jjares reviewed Werewolves: The Legends and Folk Tales about Humans Shapeshifting into Wolves on + 3294 more book reviews
This book is just the perfect length to see if I want to learn more about the subject of werewolves. I did not know how far back in history these creatures were mentioned in literature. Up until recent times, humans lived close to the natural world and predators (such as wolves) were a real threat. Because people were not educated, they believed in the possibility of men turning into wolves.
Early Indo-European mythology had many humans don animal skins in order to take on the traits of animals. The Greeks talked about men turning into wolves. Slavs, Prussians and Lithuanians believed in the idea of men turning into wolves. The tradition has gone around the world and in many visages. Mostly, men become wolves only for a time.
This is a great overview; however, I thought it bounced around a bit. Then it talked about lycanthropy (the essence of having a wolf spirit within one's body) in more modern times. Now, that was interesting!
Early Indo-European mythology had many humans don animal skins in order to take on the traits of animals. The Greeks talked about men turning into wolves. Slavs, Prussians and Lithuanians believed in the idea of men turning into wolves. The tradition has gone around the world and in many visages. Mostly, men become wolves only for a time.
This is a great overview; however, I thought it bounced around a bit. Then it talked about lycanthropy (the essence of having a wolf spirit within one's body) in more modern times. Now, that was interesting!
