The mermaid figurehead on the prow of a ship pacified the sea gods, assured good weather and pointed a safe way back to port. Myths of the mermaid can be traced back to Babylonian times, when they were represented in sculpture as Oannes, the fish god. These half-human, half-fish creatures were irresistible to sailors, even though they were often associated with bad luck — legends say that mermaids would lure sailors off course with their wiles, sometimes to their deaths.
