Not all mermaids are the shimmering versions of femininity often seen in pop culture. In fact, those mermaids—which seem to be a combination of the Melusine and Greek mythology—barely skim the ...

Mélusine, the figure from 14th century French mythology, was a half-woman/half-snake who, when her serpentine self was spied on by her betraying lover, turned into a dragon and took flight.