The Legend of Alexander the Great and his sister, the Mermaid! There exists a popular Greek legend which talks about a mermaid who lived in the Aegean for hundreds of years who was thought to be Thessalonike, sister of Alexander the Great.mermaid Aegean After conquering the world, Alexander decided that he would conquer death as well. He asked the wise men how to go about this. They said that the water of life would grant him immortality if he could kill the dragon that guards it. Alexander accomplished this feat and brought the water back to his home. Tired as he was, he took a nap. While sleeping, his sister Thessalonica found the water and thought it was only regular water. She didn’t know that it was the water of Immortality. She took a sip for herself and watered some plants. Those plants never died but changed and became perennials. When Alexander woke up and discovered what his sister had done cursed her horribly. When Alexander died, his sister stricken by grief felt responsible for her brother’s death and attempted to end her life by jumping into the sea. Instead of drowning, however, she became a mermaid passing judgment on mariners throughout the centuries and across the Aegean and the seven seas. She was to live forever in the sea growing larger with each passing year. Her form a woman from the waist up, but from there down she was to have two tails instead of legs. She has become gigantic and can lift an entire ship with one hand. When she encounters sailors she asks them if Alexander is still alive. If they say he is dead she raises great waves and their ship is lost. If they say he still lives and rules as always, she allows them to pass in peace. In Greece she is called the Gorgona”.

4 th grade pupils drawing the mermaid with their own imagination..

They enjoyed working on this little piece of art more then it was expected!

……holding their own ….Mermaid proudly in the schoolyard…

…..Here it is! The mural with King Alexander’s sister is ready King’s Alexander’s sister being a mermaid now, wanders in the Aegean Sea and asks every sailor she sees the same question again and again: “Is King Alexander still alive?”and the captain must remember to give her the correct answer if he wants to save himself and his ship: “He lives and reigns and conquers the world!” Given this answer she would allow the ship and her crew to sail safely away in calm seas. Any other answer like :”He is dead” would transform her into the raging Gorgon, bent on sending the ship and every sailor on board to the bottom of the sea!! !Gorgon

“Nowadays the quest of the mermaid for her brother is a symbol of the quest of modern man for all those ideals Alexander the great stands for and has fought for: respect for each other’s civilization, language, religion and traditions through education, solidarity and co-existence among all the peoples. Let’s fight ourselves against injustice giving our support to the weak and less privileged. And as Alexander believed: “It is not important to conquer the world but to keep all the people united in peace and friendship”. If you meet a mermaid in your voyages try to remember the correct answer and as modern little Alexanders, let’s all try to spread the values of peace and friendship around the world. “ A message by the students of the 6 th grade of the 3 rd Primary School of Agii Anargyri, Athens, Greece