Fantasy and the Sea, Part I: Sirens and Mermaids 🧜♀️
Fantasy has a habit, if not an obsession, with exploring the sea. The sea is a dark, mysterious place, and offers plenty of opportunity for strange things to lurk in the deep.
In this post series, I’ll be exploring fantasy and folklore elements related to the ocean, including pirates, monsters, and magical tridents. In this series, we’ll be diving into the nitty gritty details of the history of how these tropes originated, and their relevance today in the fantasy genre.
In the first part of this series, we’ll be exploring the alluring, magical women of the sea: sirens amd mermaids. These women of the sea had similar origins, but nowadays, have developed into independent tropes. Their roles in fantasy today are distinctly different from each other, and from their origins.
History and Origins
The creature of the siren has ambiguous origins. Most famously, it was a mythological figure in Ancient Greece, but some historians believe it originated in Asia or in Egypt, whose mythological ba-bird resembled the sirens of early Greek myths. In the original Greek tails, sirens were depicted with the head of a woman and bird bodies, but in later depections, the siren began to take on a half-human, half-fish body. Arguably the most famous depiction of the siren is in Homer’s The Odyssey, but the epic poem did not include the classic physical description of the siren that we know today. Sirens today are known to sing beautiful songs that lead sailors to their death, and are prideful of their song, as depicted in Jason and the Argonauts when they are moved to suicide after Orpheus plays better music than them.
The mermaid is, no doubt, a more popular trope nowadays than the siren. However, interestingly, the mermaid in Greek, Roman, and Western myth was interconnected with the siren. Medevial beastiaries, when describing sirens, described the appearance of a mermaid instead of the classic bird-like sirens, but retaining the name and personal qualities of a siren. The mermaid as a trope, however, soon developed an identity of its own in Western myth.
Meanwhile, the mermaid gained popularity in Assyrian and Middle Eastern folklore independently. The most famous Assyrian mercreature was called “Kulullû”, a bearded fish-man, but their female counterparts kuliltu were also depicted in early myth. Also depicted in Assyrian myth were Apkallu, who wore fish cloaks like the ones depicted below.
This example shows how varied the ideas of fish-people can be, even in one culture. Across all mythologies, depictions of alluring mermaid-adjacent women crop up almost everywhere. Japanese cultures, for example, have the Ningyo, one of the supernatural Youkai creatures with the face of a human and the body of a fish. Celtic myth includes the Ceasg figure who can shapeshift into a human. West African water spirits are also similar to mermaids.
Clearly, the idea of a person who retains fish-like features and lives in the sea was a worldwide folklore phenomenon. And, as can be expected, there are some commonalities when this trope appears. Almost always, mythical mermaids and sirens are depicted as alluring creatures, with a beautiful aspect to them. Many have some form of god-like powers which enhance their allure, and a high level of intelligence.
Many myths about mer-folk include stories of women who can go to and from the water at will — for example, the aformentioned Celtic Ceasg. These stories set the groundwork for stories that endure even to this day. One example that younger audiences may recognize was the extremely popular H2O: Just Add Water series on Netflix aimed towards teenagers.
Another trope that survives today is mermaid’s ambigious moralities, and their abilities to be both good and evil, similar to fairies in certain bodies of myth. One example is the Scandinavian havfrue, who could cause storms and knew prophecies. This trope is also common in nautical folklore, where mermaids would be nice to those who rescue them and bestow gifts upon them.
As a symbol, mermaids and sirens were often used by Christians to represent the vanity of women, as mermaids were depicted holding mirrors and combs. Meanwhile sirens were a powerful reminder of the ‘dangerous’ allure of women. Christianities depiction of them paved the way for mermaids as a symbol of women and the sea, and contributed to the siren and mermaid’s similar features. In mythology, however, mermaids and their half-human, half-fish bodies were generally a symbol of the relationship between humanity an nature.
In Fantasy Today
Despite their common origins, mermaids and sirens are distinctly different in fantasy today. Half-human, half-fish creatures are mermaids, while sirens are dangerous women who lure sailors to their deaths are sirens. What binds these two figures together is their mutual representation of women and their relation to the sea, and personifications of the alluring nature of the ocean. However, what separates them is the mermaid’s common representation as a playful, beautiful wonder of the ocean and what can be found in it— calling to mind the ocean’s lapping waves, tidepools, and beautifully-colored fish. Meanwhile, the siren represents the dangerous nature of the ocean— whirlpools, dark waves, and death. Both, however, are depicted with a magical, feminine beauty.
Additionally, many mermaid and siren tropes which were common in mythology endure to this day. Almost all mermaids today are depicted with standard half-human, half-fish bodies, and are either nice and beautiful, such as The Little Mermaid, or ugly and mean, such as in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Sirens, meanwhile, are almost always depicted as part of a Greek mythology retelling, and usually serve a singular role as a villain. However, many of the nuances of mythological merfolk have been lost. While there were hundreds of mermaids depicted in folklore worldwide, with powers ranging from granting wishes to controlling the weather, the most common mermaid today is that depicted by the Hans Christain Anderson tale.
And so, this is the challenge I pose to fantasy readers and writers. Seek out unique mermaids with looks that differ from fair skin and powers that differ from those that have already been explored. Tell the tale of the Ningyo or the Ceasg. Tell the tale of a siren who is not trying to lure people to their deaths. Maybe your siren has fallen in love with a sailor, and needs to convince him that she is not the siren of his fables. Tell the tale of a male river dolphin who can turn into a human, like the Encantados from Brazilian folklore. Maybe your story has three types of merfolk, not just one. Juxtapose mermaids with sirens. Go crazy with it!
But if you are writing about the classic sirens and mermaids women, keep in mind all that these creatures have represented for humans of the past. Embrace their symbolism as a depiction of women and the sea. Mermaids, with their fish tails, can symbolize the animalistic nature of humans, and the relationship between humans and the natural and oceanic world. They are a representation of all of the possible mysteries contained within the sea, and the wonder and allure that is associated with discovering these mysteries. Since humanity discovered the ocean, we’ve been trying to puzzle out its secrets. And the mermaids and sirens of fantasy and folklore are just one manifestation of this journey.
-Liz
Book reccomendations for fans of Sirens and Mermaids:
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo— A Goodreads Choice Award nominee, this book is perfect if you are a fan of young adult fantasy and you want a little bit of romance with your underwater tales
Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long— a gunpowder fantasy including mermaids and elements of storm magic. Goodreads is having a giveaway for this book right now!
Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué— if you’re a fan of classics, and you like reading folklore, pick up this German novella about the myth of a mermaid creature named Melusine.