The history of ancient civilizations is full of captivating mysteries, but few are as intriguing as the legends surrounding ancient fish-people. These aquatic beings, which appear in various mythologies across the globe, have sparked countless debates about their origins and possible connections to extraterrestrial life.
Texts from antiquated cultures such as Mesopotamia and Greece often describe creatures that combine aspects of fish and humans. A character known as Oannes, who is half fish and half man, is supposed to have come from the Persian Gulf to teach the early humans. This story is found in the origin myth of Babylon. In a similar vein, Triton, the sea’s messenger, is described in Greek mythology as having a fish’s tail and a human upper body. These characters were frequently seen as strong deities or as go-betweens between the heavens and the earth, rather than just oddities or anomalies of nature.
As scholars dove deeper into these myths, they began to wonder: Could these stories point to something beyond human imagination? Some theorists suggest that the fish-people could have been representations of an extraterrestrial species that visited Earth thousands of years ago, using water as their habitat. This theory draws parallels to modern-day UFO sightings, which often occur near large bodies of water. The idea is that these ancient beings may have come from a water-dominated planet or used Earth’s oceans as a temporary base for their exploration.
Another compelling angle lies in the advanced knowledge these beings were said to have shared. Oannes, for instance, is credited with teaching humans mathematics, architecture, and astronomy—far ahead of his time. Could such wisdom have been the result of interactions with an advanced alien race? Many proponents of the ancient astronaut theory believe so, arguing that these mythological figures are coded references to real beings with extraordinary capabilities.
Physical evidence, too, plays a role in this debate. Strange underwater structures, such as the Yonaguni Monument off the coast of Japan, have led some to speculate that ancient civilizations could have been assisted by, or coexisted with, aquatic extraterrestrial beings. These submerged formations, which appear to be man-made, may offer clues to the existence of a lost race that thrived beneath the waves—perhaps even one connected to the fish-people of legend.