Mermaid

The statue of The Little Mermaid, a monument to Hans Christian Andersen, in Copenhagen harbour.

A mermaid is a legendary aquatic creature with the head and torso of human female and the tail of a fish. The male version of a mermaid is called a merman. Various cultures throughout the world have similar figures.

The Sirens of Greek mythology are sometimes portrayed in later folklore and art as being physically similar to mermaids; in fact in some languages the name sirena is used interchangeably for both creatures. Other related types of mythical or legendary creature are water fairies (e.g., various water nymphs) and selkies).

The Truth behind The Mermaid Myth?

It has been widely suggested that manatees could be behind the myth of the mermaid. These large aquatic mammals are notable for the way in which they carry their young, cradled in their arms much as a human would carry a baby. It is possible that sailors seeing these unfamiliar beasts for the first time, would assume that they had in fact stumbled across some sort of humanoid species, and consequently spread their accounts of the sightings through their homelands on their return from voyages. It has even been posited that the traditional image of a mermaid with long flowing hair could be attributed to manatees breaking the ocean surface underneath patches of seaweed, and giving the unfamiliar observer the impression of having long "hair."

Legend and myth

A mermaid looks up at the legs of a swimmer; 1921 cartoon

Tales of mermaids are nearly universal. The first known mermaid stories appeared in Assyria, ca. 1000 BCE. Atargatis, the mother of Assyrian queen Semiramis, was a goddess who loved a mortal shepherd and in the process killed him. Ashamed, she jumped into a lake to take the form of a fish, but the waters would not conceal her divine nature. Thereafter, she took the form of a mermaid - human above the waist, fish below, though the earliest representations of Atargatis showed her as being a fish with a human head and legs, similar to the Babylonian Ea. The Greeks recognized Atargatis under the name Derketo, where she was often conflated with Aphrodite.

Lucian of Samosata in Syria (2nd century CE) in De Dea Syria ("Concerning the Syrian Goddess") wrote of the Syrian temples he had visited:

Among the Neo-Taíno nations of the Caribbean the mermaid is called Aycayía [1] she of the beautiful voice [2]. Her attributes relate to the goddess Jagua, and the hibiscus flower of the majagua tree Hibiscus tiliaceous [3]. Examples from other cultures are the Mami Wata of West Africa, the Jengu of Cameroon, the Merrow of Ireland and Scotland, and the Greek Oceanids, Nereids, and Naiads. One freshwater mermaid-like creature from European folklore is Melusine, who is sometimes depicted with two fish tales, and other times with the lower body of a serpent. It is said in Japan that eating the flesh of a mermaid can grant unaging immortality. In some European legends mermaids are said to grant wishes.

Fiction

Mermaids are one of the most famous creatures of popular culture, and are depicted regularly in literature and film. This is likely due to the influence of Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale The Little Mermaid (1836), which has been translated into many languages and adapted into various mediums. Andersen's portrayal has arguably become the standard, and has influenced most modern Western depictions of mermaids since it was published.

Anderson's Little Mermaid was immortalized with a famous bronze sculpture in Copenhagen harbour, and was adapted into a Disney movie (The Little Mermaid, 1989). The story has been retold in other films and television programs, and regularly features in collections of fairytales.

"Madison" from the movie Splash

In Splash (1984), starring Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks, Hannah played a mermaid who fell in love with a man. She could walk dry land as a human female, but whenever salt water touched her legs they changed into a fish-tail. Much of the movie revolves around her humorous attempts to conceal her true identity from her lover. A made-for-television sequel, Splash, Too[4] followed in 1988. It starred Amy Yasbeck and Todd Waring, and was later made in to a short lived television series.

Miranda (1948), starring Glynis Johns, is another popular movie to feature a mermaid. She Creature (2001) featured a villainous mermaid who seemed to have a taste for human flesh and lesbian tendencies.

A made-for-cable movie, Mermaids, starring Nikita Ager, Sarah Laine and Erika Heynatz aired on the PAX network in 2003. It was about a trio of mermaid sisters named Venus, June and Diana who solve their father's murder.

Also Aquamarine a novel by Alice Hoffman about two 12 year old girls who discover a Sassy teenage mermaid was popular among teen and preteen girls and will be relased as a film in 2006 by Twentieth Century Fox starring Sara Paxton ,Emily Roberts and Jo Jo

Advertising characters from television commercials include the Chicken of the Sea Mermaid, the cartoon mascot for a brand of tuna. Even more ambiguous is the mermaid featured on the Starbucks Coffee logo.

Mermaids are also featured in the film Hook and the Harry Potter series, specifically in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

L. Frank Baum (creator of Oz) wrote a novel about merfolk, The Sea Fairies.

For many years, the comic book superhero Superman had a romantic love interest with a mermaid woman named Lori Lemaris. The name Lori Lemaris was probably drawn from Lorelei rock in the Rhine added to maris, from the Latin mare, meaning ocean.

