Mermaids are rooted deep withing almost every countires/religions history. Columbus spotted them on his way to India, (West Indies) John Smith said one come up out of the water and talked to him. The Greek's even went so far as to say that Alexander the Great's sister, Thessalonike, turned into a mermaid after she died.
There is no doubt that Mermaids have been noted in many ancient text's.
In heraldy, practice of designing, displaying, describing and recording coats of arms and badges, mermaids represent eloquence in speech. In fact, Warsaw's coat of arms dispalays a mermaid weilding a sword and sheild.
Mermaids in Britisyh folklore hold a spot as a sign of an omen. And unlike the Greek mermaids who come to sing you to your death, the mermaids of Britain come to warn you of the doom that is to come. Some cultures even beleive that the mermaids can give you valubale information if you are a fisherman by trading with them.
In literature proabably one of the most noted story about mermaids is Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid.
This story can be read at
http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.htmlIf you have any questions please post them and I will answer all to my fullest ability.