"Mystical Waters"

Have you ever just fallen in love with the beauty and mysteries of the water? Since child hood, there’s no other place I rather be then the beautiful deep blue ocean. My favorite pastimes would be the vivid unforgettable memories my family and I spent near the water. For some reason, no matter what kind of argument had taken place before hand, or how moody any of us were, when we were all together at the ocean, our hearts, and minds were filled with nothing more than just happiness, peace and love.  The activity, I most enjoyed was just soaking in the cold water, and letting the tidal waves brush against my body, and just cause me to drift away, of all my problems and worries. The mysterious magical powers and calmness within the waters, would just take whole of my emotions. But time after time of visiting the ocean, one unanswered question began to grow in the back of my mind. Was there any other mystical life hidden away with in the waters? Beyond the obvious life of the fishes, sea anemones and turtles; something more like the legend of the mystical mermaid.

"Mer..What?"

John William Waterhouse, A Mermaid, 1900 Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photo courtesy Royal Academy of Arts, London

The Legend of the Mermaid has been a part of numerous folk tales, literature, mythology, movies, children cartoons and even in poetry worldwide. For the most part, these various tales describes the mermaids as being half woman and half fish. The mystical mermaid can sometimes be often called "Sirens". Essentially believing that appearance wise, mermaids are beyond beautiful and a true work of art. In some cultures though the mermaid is also believed as being in another form such as half man and half fish; merman. The mermaid myths date back to Ancient Greece and to the Middle East where archeologists have found bronze moldings of mermaids that are as old as 3,000 years. The stories and myths, about these mystical creatures differ from country to country. In the roots of Africa the legend states mermaids as being water Goddesses. In China, on the other hand, mermaids are seen as personalities and believed to be a part of nature; such as wind, water, rain storms, lightning, and animals. Even though, archeologists have discovered moldings of mermaids, scientists have never really documented mermaids as being a mere reality. Meaning that through out history, scientists have never been successful in proving that mermaids truly exist. Despite, the unproven myths for century’s people have witnessed sightings of mermaids. As the author of North Star Gallery states, “One of the first references to humans encountering Sirens is found in Homer's ancient epic, the Odyssey, written around 800 B.C." The Greek hero, Ulysses encountered these creatures during his voyage.  Ulysses had been warned by the sorceress, Circe about the beautiful sea nymphs and there evil yet undeniable singing abilities, that would lead men and their boats to their deaths. Circe gave Ulysses the advice to plug his and his men’s ears with wax, to ignore the mermaid’s voices. Thankfully, because of this advice, he did not fall for their taunting ways and made it through safety. Another one of the most famous and first sightings documented in history; was that of Christopher Columbus. On January 4, 1493, during his enduring voyage to America, he reported to have seen mermaids playing about jumping out of the water. As the website, Beautiful Mermaid Art states, "He says, "They were not as beautiful as they are painted, although to some extent they have a human appearance in the face..."" Throughout the decades, the history and tales of mermaids have developed tremendously. In fact, in the present day, sightings of mermaids still continue to occur. Although sightings continue and the legends have had a long for told history, no one person can truly prove the fact that these goddesses are not just a fantasy.

Work Citied:

Beautiful-Mermaid-Art: Real Mermaid Timeline. 2005-2007. Web. 23 November 2010. <http://www.beautiful-mermaid-art.com/real-mermaid.html>.

North Star Gallery: Sirens. 2002. 23 November 2010.             Web.<http://northstargallery.com/mermaids/mermaidhistory2.htm>.

Unexplained-Mysteries: Mermaids.2001-2010. Web. 23 November 2010. <http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewarticle.php?id=156>.

"The Kaiwi Point Mermaid"

