The Legend of the Werewolf
The legend of the werewolf is one of the most ancient and wide spread. Stories of werewolves can be found as far back as history has been written. These shape-shifter myths can be found all over the word from China to Iceland, Brazil to Haiti and throughout Europe and North America.
Some of the earliest accounts of werewolves come from Greek and Roman sources. Herodetus, Pausanius, Apollodorus, Ovid, Virgil, Pliny the Elder and Gaius Petronius Arbiter all wrote of men who transformed into wolves. The accounts by Ovid, in the Metamorphoses, tell of King Lycaon, who was visited by passing gods. Not believing them to be true gods he decided to test them by serving them human flesh in one of the many dishes served at a banquet in their honor. Cannibalism, being very frowned upon in that part of the ancient world was a major slight indeed! Upon discovering the tainted dish, the gods transformed King Lycaon into a wolf -- since he obviously enjoyed consuming human flesh, the wolf form would be a more acceptable form to take part in such a vile activity!
Some of the earliest accounts of werewolves come from Greek and Roman sources. Herodetus, Pausanius, Apollodorus, Ovid, Virgil, Pliny the Elder and Gaius Petronius Arbiter all wrote of men who transformed into wolves. The accounts by Ovid, in the Metamorphoses, tell of King Lycaon, who was visited by passing gods. Not believing them to be true gods he decided to test them by serving them human flesh in one of the many dishes served at a banquet in their honor. Cannibalism, being very frowned upon in that part of the ancient world was a major slight indeed! Upon discovering the tainted dish, the gods transformed King Lycaon into a wolf -- since he obviously enjoyed consuming human flesh, the wolf form would be a more acceptable form to take part in such a vile activity!
Our modern day image of the werewolf originates from later European and Russian folklore and no doubt the fable of Little Red Riding Hood is the story with which we are most familiar.
The name Werewolf itself most likely derives from Old English wer (or were) and wulf. The first part, wer, translates as "man" (in the sense of male human, not the race of humanity). It has cognates in several Germanic languages including Gothic wair, Old High German wer and Old Norse var, as well as in other Indo-European languages, such as Latin vir, Lithuanian vyras and Welsh gwr, which have the same meaning.
The second half, wulf, is the ancestor of modern English "wolf"; in some cases it also had the general meaning "beast". An
alternative etymology derives the first part from Old English weri (to wear); the full form in this case would be glossed as wearer of wolf skin.
The werewolf made its first appearance on the screen in 1913 in a short silent film which was simply titled "The Werewolf". Sadly all copies of this first werewolf film were lost in a fire back in 1924. The werewolf was forever emblazened upon our modern memory and culture with the films "Werewolf of London" in 1935 and "The Wolf Man" starring Lon Chaney Jr. in 1941.
The name Werewolf itself most likely derives from Old English wer (or were) and wulf. The first part, wer, translates as "man" (in the sense of male human, not the race of humanity). It has cognates in several Germanic languages including Gothic wair, Old High German wer and Old Norse var, as well as in other Indo-European languages, such as Latin vir, Lithuanian vyras and Welsh gwr, which have the same meaning.
The second half, wulf, is the ancestor of modern English "wolf"; in some cases it also had the general meaning "beast". An
alternative etymology derives the first part from Old English weri (to wear); the full form in this case would be glossed as wearer of wolf skin.
The werewolf made its first appearance on the screen in 1913 in a short silent film which was simply titled "The Werewolf". Sadly all copies of this first werewolf film were lost in a fire back in 1924. The werewolf was forever emblazened upon our modern memory and culture with the films "Werewolf of London" in 1935 and "The Wolf Man" starring Lon Chaney Jr. in 1941.
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