The sea maidens were loved by mathematicians and sung by poets, fairy tales and legends are dedicated to them, but did you manage to solve the mystery of these aquatic creatures? Siren, Undine, Little Mermaid - what is the difference, how did the story of mermaid prostitutes begin and why to this day you should not go into the water during the "Russian week".
Myth or Reality?
Did these semi-earth inhabitants really exist? To summarize all the studies of cultural studies - yes, but everything could be different than we imagine. The truth about true mermaids is somewhere in between. Everything is about the same as with dragon legends. The Fire Breathers seemed like sheer fiction until the skeletons of dinosaurs were studied. The image of dragons was conveyed by people - they ciphered reality into a fabulous code, which we still solve.
Sirens or prostitutes?
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The main sign of a mermaid is that she is not alone, she has many relatives. It was for this that mathematicians loved mermaids, they argued: does a number give birth to a mermaid or a mermaid number?
Mermaids grow exponentially, just start exploring. There are so many water ladies in the myths of different countries that the German writer Andreas Crassus created a "mermaid encyclopedia" in which he described about 20 species of half-man-half fish. He writes about Naiads, Nereids, Melusines, Sirens, who are distant or close relatives to each other.
Andreas Crassus also talks about the historical background, for example, the history of the inhabitants of the sea in Homer's Odyssey. The poem deals with one of the types of underwater brethren - "sirens". They are a serious test for sailors who are forced to sail past the island of "sweet-sounding sirens". Men, hearing the singing, forgot about the house, wives and children - they let life and the ship derail. Odysseus, however, according to the plot, once ordered his companions to plug their ears with wax and tie themselves to the mast so as not to be tempted. But it's not about a wise decision, but about what kind of real story formed the basis of the plot.
It may well be that sirens are an epithet for beautiful girls of easy virtue who mastered the art of love.
The fact is that in the place that Homer writes about, there was really an island, but brothels were located there and lived there, respectively, not underwater, but completely earthly creatures - ancient Greek prostitutes who lured sailors, promising such pleasures that just right forget your wife, children, and your home.
The little mermaid is a creature with legs, with a tail - the Sea Maiden
What do the fairy tales say about mermaids and sisters? Perhaps we are talking about unusual women-muses, devoted and therefore radically changed their roles: from a muse to a devil.
The sad and romantic tale of the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen is one of the most popular in childhood. However, her main character is not a mermaid, but a sea maiden. If literally from Danish, the one that we called the Mermaid is called "Little Sea Lady" and this lady belongs to the class of "Sea Maidens". They have family ties with mermaids, but they are still not. The mermaid is a heroine of Slavic mythology who lives near water bodies, while the Sea Maiden is the sister of her sisters and was born under water.
A mermaid in the direct interpretation of the word can be found on earth during the Rusal week (adjacent to the holiday of Trinity) and she has legs. It is believed that mermaids came into the water from the earthly world: girls who died before marriage or during Rusal Week, drowned, less often unbaptized children. Often the heart of mermaids is broken, so they take revenge - they lure men into the water, from where the latter do not return. There is no clear description of their appearance, sometimes they are young girls in white clothes and with long hair, sometimes ugly women with large breasts, which they throw over their shoulders.
The progenitor of the sea maidens is considered to be the Babylonian god Oannes. He changed shape for a long time, in the end he is a kind of mermaid - the head and torso of a man and a fish tail instead of legs. The first woman with a tail is the goddess of the moon and fishing - Atargate.
But back to fairy tales
Andersen's little mermaid - with a tail and she never drowned, she is the "Sea Maiden" that lives in the underwater kingdom. According to the plot, when the underwater lady turns 15, she is allowed to look at the world above the water. From this moment, the active development of the plot begins: the prince drowns, she saves the young man and this is love at first sight. Then the girl makes inquiries about people and learns from her grandmother about the delights of the human soul, which is reborn and generally immortal. A witch is called to help feel like a man, she takes the voice of the Little Mermaid. The contract is signed, but the prince prefers the earthly girl to the voiceless water girl. The ex-mermaid is facing death and the sisters offer a solution - if she kills the prince, she will again become an underwater inhabitant. But it turns to foam. It seems that this is a sad end, but as culturologists explain,and in the text of the fairy tale itself there is this point: the little mermaid becomes one of the daughters of the air, radically changing the element. And here she learns that not everything is so bad with the dream of human legs: for 300 years it has been doing good deeds and then being a man with an immortal soul.
The Brothers Grimm's "Mermaid in the Pond" is less harmless, although beautiful. The impoverished miller promised to give the mermaid his newborn son for the returned wealth, but when the child was born, he changed his mind and began to hide the boy. Once, the prince bequeathed before birth, who was already married at that time, approached the pond and was safely sunk to the bottom. The wife was not happy about such a fate, turned to the witch and rescued the betrothed from under the water. He survived thanks to the titanic efforts of another woman, who, possibly, also had Rusal roots.
These tales do not speak of prostitutes who are lured by their voice and a wonderful look, here we have another kind of mermaids and another strategy: sacrifice and love for the sake of immortality, retribution for betrayal and default on obligations.
In other legends and legends, a certain census of fears is also often traced: losing a loved one, betrayal, as well as self-doubt and jealousy. In fact, all the representatives of the mermaid tribe are fatal women, who are portrayed, approximately the way they will later portray witches: with a mirror and fluffy hair.
The tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it
There is a legend that lives in our days "thanks to" the disease "sleep apnea syndrome", which is tacitly called - "Ondina's Curse."
As the legend says: “the little mermaid” - a maiden named Ondina, put a curse on her narrowed one after he found another one for himself a few decades later: “You swore to me with your morning breath! So know - while you are awake, it will be with you, but as soon as you fall asleep, the breath leaves your body and you will die."
Today, according to statistics, 10% of the male population of the planet suffers from "sleep apnea syndrome", and about 40% are prone to this disease after 40 years. People sick with it are able to breathe only while awake.
