Wikipedia Trail: From Mermaid to Chinese Astronomy
After finishing up with the extra reading I did this week, I decided to look more into the subject of mermaids.
Mermaids are where my search began. They appear in folklore worldwide, which is really interesting to me. Each region has their own folklore and for some, the aspects are incredibly similar. There was one variation where the 'mermaids' were only classified as sea people. The only difference between sea and land people were that sea people could breathe and live underwater, anatomically they were the same. There are historical accounts, such as Christopher Columbus is said to have reported the sighting of three 'female forms' rise from the sea. My next stop is said to be the main person in the first stories about mermaids.
Atargatis was the chief goddess of Northern Syria. The tale goes that she fell in love with a shepherd, only to accidentally kill him. Out of shame, she jumped into a lake and was supposed to become a fish. But her beauty was too fair to lose, so only her lower half became like that of a fish. But there are other variations where it is said she has taken the form of a fish with the head and arms of a human. Besides that, she is said to be the goddess of fertility but she is responsible and protective of her city and people. There was a bit of influence during the Roman Era, the goddess Venus and her son are said to have taken the form of a fish in a Syrian river, which is supposedly why they don't eat fish. They are said to have tied a rope to each other to not lose each other, which can be seen reflected in a constellation.
Pisces, the constellation, symbolizes fishes and is made up of many stars, including young ones. One of the stars is 306 lightyears away and the brightest star is 316 times brighter than the sun. Those stars exist in other constellations as well, which is where the trail is headed to next.
Chinese Astronomy has a very long history attached to it. There is influence from Indian astronomy, activity from Jesuit astronomy and collaboration with Islamic astronomers. In the past, astronomy was used as a way for timekeeping and was correlated with the rise and fall of a dynasty. Stars are cataloged and drawn into a map. Reading about their equipment and innovation made for astronomical purpose was really interesting.
I did not expect to learn about astronomy when searching for mermaids, but I did enjoy doing this trail.
Mermaids are where my search began. They appear in folklore worldwide, which is really interesting to me. Each region has their own folklore and for some, the aspects are incredibly similar. There was one variation where the 'mermaids' were only classified as sea people. The only difference between sea and land people were that sea people could breathe and live underwater, anatomically they were the same. There are historical accounts, such as Christopher Columbus is said to have reported the sighting of three 'female forms' rise from the sea. My next stop is said to be the main person in the first stories about mermaids.
(Mermaids, by Jean Francis Aubertin, Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Atargatis was the chief goddess of Northern Syria. The tale goes that she fell in love with a shepherd, only to accidentally kill him. Out of shame, she jumped into a lake and was supposed to become a fish. But her beauty was too fair to lose, so only her lower half became like that of a fish. But there are other variations where it is said she has taken the form of a fish with the head and arms of a human. Besides that, she is said to be the goddess of fertility but she is responsible and protective of her city and people. There was a bit of influence during the Roman Era, the goddess Venus and her son are said to have taken the form of a fish in a Syrian river, which is supposedly why they don't eat fish. They are said to have tied a rope to each other to not lose each other, which can be seen reflected in a constellation.
Pisces, the constellation, symbolizes fishes and is made up of many stars, including young ones. One of the stars is 306 lightyears away and the brightest star is 316 times brighter than the sun. Those stars exist in other constellations as well, which is where the trail is headed to next.
Chinese Astronomy has a very long history attached to it. There is influence from Indian astronomy, activity from Jesuit astronomy and collaboration with Islamic astronomers. In the past, astronomy was used as a way for timekeeping and was correlated with the rise and fall of a dynasty. Stars are cataloged and drawn into a map. Reading about their equipment and innovation made for astronomical purpose was really interesting.
I did not expect to learn about astronomy when searching for mermaids, but I did enjoy doing this trail.
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