Mermaids : Art, Symbolism and Mythology.

M�uller, Axel.

Mermaids : Art, Symbolism and Mythology. - 1st ed. - 1 online resource (170 pages)

MERMAIDS: ART, SYMBOLISM AND MYTHOLOGY -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Preface -- Memorial Note For Christopher Halls -- 1. Introduction: Why mermaids? -- 2. Mermaids conceived: hybrid goddesses and beasts in antiquity -- Mesopotamia: the cradle of mermaid imagery -- The uncertain role of the mermaid goddess atargatis -- A great diversity of mermaid ancestors -- The etruscan scylla, the real mermaid ancestor -- The spread of mermaid ancestors through the roman empire -- 3. Christian adaptations in the romanesque to baroque eras -- Birth of the mermaid, the seductress of believers -- The rebirth of mermaid mythology -- Baroque mermaids, a blend of fact and fiction -- 4. Mermaid passions: obsessive fixation in nineteenth and early twentieth-century art -- Mermaids become children's friends -- The first bloom of fine mermaid arts -- Mermaids as muses -- Japanese mermaid mummy creations -- The second bloom of fine mermaid arts -- The creation of iconic mermaid sculptures -- The beginning of the decline of fine mermaid arts -- Hardly any traces of mermaids -- Mermaid beauty stripped away -- 5. Mermaids everywhere: postwar commercialization and trivialization -- Mermaids forgotten in fine art -- The expanding cultural niche for mermaids -- Mermaids become movie stars -- Mermaids as treasured children's toys -- Mermaiding -- 6. Mermaids rationalized: evolutionary theory confronts the fantastic -- References -- Acknowledgements -- Index -- Back Cover.

Women with fish tails are among the oldest and most popular of mythological creatures. This book presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary and beautifully illustrated study of mermaids and their influence on Western culture. The roots of mermaid mythology and its metamorphosis through the centuries are discussed, from 600 BCE to the present day.

9781804130056


Electronic books.