For thousands of years, seafarers have often told each other a legend about a fish-bodied, human-tailed creature with a beautiful voice that used to enchant handsome fishermen to death. It’s Siren the fishman.
Legend has it that Siren mermaids are half-human, half-bird creatures and have wonderful singing voices. Once, the goddess Hera organized a singing contest between Siren mermaids and 9 Muses – goddesses of music who were children of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the god of wisdom. Unfortunately, the Siren mermaids lost and their feathers were plucked by the Muses to make clothes as a trophy. Without feathers, the Sirens could no longer fly and their lower parts gradually turned into fish tails. According to legend, their tails can glow to become more attractive in the eyes of men.
Sirens typically live on islands called Anthemoessa, located between the seas of Sicily and Italy. These islands are surrounded by large rocks, ready to destroy any ships attempting to enter.
The Sirens’ “mission” is to sing enchanting songs to deceive sailors and cause their deaths. Their songs have a magical melody that disorients sailors, causing them to steer their ships directly towards the islands, where they are sunk by the rocks surrounding them.
The bones of sailors on the islands will be used by the Sirens as musical instruments. Mermaids will often gather in singing groups of three and use musical instruments such as Lyre and flute to play melodious melodies.
Mermaids are actually described as creatures with beauty as captivating as treasure and abilities as vast as the sea. Their singing caused the sailors to be in distress. Sometimes the waves carry their voices to ships to predict upcoming bad weather events.
Sirens weren’t solely responsible for the deaths of sailors; they sometimes rescued shipwrecked sailors. These sailors would then remain on the island, father children with the mermen, and gradually transform into “Mermen”—male mermen. This is why women hated the Sirens so much, fearing they would seduce their men. Medieval paintings often depict mermen carrying a small hand mirror—a common item among prostitutes.
Legend has it that if a sailor rejects a Siren’s love, they will encounter extremely dangerous misfortune. If a Siren is injured, the entire crew will also experience a series of unfortunate events. However, mermaids are still considered gentle creatures in mythology and nature.