Page 54 - All About History - Issue 186-19
P. 54
The History Of
Werewolves
How the mythical beast has adapted and
evolved through successive cultures to
become one of humanity’s abiding legends
Written by Tanika Koosmen
he werewolf as we know it today in fantasy ANCIENT ORIGINS
and science fiction novels, films and TV
shows has a significant and extensive When Greek and Roman literature adopted
history. Cultures across the world have the werewolf tradition, it was across numerous
Tincorporated the beast into their mythology, genres: ethnographic travel texts, philosophical
folklore and literature, creating a historical musings and astrological poetry. Initially, the
tradition that is often lost or forgotten in the belief was localised to the Neurian people, who
face of the CGI werewolf of the modern era. lived around modern north-western Ukraine
The very first werewolf in literature actually and south of Belarus. The first account of the
stretches as far back as literature goes, to the Neurian werewolf peoples was recorded by
Epic Of Gilgamesh, which is the oldest surviving Greek historian, Herodotus, writing in the fifth
text in history, dated around 2100 BCE. This century BCE, in a work entitled The Histories.
werewolf is a very small part of a larger story, While Herodotus is renowned for including wild
courtesy of the goddess Ishtar, who transforms tales in his historical writing, in The Histories
a humble, pious shepherd who sacrifices goats in Book IV even he admitted: “I do not believe this
worship of her. However, the single reference in story, yet nevertheless they tell it, and even
this poem signifies to scholars of literary history swear it to be true.”
that a larger tradition existed, integrated into the Stories of werewolves were also associated
stories and lore of the people. with the Arcadian cult, located on Mount
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