Mermaids, the goddesses of the sea, have been debated about for years. They are believed to be beautiful creatures with the upper body of a woman and a lower body resembling a long fish tail. These creatures inhabit the depths of the sea collecting lost treasures from shipwrecks luring passing sailors with their music. Mermaid’s intentions, good or bad, are unknown. Stories that they kidnap sailors, rape and murder them have circulated for centuries, however the opposite has also been said. They have been known to rescue sailors from death by drowning and returning them to safety while risking their own life. According to me, mermaids are something that was made up in an attempt to pass the time and the story has traveled through the years offering comfort to many as well as something to believe in.
The existence of mermaids is supported with much credible evidence. When we are insecure with ourselves we often look for comfort in another object, for transgender children that object is merpeople. The fact that they live their life un-categorized by genitals fascinates many transgender children. Even if they do not exist mermaids appear real to us because we want them to exist so badly. There have been many supposed “sightings” of these creatures, usually claimed by sailors and fishermen. There is no way to positively say that mermaids do exist however they are believable. Carved into the sides of many ancient buildings in Europe are depictions of mermaids. In Notre Dame there are half fish, half human creatures carved into the stone in the pillars. In Italy there are mosaics showing women with fish tails guarding an underwater kingdom. The story of Atlantis is also an explanation of how these creatures could come about. As humans we were built to adapt to our surroundings. When a whole civilization sank into the ocean the men and women could have trained themselves to hold their breath for long amounts of time and their legs could have flattened from the pressure creating a fish like tail.
Doubt surrounds these creatures existence. The sightings by sailors have been discredited because of the circumstances under which they claimed these sightings. They had been out on the sea drinking salt water, unprotected from the elements and many suffered hallucinations. It has also been said that mermaids are a hoax made up by fishermen for money. People would pay to sit and listen of an encounter with such an exotic presence. It sounds ridiculous that something such as a mermaid could exist. A human who is able to breathe under water and withstand immense amounts of pressure while living under the water, there is no way that this could occur. One source that many mermaid believers depend on to defend their belief is Christopher Columbus. Christopher claimed that on his first voyage to America COUGH COUGH India, that he saw three mermaids. We all know how trustworthy he is.
I believe that this paper has shown both sides to the spectrum, however the non-credible evidence strongly outweighs the credible. Excuse me for stomping on the beliefs of some but science is proof, and research shows that it is physically impossible for such a creature to exist. Don’t get me wrong there are many things that I believe in that I cannot see with my own eyes however, mermaids for as long as they have been supposedly been around, would have been exposed by now. I strongly believe that these are made up creatures whose saga has traveled through the years and that they are not, nor ever will exist.
Resources
Figure 1: Shipwreck Angels http://northstargallery.com/mermaids/MermaidHistory2.htm Date Retrieved – April 7th, 2009
Pantheon.com http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mermaid.html Date Retrieved – April 7th, 2009
North Star Gallery http://northstargallery.com/mermaids/MermaidHistory2.htm Date Retrieved – April 7th, 2009
Endicott-Studio.com http://www.endicott-studio.com/jMA03Summer/theMermaid.html Date Retrieved – April 7th, 2009
Paradoxplace.com http://www.paradoxplace.com/Church_Stuff/Mermaids.htm Date Retrieved – April 7th, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment