The first myths of mermaids may have originated around 1000 BC - stories tell of a Syrian goddess who jumped into a lake to turn into a fish, but her immense beauty could not change, only her bottom half transformed.
Since then, many other mermaid stories have appeared in folklore from various cultures around the world. For example, the African water spirit Mami Wata has the form of a mermaid, as does the water spirit Lasirn, who is popular in folklore in the Caribbean Islands.
Throughout history, various explorers have reported mermaid sightings, most famously Christopher Columbus. Columbus claimed to have spotted mermaids near Haiti in 1493, which he described as "not as pretty as depicted, for somehow in the face they look like men," according to the American Museum of Natural History.
Captain John Smith is described in Edward Rowe Snow's "Incredible Mysteries and Legends of the Sea" in 1614 having seen a big-eyed, green-haired mermaid off the coast of Newfoundland; apparently Smith felt "love" for her until he realized.
