Evergreen Reads to Empower Your Mind
The Standard Sister
Note no.28
Femininity
Jan 18, 2026
Hello Stranger
The highest purpose of any art form is to act as a mirror—reflecting not just our ideas and culture, but the very rhythm of the beating human heart. When we are wise enough to investigate stories that are truly evergreen, those that transcend time and place, we are lucky enough to discover characters who challenge us to look at the world differently. Smaragdi, the protagonist of Stratis Myrivilis’s The Mermaid Madonna—a character born from a mysterious painting in an isolated chapel on the island of Lesvos—does exactly that. Her story illuminates what centuries of religious dogma tried to erase: the possibility of a woman who refuses to be split by the Madonna-Whore myth
Church of Panagia Gorgona, Lesvos, Greece
The Mermaid Madonna
Article by The Standard Sister
In a small fishing village on the island of Lesvos, Greece, a forgotten mural presents the world with an extraordinary combination: the Holy Madonna, holding a trident and bearing the tail of a mermaid. This is "Panagia Gorgona"—the Mermaid Madonna—also known as Smaragdi, the protagonist who stands at the center of the masterful 1948 novel by Greek author Stratis Myrivilis. This is not merely a folkloric curiosity, but perhaps one of the most subversive images in the history of religious iconography. Through the book's heroine, we return to the ancient feminine power that religion tried to split, discovering a complete femininity that refuses to choose between the "Madonna" and the "Whore"—the ability to be, simultaneously, both the protective mother and the wild, independent woman. To understand the power of Smaragdi, one must first dive into the history of mermaids. The roots of this mythical hybrid lie deep with the ancient Syrian goddess Atargatis, who transformed herself into half-fish out of rage and grief after accidentally killing her lover; and with the Sirens of Greek mythology—bird-women (who later evolved into fish-women) whose wondrous song lured sailors to their deaths. For thousands of years, the mermaid symbolized the threatening feminine "Other": beautiful yet deadly, sexual (half-naked) yet unattainable (as the tail prevents physical consummation), wild, seductive, and untamable. In an attempt to bring order to the world, monotheistic religions—Christianity at their
Book cover for The Mermaid Madonna by Stratis Myrivilis.
center—split woman into two opposing poles: the Madonna—the pure, holy, and protective mother; and the Whore—the seductive, earthly, and dangerous temptress. The Western woman was raised to choose a side. One could not be both. Our story takes place in a real church, "Panagia Gorgona" (The Mermaid Madonna), which still stands today on a rock at the edge of the village of Skala Sykamineas in Lesvos. Myrivilis, a native of the area, encountered this mural and began writing a story centered on a legend about a mysterious hermit-sailor living in a cave, who painted the Virgin Mary not as a distant celestial figure, but as a mermaid. Her emerald-green gaze (hence the name Smaragdi, emerald) is compassionate like a mother’s, yet her lower body is covered in scales. In one hand she holds a ship—a symbol of protection and safety at sea; and in the other, she grasps Poseidon’s trident—a symbol of power and dominion over the depths. Thus, a heroine was created who possesses the ability to show compassion, build a home, and provide shelter, while simultaneously holding onto power, control, and independence. Smaragdi was found as an abandoned infant in a fisherman's basket, arriving with the waves of Greek refugees from Asia Minor (following the "Catastrophe of 1922"), yet her origins remain shrouded in mystery. Rumors in the village whisper that she is actually the daughter of a mermaid and a sailor, reinforcing the myth around her as someone who is "half human, half marine." She grows up to be a beautiful woman who refuses to fit into familiar boxes. On one hand, she is the devoted caregiver of her adoptive father,
Linocut by Ladislav Rusek, 1973
embodying compassion, concern, and care; yet at the same time, she refuses to engage in accepted female crafts and becomes a brave fisherwoman, mastering the art of fishing better than any man. She rejects her suitors with disdain, refuses to marry, and strikes terror in the men who wish to claim her for themselves. Suitors she rejected lose their sanity, and around the woman who refuses to fit the mold of wife and mother, an image of "bewitchment" is woven. Ultimately, after years of struggle, tragedy, and loss (including the deaths of those closest to her), Smaragdi chooses a third path. She dedicates her life to the small church on the rock, aging in solitude as the guardian of the Mermaid-Madonna icon. By the end of the book, the human figure and the painted figure merge in the consciousness of the reader and the village. Smaragdi herself becomes a kind of local saint, an eternal figure, an eternal virgin, belonging to the sea and to God, but never to flesh and blood. Patriarchal society has always preferred its women classified into clear, easy-to-manage categories. History, literature, and religion have always presented us with a cruel binary choice: either you are 'The Mother'—a figure of sacrifice, tenderness, and often self-negation; or you are 'The Seductress'—Lilith, the carnal, dangerous, and egoistic woman. This model was designed to soothe the male fear of a woman who possesses both. Because a woman who is both a protective mother and a sexual, independent entity is a woman who cannot be predicted and cannot be controlled. The phrase "In a world full of Eves, be a Lilith" perfectly demonstrates the paradox that the feminist movement has sometimes created for women—a call to abandon the obedience of Eve in favor of the rebellion of Lilith. But the truth is, even this phrase falls into the same ancient trap: it requires us to choose. Myrivilis's Smaragdi tells us: "You can be both." You can hold in one hand the small ship—a symbol of home, of family, of the ability to contain and nurture life; and at the same time, grasp in the other hand the trident—Poseidon’s weapon, representing your power, your control over yourself and your destiny, your sexuality, and your ability to swim distances, freestyle.