The cold beauty of the mermaid goddess has inspired artists through the ages. The wind is the Mermaid's song and in stormy weather she can be seen dancing on the waves. But the mermaid has a reputation for luring handsome lonely sailors to live with them beneath the sea. The sirens of the sea have been spotted in dangerous places like reefs and whirlpools softly singing and coaxing the unwary young men her way.

The aggressive sea god known as Trident or Neptune is a powerful image. The Chinese believed that Mermen or other sea monsters with human heads were the spirits of drowned men desperate to find a human substitute to take their place.