The Syrians and the Philistines were also known to have worshiped a Semitic
mermaid moon-goddess. The Syrians called her Atargatis while the Philistines
knew her as Derceto. It is not unusual or surprising that this moon-goddess was
depicted as a mermaid as the tides ebbed and flowed with the moon then as it
does now, and this was incorporated into the god-like personifications that we
find in their art and ancient literature. Atargatis is one of the first recorded
mermaid and the legend says that her child Semiramis was a normal human and,
because of thi Atargatis was ashamed and killed her lover. Abandoning the infant
she became wholly a fish.
　　众所周知，叙利亚人和腓力斯人敬奉一位闪米特美人鱼月神。叙利亚人称她为“阿塔哥提斯”，而腓力斯人则把她叫作“得塞托”。潮水随着月亮的阴晴圆缺而涨退，古今皆如此，所以美人鱼被那个时代的人称为月神也很正常，不足为奇，而美人鱼也因这一点在古代腓力斯艺术创作和文学作品中被诠释为神的化身。阿塔哥提斯是最早被记载的美人鱼之一。传说称她的第一个孩子斯米拉米斯是一个普通人，她因此感到羞愧不已，先杀死了情人，后抛弃了还是婴儿的孩子，自己完完全全地变成了鱼形。


In Japanese and Chinese legends there were not only mermaids but also
sea-dragons and dragon-wives. The Japanese mermaid known as Ningyo was depicted
as a fish with only a human head. Polynesian mythology includes a creator named
Vatea who was depicted as half-human and half-porpoise.
日本和中国的传说故事里不仅有美人鱼，还有海龙王和龙母。日本的美人鱼叫“人鱼”，有着人头鱼身的形象。玻利尼西亚神话里则有一个名叫“维提”的半人半海豚形怪物。


Greek and Roman mythology is often placed together as the two are very similar,
and it is in the literature from these cultures that one finds the first
literary description of the mermaid and, indeed, mermen. Poseidon and Neptune
were often depicted as half-man and half-fish, and Homer mentions the Sirens
during the voyage of Odysseu although he fails to give a physical
description.

因为古希腊和古罗马神话非常相似，因此人们常常把两者放在一起讨论。对于雌性美人鱼与雄性美人鱼的文字描述最早便出现在这两种文化的文学作品里。古希腊海神波塞冬和古罗马海神尼普顿常常被描述成半人半鱼的形象。荷马在讲述奥德修斯的海上征程时提到了塞壬，只可惜他并没有对其外形作具体描述。


The British Isles too had their fair share of merfolk mythology. The Cornish
knew mermaids as Merrymaids; the Irish knew them as Merrows or Muirruhgach and
some sources write that they lived on dry land below the sea and had enchanted
caps that allowed them to pass through the water without drowning. While the
women were very beautiful, the men had red nose piggy eye green hair and teeth,
and a penchant for
brandy.
　不列颠群岛也不缺美人鱼的传说。康沃尔人把美人鱼称为“梅丽少女”，而爱尔兰人则称之为“梅尔萝”或者“梅如加”。有资料称，这些美人鱼住在海底干燥的陆地上，因为头戴魔帽而不会在水中溺毙。雌性美人鱼都异常惊艳，而雄性美人鱼则是红鼻小眼，绿发青牙，还酷爱喝白兰地。


Germanic mythology has the Meerfrau, the Nix and the Nixe who were male and
female fresh-water inhabitant and it was believed that they were treacherous to
men. The Nixe lured men to drown while the Nix could be in the form of an old
dwarfish character or as a golden-haired boy and, in Iceland and Sweden, could
take the form of a centaur. The Nix also loved music and could lure people to
him with his harp; if he was in the form of a horse he would tempt people to
mount him and then dash into the sea to drown them. While he sometimes desired a
human soul he would often demand annual human sacrifices. There was also the
more elven-like Nixies that would sometimes appear in the market; she could be
identified by the corner of her apron being wet. If she paid a good price it
would be an expensive year, but if she paid a low price the prices for that year
would remain cheap. In the Rhine were to be found the Lorelei from which the
town took its name. The Germans also knew the Melusine as a double-tailed
mermaid as did the British heraldry as
well.
　　梅尔弗、尼克斯和尼斯则是日尔曼民族神话中的美人鱼，他们是生活在淡水中的雄性和雌性美人鱼，据说对人类奸诈凶险。雌性美人鱼会把男人引诱到水中使其溺毙，而雄性美人鱼则会变成年迈的侏儒或者金发男孩引诱人类；在冰岛和瑞典，他还会以人首马身的样子出现。雄性美人鱼喜爱音乐，会弹奏竖琴以诱惑人类。如果他以马的形象出现，他就会诱人骑到马背上，再冲到海里，把人淹死。有时候，他想要获得人的灵魂，于是就要求人类每年以活人作为供品。雌性美人鱼有时会以类似小精灵的形象在集市上出现，围裙一角湿答答的就是她。如果她支付了大价钱，那这一年集市的商品价格就会走高；而如果她出了低价，那这一年的价格就低。在莱茵河流域，其中一个小镇的名字就是源自美人鱼罗日雷。日尔曼人还知道“梅尔露辛”是条双尾美人鱼，而英国的纹章上也有双尾美人鱼。


　It is not until the twentieth century that the mermaid is tossed back and forth
between those that believe, or want to believe, and those that stand behind
their logic and scientific proof that a creature such as the mermaid simply
cannot exist. A wonderful film of these two meeting is the film Splash, with
Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks. No matter how the mermaid is used or what role she
plays she will always retain her mysterious air. Perhaps the next move is a more
feminine one, bringing back the myth of the mermaid protecting women, or the
soul of the woman drowned before her natural time of death…

到了二十世纪，美人鱼存在与否一直是一个争论不休的话题。相持不下的双方是笃信者——或者那些想要相信的人——和那些以逻辑和科学实证为原则、坚称像美人鱼这样的生物根本不存在的人们。由达丽尔·汉纳和汤姆·汉克斯主演的电影《美人鱼》让双方的争论得到了很好的表现。不管美人鱼被如何利用，或是扮演着怎样的角色，她身上的神秘感仍将挥之不去。在传说中，美人鱼守护女性，或者那些在正常死去前就被溺死的女性的灵魂。也许这个争论的下一步发展会体现出更多的女性关怀，让这个美人鱼的传说重获新生……