sixteenth century explorers returned to Europe with tales of sea creatures who had the heads and upper torsos of a woman and fishes' tails instead of legs. They claimed that these mysterious and beautiful creatures were as deadly as the Sirens of old, and would lure men into the water by pretending they were drowning, only to squeeze their unsuspecting victims to death.Sailors were the first to wear mermaid tattoos, possibly because they had no other way of capturing the mermaids' beauty. For generations mermaid tattoos were seen exclusively on men who made their living at sea; but as tattoos became more widely accepted as appropriate for everyone, the exotic and glamorous mermaid began to show up on all sorts of arms and torsos. She appeared not only in her traditional forms, but also as water nymphs; fairies; and even characters from mainstream culture, like the cartoon character Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid.
The mermaids in mermaid tattoos are invariably inked with long flowing hair which appears to be waving seductively in the water. The ancient often depicted Aphrodite, their goddess of love and fertility, with long hair; and the comb which is an element in both portrayals of Aphrodite and in mermaid tattoos had significant sexual meaning for the Greeks.
But mermaid tattoos, somewhat surprisingly, have become as popular among women as they have been for centuries among men. There is no denying that mermaid tattoos simply glow with mystery, femininity, and the hint of primal creative forces, and they are now decorating the shoulders and backs of as many females as males.
Mermaid tattoo designs are ideal for positioning on rounded bodily contours, because the mermaids are often drawn in curved and twisted poses. They may contain a single mermaid or a group set against an underwater backdrop with coral, fish, and treasure chests, and or reclining in a seashell. Mermaid tattoos, perhaps more than any except floral tattoos, allow a tattoo artist to indulge in a full palette of colors.
The blatantly voluptuous forms which were typical of mermaid tattoos during the years of World War II have now been joined by a wide range of mermaid tattoos in different styles. From the sharply defined simple black lines of tribal mermaid tattoos, to the riveting plaitwork of Celtic mermaid tattoos, to the dazzling sea colors, golden carp, and dragons of Oriental mermaid tattoos, mermaid tattoos are as captivating today as the mermaids of myth were to seafaring men centuries ago!
It is in fact the early sailors of the eighteenth century who have started the popularity of mermaid tattoos. While for a long time, t was only the men who usually go around sporting this type of tattoo design, modern times have surprisingly come out with women who are also very proud to get and display this specific tattoo design. But what do these mermaid designs symbolize?
* Mermaids have a long standing mark in western and Japanese history as well as culture. Well, mermaids can in fact be traced as far back to varying ancient cultures that inhabited lands that are close to the seas. One example of this are the ancient Greeks as well as Romans whose history and culture is rich with mythology about mermaids and several other sirens from the seas.
* It is believed by the ancient Greeks that creatures that are half fish and half beautiful woman would sit and wait on the rocks while combing their flowing beautiful hair and would try to capture sailors who are lost on their way by enthralling them to her with her beautiful singing voice.
* Mermaid tattoos have long become a symbol for beauty. This is derived, once again from the ancient Greek mythology that mermaids came to existence as a result of a union between the gods Poseidon and Zeus and the sea nymphs. Mermaids are always also associated with the goddess Aphrodite - the goddess of love, beauty, fertility and womanhood.
* Early sailors had often times reported seeing beautiful women on the sea rocks that are half fish. This is after their long voyages in the ocean and thus started the idea of getting a tattoo of mermaids - to immortalize the vision s that they had. They usually had these tattoos on their forearms.
* These days, mermaid tattoos have once again become popular and more and more women are getting this specific tattoo design as well. All thanks to the help of modern pop culture those immortalized and sensationalized mermaids like in the animated movies The Little Mermaid. Women also get these tattoo designs as a way to show off their feminine side as well as a testament to the female beauty as well as power. This is another reason why mermaids have raised to the ranks of becoming one of the most popular tattoo designs in today's modern age.
So if you are very much interested on getting a mermaid designed tattoo for you, it is always important to do a research on the symbolism of the design that you would like to be tattooed with. This not only helps you make up your mind if you really want to get the tattoo or not, this also gives you a deeper meaning and reason for getting the tattoo. Do your research also of the best tattoo artists' studio in your area and discuss your design selection and find out how you can add in designs to further create a unique mermaid tattoo design that you would be proud to show off every single time.
No comments:
Post a Comment