Sirens?

I’ve become aware lately of varied pieces of mermaid art in Starbucks. Or Siren art according to Starbucks. Their website says: “The siren is like a super mermaid. A mermaid with one tail is just a plain ol’ mermaid. (Sorry, Ariel.) But a siren is often depicted with two tails.” This is all they have to say about Sirens – they don’t address the mythology of sirens and their voices that lure sailors to their death nor do they give examples of any sirens with two tails (other than the label on their source picture)

According to the Mermaids of Earth website: “Twin tailed mermaid are not uncommon in history at all, dating back at least to the 7th century…When depicted with a crown, old mermaid illustrations almost certainly refer to the story of Melusine, who according to legend was transformed into a mermaid every Saturday. She married Prince Raymondin of Poitou – without mentioning her little transformation problem – and with him founded the royal House of Lusignan and bore him 10 or 11 children. The house of Lusignan ruled much of Europe from the 12th through the 15th centuries so Melusine would clearly have been entitled to wear a crown.”

Be that as it may, as my mother would say, whether you call them mermaids, sirens, or Melusine you can find a lot of different renderings of them at different Starbucks.

I can’t wait to find more!