Mermaids

From innocent myths to commercial rip-offs

Mermaids have been enduring myths since the earliest days of civilization. Odysseus encountered mermaids (or sirens) in ancient Greek literature; The Littlest Mermaid greets ships at the harbor of Copenhagen; Vira Burgerman is one of hundreds of current day mermainds, mermen and merfolk; and Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah gave the mermaid myth a Hollywood treatment in 1983's film, "Splash."

If you believe in mermaids, like I do, then you have to decide if they are creatures of good or evil because all the mythology about them tells it both ways. Either the half-female, half-fish creatures can save sailors from a shipwreck or else they are the mischievous or outright malicious cause of them. What do you believe?

I believe in mermaids and I b…