Literature describes merpeople as water-dwelling, humanoid beings – widely grouped as ‘Mer’, they can take the form of mermaids, sirens, selkies and many more classifications. One thing for sure is that merfolk and all their offshoots can be found abundantly in literature.
In this article, we’ll be diving deep (sorry) into the beginnings, usual presentations and contents of tales about merfolk. There will also be recommendations of books, novellas and other writings containing Mer characters, so you can discover more about the mythology of these interesting creatures.
Origins of the mer
The earliest surviving story dates back to ancient Assyria, detailing the tale of a fertility goddess named Atargatis who cast herself into a lake after the death of her lover – she does not die, or fully transform into a fish – rather, retaining her upper body and gaining a fish-like tail. Interestingly, the myth is very closely associated with local customs of not eating fish.
From then on, the Greeks took to the tale like fish to water (yawn) and developed the concept a lot further into multitudes of different versions. The Siren – originating from Greek mythos and thought to form the basis for modern interpretations of mer lore – featured in Homer’s The Odyssey as dangerous creatures attempting to lure sailors into danger.
A selkie (first discussed in Celtic storytelling) is actually more similar to a seal than a fish, and can apparently change their appearance to either a human or a seal depending on whether they are out at sea or on land – and whether they know where their seal skin is.
What is a merperson?
In modern times, mermaids are viewed as having shimmering tails and an affinity for their fellow sea creatures. Mer are what is known as a comparative myth, meaning that across the globe, each culture has their own form of mythology surrounding them – since we could be here all day, unfortunately this article won’t be a deep delve into every type, but if you are interested, it would definitely be worth losing an afternoon to a more thorough investigation!
Mer legends
Typically, Mer legends are darker than you’d initially believe – perilous storms, jagged rocks and a sweet melody emanating from a lovely-looking lady – though depending on the tale, mermaids can be sailor’s saviours or the reason for their salty sinking. Mermen also feature in some stories, but are much less commonly presented and more likely to be found within heraldry.
Reccomendations
With how expansive mermaid tales are so far, there are a lot of works to choose from, but here are a few interesting portrayals to get you started:
- The Deep by Rivers Solomon
- Elijah’s Mermaid by Essie Fox
- The Girl From The Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
- The Moon and The Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre
- Sleeping With The Fishes by MaryJanice Davidson
‘But her thoughts soon strayed to the world up above…’ – Hans Christian Anderson
Often tales of tragic love, or of the mysteries encased in seafoam, tales about merfolk have been a popular literary focus for quite a while. It is quite telling that historically, writings about mermaids have been dark, murderous and misunderstood creatures – but they also have an intoxicating appeal…
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