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Realms of Fantasy and Myth: Week 2 - Merfolk
Welcome to the second issue of a new weekly news article! I hope you enjoy it, and please, show the featured artists some love and recognition through pageviews,
's and 
's!
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This week's creature feature is: Merfolk.
Legends of merfolk (mermaids, mermen and sirens) have been around for as long as humans have sailed the seas. Usually described as a creature with a human head and torso and the tail of a fish or marine mammal, people have seen merfolk as anything from a bearer of bad omen, to vicious man-eating beasts, to gentle and kind rescuers of drowning sailers. Mermaids are the most popular and well-known type of merfolk.
From Wikipedia [link] :
"A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head and torso and the tail of an aquatic animal such as a fish or dolphin. Various cultures throughout the world have similar figures. The word is a compound of mere, the Old English word for "sea," and maid, in its usual sense. The male equivalent is a merman.
Much like sirens, mermaids would sometimes sing to people and gods and enchant them, distracting them from their work and causing them to walk off the deck or run their ships aground. Other stories have them squeezing the life out of drowning men while attempting to rescue them. They are also said to take humans down to their underwater kingdoms. In Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid it is said that they forget that humans cannot breathe underwater, while others say they drown men out of spite.
The sirens of Greek mythology are sometimes portrayed in later folklore as mermaid-like..."
Some "facts" about merfolk:
Now, for the features! Works are featured from various categories, in no particular order:
:thumb111460322: 
:thumb102784083: 
:thumb74874727: 
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Thank you so much for viewing, and come back next week for a different inhabitant of the Realms of Fantasy and Myth!
~Arah
Welcome to the second issue of a new weekly news article! I hope you enjoy it, and please, show the featured artists some love and recognition through pageviews,
's and 's!*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
This week's creature feature is: Merfolk.
Legends of merfolk (mermaids, mermen and sirens) have been around for as long as humans have sailed the seas. Usually described as a creature with a human head and torso and the tail of a fish or marine mammal, people have seen merfolk as anything from a bearer of bad omen, to vicious man-eating beasts, to gentle and kind rescuers of drowning sailers. Mermaids are the most popular and well-known type of merfolk.
From Wikipedia [link] :
"A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head and torso and the tail of an aquatic animal such as a fish or dolphin. Various cultures throughout the world have similar figures. The word is a compound of mere, the Old English word for "sea," and maid, in its usual sense. The male equivalent is a merman.
Much like sirens, mermaids would sometimes sing to people and gods and enchant them, distracting them from their work and causing them to walk off the deck or run their ships aground. Other stories have them squeezing the life out of drowning men while attempting to rescue them. They are also said to take humans down to their underwater kingdoms. In Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid it is said that they forget that humans cannot breathe underwater, while others say they drown men out of spite.
The sirens of Greek mythology are sometimes portrayed in later folklore as mermaid-like..."
Some "facts" about merfolk:
- It has often been suggested that ancient sailers confused manatees or dugongs for fair women with fish tails, thus creating the legend of the mermaid (perhaps the sailers were very drunk, as neither of these creatures bring to mind an image of a beautiful woman)
- The Greek sirens seem to have two identities: some say they look like mermaids, and some say they are half bird instead of half fish. Either way, their song is said to be beautiful and enchanting, but ultimately results in the listener's death.
- Merfolk are very popular in movies, appearing in Splash, The Thirteenth Year, Aquamarine, Night Tide, She Creature, Disney's The Little Mermaid (and it's sequels/prequal/TV series), Barbie in Mermaidia, and many, many more
- Sirenomelia, or "Mermaid Syndrome", is a very rare birth defect that causes the affected child to be born with legs fused together, looking very much like a mermaid. It is, unfortunately, usually fatal, as it causes many organs to be deformed or gone altogether.
- According to many legends, if you offer a mermaid a particularly valuable, magical or attractive item, such as a golden comb or a magic mirror, she will trade you any other item you want for it
Now, for the features! Works are featured from various categories, in no particular order:
:thumb111460322: :thumb102784083: :thumb74874727: *****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Thank you so much for viewing, and come back next week for a different inhabitant of the Realms of Fantasy and Myth!
~Arah
~Lola-Gainsborough
May 6, 2009
