The Sirens of Greek mythology are often referred to as beautiful mermaids, but did you know that they were actually half human, half bird? The first three Sirens were handmaidens of Persephone and were born as mortal women. When Persephone later went missing, her mother Demeter (the goddess of the harvest) granted the 3 women the bodies of birds so they could more efficiently search the lands for her daughter. Ultimately they gave up searching and moved to the island of Anthemoessa where they terrorized innocent sailors with their luring songs! Somewhere along the line history started remembering them as mermaids, but nope, they were just crazy bird ladies!