Mermaids are one of the creatures that have been immortalized in people's minds and have fascinated the young and adults alike. The word mermaid came from the Middle English mere in the obsolete sense 'sea' + maid(en). It is a legendary aquatic creature with the head and torso of human female and the tail of a fish. Tales about their existence appeared as early as 1000 BCE in Assyria. One of the popular legend is that Alexander the Great's sister, Thessalonike turned into a mermaid after her death and lived in the Aegean, asking sailors one question " Is Alexander the king alive". The correct answer would be "He lives and still rules", any other answer would spur her into a rage where she transforms into a Gorgon and harbor doom upon the ship and every sailor onboard.

Even in popular culture, mermaids are depicted regularly in literature and film, likely due to the influence of Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale, The Little Mermaid. But are these creatures just a figment of humans' imagination or are they real?

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