being a creature that doesn't really exist, its shape can vary depending on each person's imagination.
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legend of the sirens
The best known versions of the sirens began many years ago, in the civilizations that preceded us. It is said that the genesis of the sirens is mythological. These creatures were descendants of Melpomene, muse of tragedy. Additionally, it was believed that his birth was due to a relationship that Melpomene had with Achelous, the river god.
Although originally, these are the first references to mermaids in history, the narrative varies a bit from place to place. When other versions affirm that, although Achelous is the father of the sirens, the true mother is Sterope, the muse of dance and poetry. Such gifts, in fact, are common in mermaid stories.
There is a third version of this legend that indicates that the birth of the sirens is generated from Achelous shedding blood when he confronts Hercules. Mermaids are born from this blood. Regardless of which version is the original, there is one detail that they all agree on. Three main sirens originated: Aglaope, the one with the most beautiful face, Telxinoe, the one with the noblest heart and finally Ligeia, the one with deadly beauty.
Mermaid legend in the real world
Like many myths and legends, there was a time in history where these stories had a real place in society. This is because civilizations created these stories to explain certain events that were really beyond the reach of man at that time.
The "real" history of sirens dates back to 1000 BC, where in a town called Assyria, the first story that refers to these creatures was created. Later, mythology adapted these tales to fit its ideals. The story explained that Derceto offended the goddess Venus, she was enraged by her insolence, she decided to punish her and make her fall in love with a shepherd.
Thanks to this union a girl named Semiramis, the future goddess of Babylon, was born. However, Venus was not happy about that, so to complete her revenge, she made the love between these two characters end. Derceto ended up abandoning Semiramis and killed the shepherd, once he had seen all the disaster of his actions, he tried to kill himself by throwing himself into the sea.
The gods prevented Derceto from taking her own life and to save her, they turned her into an amphibious woman, so she could survive the conditions of the sea. On the other hand, another of the real references that exist about sirens and that also dates back to ancient times, is the first appearance of these creatures in the Odyssey, written by Homer.
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Homer's mermaids in the Odyssey
Most people, in one way or another, know about the Odyssey, this work was written by Homer, however, to this day, these narratives continue to be studied.
The Odyssey, made up of 24 songs in the form of Greek epic poems, is known worldwide, despite having been written centuries ago, in this narrative the sirens are mentioned for the first time, as beings that inhabit an important ancient island for the Greeks.
From this island, the sirens attracted sailors with beautiful songs and soft voices. Within this story, it also stands out that Ulysses, a very important character, passes by this list and recognizes these beings. He, trying to avoid the temptation they generated, covered his ears with wax to prevent him from singing, in addition, he asks his sailors to tie him to the mast until the island is no longer in sight.
Ulysses manages to get out of this story unscathed and continues on his way without any concern for the creatures. The sirens that we know today are not the same as the sirens that Homer describes, but instead they are described as bird women, that is, they were a strange combination between a human and a bird.
More of Homer's mermaids
Homer also specified in his narrative that mermaids were monstrous and were creatures willing to do evil. They were not the beautiful women that we have today as the image of the sirens, but creatures that really instilled fear in the men who ran into them.
As well as this, there are other references made over the years about mermaids. Opinions vary greatly depending on the culture and surprisingly not only their physical appearance changes, but also their intentions. For some people, the sirens have nefarious purposes, they seek to drown sailors for their own benefit and bloodlust. While, for others, the mermaids only seek to spread their knowledge and help people lost at sea.
Regardless of what you really believe about mermaids, the most incredible thing about them is their ability to adapt, not within stories, but within the imagination. Mermaids can be adjusted to any time, culture, religion and thought, since being a creature that is born from the imagination, it can be modified at the whim of those who need it.
The lure of mermaids
Although for some people it is talking about something fanciful and that has no place in the real world. The reality of myths and legends is that they not only leave us a piece of a forgotten culture, but also function as a kind of comfort for the people. We all know that mermaids are not real, they do not exist right now nor did they exist millions of years ago, that does not prevent human beings from continuously searching for traces of their existence.
Discovery's Mermaid
One of the most basic examples of the rage that humans have for mermaids was when Discovery Channel aired a documentary called Mermaids: The body found. Here they claimed to have found scientific evidence proving the existence of this creature. For many years, people believed that this documentary was totally real, after all, it was produced by one of the largest scientific networks on the planet.
The failure of Discovery Channel When they released this documentary, they didn't make it clear at first that it was a fake fantasy documentary. That is to say, it had all the structure of a real scientific documentary, without using real information. This documentary prompted the generation of the moment to look for more evidence of what happened.
Believing that these mythological creatures exist is not a new concept for society. In fact, the study of these stories is called cryptoscience o cryptozoology, that although it studies the structure of these mythical creatures, the truth is that it has neither evidence nor true foundations, making this not a real science.
From Bigfoot to the Loch Ness monster, as a society, a large part of our consciences will always feel an attraction to these issues, generating skepticism. We can dissuade this by using logic, it can create a constant doubt. Does it exist or does it not exist?
Curiously, that answer can only be found in your imagination, without proof. It just depends on your own ingenuity and intelligence. Real or not, mermaids represent quite an attractive concept to the human mind. It's basically the same thing with aliens, sometimes people seek to believe that things exist that we just can't explain.
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