Tag Archives: Ancient Origin Myths

Merpeople as Bearers of Knowledge in Myth

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Merpeople, specifically mermaids, have been known to be seductive sea monsters who lure sailors to their death, and that has well founded symbolism in of itself. Yet there has also been depictions of merpeople that are valued for the knowledge they bring to humans. This dichotomy of symbolism of sea creatures is beguiling and nonetheless makes sense. In The Penguin Book of Mermaids introduction, Christina Bacchilega and Mari Alohalani Brown explains “that everything we need to survive, in one way or another, depends on water, it is unsurprising that peoples across place and time have ascribed religious significance to water and developed water symbolism” (xiv). In light of this it is clear that these crosscurrent myths would have their own symbolism not just for water but for the creatures that live in it. Focusing on the merpeople whom are valued and symbolic of knowledge, myths such as “Oannes” and “Odysseus and the Sirens” depict such symbolic knowledge and concurrently portray water spirits in different lights.

“Oannes” is described as something of a messenger of knowledge, a god that educates humans; the deity was something that was praised and attractive in its mythology. Oannes knowledge and education consisted of “convers[ing] with men; but took no food at that season; and he gave them an insight into letters, and science, and every kind of art […] so universal or his instructions, nothing material has been added by way of improvement” (4). In Babylonian mythology Oannes, whether he be a messenger or a god, was not feared but revered for what he gave humans. He came to the humans and gave them his knowledge without wanting or needing anything in return. Now in Babylonian culture water often symbolized the potential for creation and order, and Oannes is an exemplary folktale of such symbolism. A literal entity that brings the humans of Babylon order and civilization amongst their chaos. 

In Homer’s Odyssey, the Sirens in all technicalities are thought to be seductive, though surprisingly their alluring song is not one of destruction but one of wisdom. The book explains that “Odysseus is subject to erotic temptation more than once in the course of his homecoming, but the Sirens’ lure is of a different kind. Homer Sirens’ sing a song that promises knowledge— a wisdom that bridges worlds— instead of pleasure” (10). Thus, these sirens may be stereotypically the “monsters” originally thought to be, yet in reality they wish to provide Odysseus with a different point of view on life. Just like Babylonian mythology, Greek mythology  water is symbolic of creation and transformation, The sirens knowledge may not be one of facts or educating on order, but they want to get Odysseus to stay and learn from the wisdom they have to give.

Anxieties or Projections?

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This week’s reading had so many interesting aspects to it, but the one I wanted to focus on was the part where it’s stated that Mermaids can, “shed the nonhuman portion of their bodies and infiltrate the human world. And the shores and banks where we come across them, like the vessels on which we cross their waters, are thresholds between our world and theirs” (xi). I wanted to focus on this part of the reading because, as we have mentioned in class already, humans are scared of the unknown. But what I like about this quote is that it puts that fear into perspective. I want to bring attention to the word “infiltrate” because of the way it makes Mermaids out to be a kind of spy, or someone or something that has sinister intentions…Kind of like humans, no? I think it’s ironic to use the word “infiltrate” when humans have done and continue to do things like this already. I don’t think humans are necessarily scared of Mermaids themselves, but are afraid that they might do to us what we would do to them. I say this because of the idea that Mermaids are part of us; they are part human, meaning they have the capacity to think and act as we do.

I love the idea of saying that humans are projecting onto mermaids, which we have mentioned in class, suggesting that we are scared of them because they are a reflection of ourselves. But it is fascinating to think about the concept that humans are technically just scared of themselves. Especially when it comes to Mermaids, when the text we read this week stated, “like the vessels on which we cross their waters” (xi), I think it’s very hypocritical. I say this because we, as humans, were terrified at the idea of Mermaids coming onto our lands, but we infiltrate their waters every day. Whether it be through boats, submarines, or even just scuba diving, we are in their home all the time. So the idea that Mermaids are scary because of their ability to “look like us” is hypocritical and even hilarious when you think about how many places make silicone/hyper-realistic Mermaid tales. I know that “back in the day” was different, but I still feel that humans projected their hated attributes onto Mermaids to better deal with themselves.

Also, I thought it would be cool to show you all a picture of the Mermaid Mural/Mosaic in my restaurant that I had mentioned on Thursday!

ALSO ALSO, a song I wanted to mention that I hope some people already know that I think is cool and fits our class is Mermaid Song by ConcernedApe. It is from a game called Stardew Valley, and I always love when this song comes on!