This week on #CreatureoftheWeek we discuss the #mermaid and whether the #reversemermaid, with a fish head and human legs, is still a mermaid?
On this blog we are not afraid to tackle the #bigquestions and this age-old query has gone unanswered for far too long. It's time for some much needed answers!
To answer this question, let's start by examining the origin of the mermaid.
The oldest image of a half fish half man creature is from 5000 BC. OMG, I hear you cry, that's aaaaaaages ago! Yes, yes it is. These images were originally thought to be the #Mesopotamian god #Enki, later known as #Ea, the god of water, knowledge, mischief, crafts and creation (a seriously awesome god!). However it later turned out to represent one of his seven #Apkallu, which were like #demigods created to embark some much needed knowledge on humanity. But they weren't mermaids, they were basically dudes wearing the skin of a fish, so telling you that was totally pointless.
Fast forward four thousand years to 1000 BC in #Assyria, now Syria, and BOOM, we have our first mermaid! This chic's name was #Atargatis, goddess of the moon, water and feminine powers. She falls in love with a mortal shepherd and they start getting it on but she's so beautiful and such a good shag that his mortal man body can't take it. A bit of fun bam-bam in the ham suddenly goes terribly wrong and he keels over, dead. She is really upset because she proper loved him, so upset that she tries to kill herself in the lake. However because of her beauty she cannot die and instead turns into a creature half fish from the waist down, and thus we have our first mermaid!
Since then mermaids have been cropping up all over the place in Greek mythology as #nereids, in Roman mythology as #sirens, in Irish and Scottish mythology as #merrows, in China, Russia, Africa, Brazil, New Zealand.... the list goes on! They feature in stories from all over the world.
And in every story I have ever read about mermaids the top half is always human and the bottom half always fish.
Next, let's look at the qualities of a mermaid.
They are sexy af in order to lure men to their death
They can control the sea with a trident
They have perfect hair
Does the reverse mermaid have ANY of these qualities?
The answer is no.
They are grotesque, not ideal for seducing men (most men anyway)
They don't have any arms so hydrokinesis would be out of the question - how would they pick up the trident?
They don't even have any hair
To be honest, with human legs and no fins or arms, it would be utterly useless! I don't think it could even swim, it would just sink to the bottom of the ocean.
It's not looking good for the reverse mermaid so far....
Lastly but by no means leastly, let's compare this situation to other mythical beings.
I was thinking, are there other reverse mythical creatures that we can compare the reverse mermaid to?
How about comparing the #faun from Roman mythology who has a human top half and goat bottom half....
....to #Baphomet, a sabbatic creature with the head of a goat and the body of a man?
Although they are the reverse of each other they are very different indeed and bare no relation. One is a happy-go-lucky woodland spirit and the other is quite literally the devil.
It's a similar situation when we compare the #centaur from Greek mythology with a human top half and horse bottom half, to #Horseface from Chinese mythology with a horse's head and a man's body. Again, these two creatures are the reverse but are in no way related, centaurs are renowned for causing chaos whereas Horse-face guards the underworld with his buddy, Ox-head.
In both these examples, one is a species of mythical being and the other is a one-off mythical beast. Therefore I would argue that it would most likely be the same situation for the reverse mermaid; if it was to exist it would be a one off monstrosity, and it would not be classified as a mermaid.
What have we learned?
Reverse mermaids do not feature historically in mythology
The have absolutely no skills and would struggle even just to keep afloat
If it did exist, it would probably be a one off
Therefore in conclusion, me and Nigel have decided no, this ugly, monstrous and utterly useless creature is definitely NOT a mermaid.
What would you name it? Share your thoughts below!
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