Sailor superstitions seem to go back as far as sail itself . With so many uncertainty on the ocean , being at the mercy of the weather and the whimsey of the ocean , sailors engage many good portion magical spell and superstition to give themselves a horse sense of control over an uncontrollable situation .
The myth of themermaidand the merman can be follow back to Babylonian times , when they were represented in sculpture as Oannes , the fish god . These half - human , half - fish creatures were resistless to sailor boy , even though they were often associate with bad luck — legend say that mermaid would lure sailors off class with their guile , sometimes to their death . The family relationship was clearly complicated , however : Somefolklorereveals men married mermaids , even though their attractive feature may have extend to a weak death .
To further puddle things , another myth suppose that a mermaid front man on the prow of a sauceboat make for estimable hazard to all on base , even though women were often forbidden to board ship because they were thought to lend bad hazard . Superstition hold that adult female angered the ocean gods , who would penalize the boater by arouse up violentweatherand rough waters . Some chieftain took this so seriously , they would toss women overboard if the weather began to turn .
The burn question , then , is why would a mermaid figurehead take a boat good luck ? Apparently , fully clothed females were no good , but a bare-breasted woman would calm down rough sea — the scandal of a bare - chested woman would attaint nature into do itself . Mermaids , as it happen , are typically topless , so using a mermaid strawman on the prow of a ship pacified the ocean god , assured sound weather and point a safe way back to port wine . Many sailors still use these figureheads today , as a nod to tradition .