Mermaids are also fictional creatures in the Dungeons and Dragons game. They are the females of the merfolk race. The males are known as mermen.

Sirenomelia

Sirenomelia, also called "mermaid syndrome", is a rare congenital disorder in which a child is born with his or her legs fused together and the genitalia reduced. This condition is about as rare as conjoined twins and is usually fatal within a day or two of birth because of kidney and bladder complications, though there are two known survivors of this disorder alive today.

Hoaxes

In the 19th century, P. T. Barnum displayed in his museum a taxidermal hoax called the Feejee (sic) Mermaid. Others have perpetrated similar hoaxes, which are usually papier-mâché fabrications or parts of decease creatures, usually monkeys and fish, stitched together for the appearance of a grotesque mermaid. In the wake of the 2004 tsunami, pictures of fiji mermaids were passed around on the internet as something that had washed up amid the devastation, though they were no more real than Barnum's exibit [5]

Heraldry

Coat of Arms of Warsaw

In heraldry, the charge of a mermaid is commonly represented with a comb and a mirror, and blazoned as a 'mermaid in her vanity.' Merfolk were used to symbolize eloquence in speech.

A shield and sword-wielding mermaid (Syrenka) is the official Coat of Arms of Warsaw, the capital of Poland.

The personal coat of arms of Michaëlle Jean, Canada's Governor General, features two Simbi, mermaid-like spirits from Haitian vodun, as supporters.


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The personal coat of arms of Michaëlle Jean, Canada's Governor General, features two Simbi, mermaid-like spirits from Haitian vodun, as supporters.
The original version of this page was based on monitor at the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (FOLDOC), and is used with permission under the GFDL.. A shield and sword-wielding mermaid (Syrenka) is the official Coat of Arms of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. When used as a verb, "to monitor" or "monitoring" may mean:. In heraldry, the charge of a mermaid is commonly represented with a comb and a mirror, and blazoned as a 'mermaid in her vanity.' Merfolk were used to symbolize eloquence in speech. . In the wake of the 2004 tsunami, pictures of fiji mermaids were passed around on the internet as something that had washed up amid the devastation, though they were no more real than Barnum's exibit [5]. Some of these alternate meanings are listed below.

Barnum displayed in his museum a taxidermal hoax called the Feejee (sic) Mermaid. Others have perpetrated similar hoaxes, which are usually papier-mâché fabrications or parts of decease creatures, usually monkeys and fish, stitched together for the appearance of a grotesque mermaid. The word monitor is a Latin term for warner or suggester, and now has several different meanings depending on context. T. They consider themselvs the best in Europe. In the 19th century, P. Monitor Clan is a team of Dota AllStars players. This condition is about as rare as conjoined twins and is usually fatal within a day or two of birth because of kidney and bladder complications, though there are two known survivors of this disorder alive today. Monitor Group is a strategy consultancy based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sirenomelia, also called "mermaid syndrome", is a rare congenital disorder in which a child is born with his or her legs fused together and the genitalia reduced. A device (attached to the back of the child's neck) used for monitoring nearly every aspect of a child's life in the science fiction novel Ender's Game. The males are known as mermen. Monitor lizards are a family of large tropical lizards (Varanidae). They are the females of the merfolk race. A device for channeling water under high pressure against a surface, also known as a water cannon, was used in hydrolic mining in California. Mermaids are also fictional creatures in the Dungeons and Dragons game. A Polish 18th century newspaper, Monitor (newspaper).

The name Lori Lemaris was probably drawn from Lorelei rock in the Rhine added to maris, from the Latin mare, meaning ocean. The AI that is the caretaker of Halo (better known as 343 Guilty Spark). For many years, the comic book superhero Superman had a romantic love interest with a mermaid woman named Lori Lemaris. Two characters from the DC Comics limited comic book series, Crisis on Infinite Earths. Frank Baum (creator of Oz) wrote a novel about merfolk, The Sea Fairies. Monitor is a British organisation that regulates the NHS Foundation Trusts. L. Monitor was a BBC arts programme that began 1958.

Mermaids are also featured in the film Hook and the Harry Potter series, specifically in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Monitor was a popular NBC radio program which aired from 1955 to 1975. Even more ambiguous is the mermaid featured on the Starbucks Coffee logo. A river monitor, the strongest type of river warships... Advertising characters from television commercials include the Chicken of the Sea Mermaid, the cartoon mascot for a brand of tuna. It reappeared in a different form during the First World War and lasted until the end of the Second World War. Also Aquamarine a novel by Alice Hoffman about two 12 year old girls who discover a Sassy teenage mermaid was popular among teen and preteen girls and will be relased as a film in 2006 by Twentieth Century Fox starring Sara Paxton ,Emily Roberts and Jo Jo. A monitor is a type of ship based on the USS Monitor and built by several navies for coastal defense in the 1860s and 1870s.

