Sea monsters, sirens, and ghost ships — the ocean has always fired the human imagination.
The vastness of the sea has always stimulated the human mind and spirit. And there's plenty of time for the imagination to run wild while crossing any ocean. So for centuries the seas have been a rich source of spiritual and religious beliefs, tales and legends, superstitions, myths, accounts of mermaids and monsters, and even spine-chilling ghost stories.
Females have always played major roles in the mythology of the sea. In Greek mythology, sirens were horrible half-woman, half-bird monsters who lured sailors to their deaths by singing irresistible songs. In later legends, sirens lost their monstrous appearance, but kept their deadly habits.
The oceans are a rich source of legends—stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. Sinbad the Sailor in Arabian Nights goes on seven voyages of adventure, encountering pirates, cannibals, monsters, and other incredible characters and creatures. The stories of Sinbad (sometimes spelled Sindbad) originated in Arab culture, but have been published in many languages throughout the world.
Sailors from many different nations reported sightings of mermaids—sea creatures that were half-women, half-fish. The Vikings believed not only in mermaids, but also in mermen. According to their legends, the merpeople—a whole tribe of ferocious beings—lived beneath the waves, and were responsible for many disasters at sea.
Stories about disappearing ships and crews abound. The Fannie E. Wolston was said to have covered 8,965 miles in three years, unguided. She was sighted 46 times and finally sailed ashore in the 1750s near Newport, Rhode Island with a dog and a cat, the table laid, pots of food on the stove—but no crew on board. In 1900 the keepers of a lighthouse on an uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland completely disappeared—despite entries in their log of calm weather just the day before!
Many myths and legends are based on sightings of existing creatures by ancient sailors. Without much knowledge of the world beneath the water's surface, a glimpse of any large animal could be misinterpreted as a monster.
Many-armed monsters — Many different cultures have produced tales of giant monsters with multiple arms that swim up from the depths to grab passing ships. In Greek legend, one such creature was known as a hydra. In Scandinavian legends, this monster was called the kraken. These stories may have had some basis in reality: they may be exaggerated reports of giant squid, which can reach up to 18.3 m (60 ft) in length but have never been known to attack ships.
Source: Microsoft Oceans (1995) CD-ROM. Text liberated from original screen art; images, audio & clips restored from disc. Original media is Microsoft/supplier copyright — non-commercial educational preservation. Credits & Acknowledgements