Mermaids: Legend or Reality?

Mermaids are among the oldest legendary creatures in the world; popping up in almost as many different cultures as the legends of vampires, werewolves and Katie Couric. Mermaids have long been a go-to figure for stories of star-crossed lovers; falling in love with a mermaid cannot help but end badly unless magic or extreme surgery is involved. One of the earliest known stories about a real mermaid allegedly being fished out of the ocean takes place in, of all places, Ireland. The story dates back to at least the middle of the sixth century and involves a young lass named Liban who was the sole survivor of a flood. Miraculously, she found a way to live beneath the water and after a year transformed into a little mermaid.

Just like my own favorite mermaid of all time, Ariel, this little mermaid was also blessed with a beautiful voice. Unfortunately, her singing was what revealed her existence to those lazy, drunken, Bono-loving Irishmen above who captured her, rechristened her Murgen and put her on display. Christening in this case is not merely me being synonymous; Murgen was actually baptized and after death she canonized as St. Murgen. It is said that more than a few miracles have been attributed to the little mermaid who became a dead saint.

Of course, when one thinks about little mermaids, one cannot help but think of the Philistines and Babylon. Mermaids legends and myths actually do date all the way back to Goliath and his friends in the form of Babylonian worship of gods with fish tails. Later, mermaid-type creatures would appear on currency minted by the Phoenicians and Corinthians. As if that weren't enough, it was also believed that part of the Greatness of Alexander was his ability to somehow engage in sexual congress with mermaids. If that is true, I have to agree Alexander truly is deserving of being called Great. Or else he's as weird as Troy McClure. Maybe a little from column A and a little from column B.