Photo ©1998 Jeff Leicher

Other then century old moldings, no strong evidence of the magical mermaid could be presented. Until, finally on April 12, 1998 a man encountered a real life mermaid and presented evidence. KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII - A dive-boat captain finally captured the half-woman, half-fish on film! Dive master Jeff Leicher, 43, photographed the creature known as the "Kaiwi Point Mermaid", as he and six other divers were exploring the deep ocean floor. Leicher and the other divers had heard of the legend of the mermaid on the beach, but they had not experienced anything like it; until that very second. He and his divers were on the way to the point when they were suddenly being followed by a school of dolphins. Weekly World News’, writer quotes Leicher, “"Suddenly one of the men on the port side starts yelling and pointing.”I couldn't believe what I saw. There, not 10 feet from the bow, was what looked like a nude woman. Then she leapt into the air and my heart almost gave out on me. The entire lower half of her was covered with scales and tapered back into a huge fish tail. "She jumped once more, then disappeared under the surface."” An hour or so later, Leicher arrived at the point and began to dive with the other men. He was taking pictures of some colorful fish with his underwater camera. Suddenly, he felt something brush quickly against his legs. To his surprise it was the mermaid. Thinking on his feet, Leicher quickly began photograph as many pictures as he could. 

Photo ©1998 Jeff Leicher







Weekly World News had Leicher's pictures analyzed by three noted photography labs. All three labs say the photos are genuine and have not been tampered with.





Work Cited:
Hassam.Mysterious Myths About Mermaids.2010.Web.2 December 2010.
<http://hubpages.com/hub/Mysterious-Myths-About-Mermaids>.

Victoria,Ann.World Weekly News: "Image of Half-Women Half-Fish Dazzles Tourists in Hawaii".1981.Web.3 December 2010.http://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/new/mermaid.htm.

 

"Mermaid in Israel"

Dozens of excited visitors have been gathering on the seashore near the Israeli town of Kiryat Yam near Haifa to catch a glimpse of the area's latest star attraction, a mermaid.

(Stone/Getty Images)

          Mermaids have continually been sighted over and over again. Witnesses from mermaid sightings worldwide mainly contain of fishermen, sailors, people at sea and civilians living near the sea. As New York Daily News states, just last year (2009) in a beach town in Israel, a mermaid was believed to be seen. The Jerusalem Post reports, “In the town of Kirvat Yam, Israel, where dozens of people have reported mermaid sightings, a $1 million reward is on the line for anyone who can prove by photo or capture that mermaids do exist.” The civilians and tourists are truly convinced that the creature they each witnessed was no figment of imagination, or lie. Each of the witnesses have swear to have seen the mermaid over numerous months during times of sunset, flipping around in the water, laying on the beach, then suddenly disappearing. Yet, not one of the witnesses has evidence to proof their story. According to IsraelNationNews.com, witness Shlomo Cohen was one of the first to identify the mysterious creature. “I was with my friends when suddenly we saw a woman laying on the sand in a weird way,” he said. “At first I thought she was just another sunbather, but when we approached she jumped into the water and disappeared. We were all in shock because we saw she had a tail. At least five of us saw it and we all couldn’t believe it.” The town council, which is offering the million dollar (£609,000) reward, believes that the sightings are nothing more than just another host to attract tourist. The news of the sighting quickly spread cross country in Israel, then globally.  Coinsedently, as the town council suspected, thousands of tourists are now visiting the Israli beach hoping to catch a glimpse of this mystical woman. Whether or not the witnesses were stating the truth, remains a complete mystery.

 

Work Cited:

"mermaid." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 2 Dec. 2010 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Lapowsky, Issie. “Mermaid Fever Makes A Splash in Israel.”NY Daily News. 2010. Web. 2 December 2010. <http://www.nydailynews.com/travel/2009/08/12/2009-08-12_mermaid_fever_sweeps_israel_beach_town_of_krivat_yam_as_many_report_sightings_of.html>.

Waghorn, Dominic. “Mermaid Fever Makes A Splash in Israel.” Sky News HD. 2010. Web. 3 December 2010. <http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Israel-Mermaid-Fever-Makes-A-Splash-Mythical-Creature-Spotted-Near-Haifa/Article/200908215358515 Mermaid Fever Makes A Splash in Israel by Dominic Waghorn, Middle East Correspondant>

The Official Verdict

In conclusion, I honestly think that mermaids are not a myth, but a mere fact. My endless researching on different articles, sightings ,and history of mermaids has proved that these mystical creatures probably did exist at one point in time. Through out, centuries and decades this legend have been documentated and passed down to generation to generation. Not just here in America, but globally. In countries all over the world, different forms of mermaids have been included in religious beliefs, tales, stories and mythology. I concluded with  my verdict, because of the suprising fact that legends of the mermaids have been told for such a long period of time. The different stories and legend all lead to the key fact that they are no fantasy but a true reality.