It was about a trio of mermaid sisters named Venus, June and Diana who solve their father's murder. USS Monitor, the ironclad warship of the American civil war. A made-for-cable movie, Mermaids, starring Nikita Ager, Sarah Laine and Erika Heynatz aired on the PAX network in 2003. A Prefect (empowered schoolboy or schoolgirl) in certain British schools, especially public schools. She Creature (2001) featured a villainous mermaid who seemed to have a taste for human flesh and lesbian tendencies. A Hall monitor, one who patrols the hall of a school. Miranda (1948), starring Glynis Johns, is another popular movie to feature a mermaid. A programming technique for managing access of parallel processes to shared resources while ensuring mutual exclusion: Monitor (synchronization).

It starred Amy Yasbeck and Todd Waring, and was later made in to a short lived television series. An execution profiler. A made-for-television sequel, Splash, Too[4] followed in 1988. A small interactive bootstrap program or machine code debugger. Much of the movie revolves around her humorous attempts to conceal her true identity from her lover. A video monitor such as is used in studio, lab or test environments. She could walk dry land as a human female, but whenever salt water touched her legs they changed into a fish-tail. A speaker used on stage or in a studio to enable musicians to hear what is being recorded or broadcasted.

In Splash (1984), starring Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks, Hannah played a mermaid who fell in love with a man. A medical monitor. The story has been retold in other films and television programs, and regularly features in collections of fairytales. A hardware device that measures electrical events such as pulses or voltage levels in a digital computer. Anderson's Little Mermaid was immortalized with a famous bronze sculpture in Copenhagen harbour, and was adapted into a Disney movie (The Little Mermaid, 1989). A computer display or screen. Andersen's portrayal has arguably become the standard, and has influenced most modern Western depictions of mermaids since it was published. to observe the behaviour or communications of individuals or groups (see surveillance).

This is likely due to the influence of Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale The Little Mermaid (1836), which has been translated into many languages and adapted into various mediums. to observe a situation for any changes which may occur over time. Mermaids are one of the most famous creatures of popular culture, and are depicted regularly in literature and film. In some European legends mermaids are said to grant wishes. It is said in Japan that eating the flesh of a mermaid can grant unaging immortality.

One freshwater mermaid-like creature from European folklore is Melusine, who is sometimes depicted with two fish tales, and other times with the lower body of a serpent. Examples from other cultures are the Mami Wata of West Africa, the Jengu of Cameroon, the Merrow of Ireland and Scotland, and the Greek Oceanids, Nereids, and Naiads. Her attributes relate to the goddess Jagua, and the hibiscus flower of the majagua tree Hibiscus tiliaceous [3]. Among the Neo-Taíno nations of the Caribbean the mermaid is called Aycayía [1] she of the beautiful voice [2].

Lucian of Samosata in Syria (2nd century CE) in De Dea Syria ("Concerning the Syrian Goddess") wrote of the Syrian temples he had visited:. The Greeks recognized Atargatis under the name Derketo, where she was often conflated with Aphrodite. Thereafter, she took the form of a mermaid - human above the waist, fish below, though the earliest representations of Atargatis showed her as being a fish with a human head and legs, similar to the Babylonian Ea. Ashamed, she jumped into a lake to take the form of a fish, but the waters would not conceal her divine nature.

Atargatis, the mother of Assyrian queen Semiramis, was a goddess who loved a mortal shepherd and in the process killed him. 1000 BCE. The first known mermaid stories appeared in Assyria, ca. Tales of mermaids are nearly universal.

It has even been posited that the traditional image of a mermaid with long flowing hair could be attributed to manatees breaking the ocean surface underneath patches of seaweed, and giving the unfamiliar observer the impression of having long "hair.". It is possible that sailors seeing these unfamiliar beasts for the first time, would assume that they had in fact stumbled across some sort of humanoid species, and consequently spread their accounts of the sightings through their homelands on their return from voyages. These large aquatic mammals are notable for the way in which they carry their young, cradled in their arms much as a human would carry a baby. It has been widely suggested that manatees could be behind the myth of the mermaid.

. Other related types of mythical or legendary creature are water fairies (e.g., various water nymphs) and selkies). The Sirens of Greek mythology are sometimes portrayed in later folklore and art as being physically similar to mermaids; in fact in some languages the name sirena is used interchangeably for both creatures. Various cultures throughout the world have similar figures.

The male version of a mermaid is called a merman. A mermaid is a legendary aquatic creature with the head and torso of human female and the tail of a fish.