I have a long standing fascination with mermaids. When I was younger, my favorite Disney movie was "The Little Mermaid". Imagine my disappointment when, as I got older, I realized what "Disney versions" meant: happily ever after.
Hans Christian Anderson never had Ariel survive and marry her prince. Instead, his "little mermaid" had a choice to make. Either she had to kill him or die herself. She chose to save her prince.
When I was researching for my book, I came across sirens and mermaids. Currently, our culture usually wants to keep half-woman, half-fish creatures as good. However, the word "siren" actually first appeared in Greek mythology as half-bird women who's singing made sailors go to their deaths. Sirens, therefore, aren't actually mermaids as I had once believed, but bird women who are considered "cousins of mermaids".
I did not like this. Since I was young, I believed that sirens were another name for mermaids, except that sirens were the official name before "mermaid" came along. I admit, however, that sirens are different creatures. Using an author privilege, I decided to make my own sirens and mermaids for my novels. Know that my sirens are completely different and will not be like Greek mythology has them. Perhaps someday I will write a story with sirens who actually partake characteristics similar to the ancient stories. For now, however, know that there is a huge difference between the official Greek sirens and my sirens.
I believe that I use the word "siren" in my books because in French the word for "mermaid" is "sirène". I have always been partial to the French language...
For further information see these websites:
http://www.ancient.eu/Siren/
http://www.livescience.com/39882-mermaid.html
http://mythicalcreatureslist.com/mythical-creature/Mermaid
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