Sirens in Mermaid costumes were possibly the most dangerous women that sailors could ever face while out at sea. They were similar in that they were both said to use song to draw sailors to them, but while sirens would generally have them crash their boats against rocks near shore, mermaids would take them from their ships. In some cultures though, the word for fish and bird are the same. So a mermaid (half fish, half woman) and a siren (half bird, half woman) could have originated from the same creature in folklore. In Greek mythology, sirens are sometimes completely water-dwelling creatures and have mermaid-like qualities. Though many insist they are two completely different things. Regardless, they are two sets of partial-women that you really did not want to mess with.

mermaid

Sirens were known for their song. They were beautiful, yes, but it was not their beauty that attracted the sailors; it was only the song. A song which called out to their very souls and was practically impossible to resist. Though if you did not resist it, you would either end up on a sinking ship or -possibly worse- on land with them. Their main dwelling was a field of flowers, and according to Circe they would lay around in that field with the corpses of all the men that followed them there and could not bring themselves to leave.

Mermaids also sang and distracted sailors so that they might accidentally run their ships aground. They would also sometimes take the men into the sea to visit their kingdom, sometimes purposefully killing them, and other times simply forgetting that men could not breathe underwater. The first mermaid stories date back as early as 1000 BC. When they were spotted it was generally a bad omen that either something bad was going to happen, or they were going to make something bad happen. Though in Japan it was said that if you could catch a mermaid and eat her flesh, it would grant you immortality. In Finnish myths they are able to reverse illnesses, and grant wishes. They are said to be vain, but innocent in that they will often fall in love with men and attempt to prove this love by any means.

Overall though, the risks of interacting with mermaids, or sirens greatly outweigh the benefits. Remember this the next time you’re out at sea. Oh, and bring earplugs.

May we reconvene under the blood red moon,
-Black Widow