A popular nautical tattoo symbol, a Mermaid is a legendary creature thought to be half human, almost always a woman, and half fish. Sailors usually reported seeing mermaids after having spent many months at sea, and probably after having had one too many tots of rum!Mermaids were often portrayed sitting on a rock, combing their long flowing tresses while gazing into a mirror. Mermaidswere symbols of potent female energy and the underlying threat was that a sailor would be lured to his death by drowning if he pursued a mermaid. Sirens were similar, in that they were beautiful women-like creatures who with their songs and their beauty would lure sailors and their ships to wreck upon the rocks. Unions between mermaids and the sailors or men they fall in love with, almost always end tragically.

The Mermaid, and to a lesser extent, Merman, is an enduring mythological figure and symbol and has been around for thousands of years in many different cultures. Early mermaidlegends can be traced back nearly five thousand years around theMediterranean. In Greek mythology, mermaid-like creatures make their appearance. The Greeks were a great sea faring people and the Greek Empire, supported in great part by their naval prowess at one time nearly encircled the Mediterranean. The Greeks were obviously aware of and exposed to all the legends and myths surrounding mermaidsand siren-like creatures. Mermaid design, done in morbid tattoo parlor in cash and carry mall makati manila, philippines.