Stories about mermaids or mermen daughter first discovered in Assyria. The story tells of goddess Atargatis, the mother of Assyrian queen, Semiramis. Atargatis goddess fell in love with a shepherd, who then killed him. Embarrassed, he plunged into the lake to transform themselves into fish. However, water can not change him completely because he still has power as a Goddess. Finally, only half of his body into fish.
Famous Greek legend tells that the mermaid is Thessalonike daughter, sister of Alexander the Great who turned into mermaids after death. He is a life after death as a mermaid princess in the Aegean sea, and always ask the fate of her sister.
He only asks one thing when there are sailors passing. He always asked:
- Ζει ο βασιλιάς Αλέξανδρος? (Zi o basiliás Alexandros?)
(Is Alexander the Great was still alive).
If he ask you these questions, the correct answer is:
- Ζει και βασιλεύει (Zi to basileúi)
(He's still alive and still ruling).
If no answer as such, then it gradually turned into a Gorgon and harm the sailors who were passing by. The story of the mermaid princess is now universal, global, and not belong to a region or country alone. Many people from different countries to create a mermaid princess characters of the present or the past according to his imagination.