2017: a Werewolf Odyssey, Or a Study of the Werewolf Myth from Rome to Today

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2017: A WEREWOLF ODYSSEY, OR A STUDY OF THE WEREWOLF MYTH FROM ROME TO TODAY

ANASTASIA IORGA

AN HONORS THESIS PRESENTED TO THE CLASSICS DEPARTMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

SPRING 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

ABSTRACT...... 4

INTRODUCTION...... 5

BACK TO THE FUTURE: WEREWOLF EDITION...... 7

The Werewolf as the Monster in the Modern Age...... 7 The Werewolf as the Victim in the Middle Ages...... 11 The Werewolf as the Shape-Shifter in Folklore...... 16

I WAS A ROMAN WEREWOLF...... 22

The Werewolf in Classical Antiquity...... 22 The Werewolf as Fiction...... 26 The Werewolf as Fact...... 29 A Roman and His Werewolf...... 32

CONCLUSION...... 34

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 37

ABSTRACT

From the ancient tyrant Lycaon to the A-list actor Benicio del Toro, the werewolf has been a monstrous presence in historical record and Hollywood entertainment. The timeless monster is found in classical texts ranging from Herodotus’ The Histories to Petronius’ The

Satyricon, and it continued to be referenced well into the the modern age. The werewolf myth has changed since its classical origins, but the untamed and lawless nature of this creature has remained the same. The wildness of the werewolf is in contrast to the qualities of a respectable citizen in classical society. Therefore, it is ironic that two venerated figures in Roman history,

Romulus and Remus, were raised by a she-wolf. Studies have noted this dichotomy and asserted it as a reflection of the contemporaneous world. Others have noted the psychological implications of the endurance of this myth on the individual and society as a whole. Based on classical depictions and later interpretations, it is likely that, in the Roman world, the werewolf myth acted as a portrayal of the darkest parts of the human psyche manifest into physical form, serving as both a warning and an excuse for those who erred from the Roman way of life.

Introduction

The Greeks and Romans have a convoluted history that reflects how deeply ingrained the mythological was in their daily lives. Mythology to them was reality, and their artwork and literature exemplifies the blurred lines between fact and fiction. Their lives are full of references to tales from the age of heroes and gods, and where their gods and heroes were revered, their villains and monsters were infamous. One such monster is the werewolf, although the classical world had several different names for the creature, such as the Greek lycanthropos. The lore surrounding the classical werewolf is just as vast as it is variable, ranging from historical references to a group of people that change into a wolf once a year to tales of a wicked man that was punished with a wolf form. There is not even a consistent name for such a creature, and the etymology behind these names are just as inconsistent. But despite the confusion surrounding its origins and history, the werewolf is a dominant and persistent creature with a past that is heavy in mythology and a future even heavier in muddled interpretation.

The werewolf is an iconic monster in the horror genre of the modern day. The fictional species has gone from nightmare, à la The Wolf Man, to romantic interest, à la Twilight, and everywhere in between. Hollywood has designed the werewolf in a plethora of ways with costumes ranging from a combination of wolf and human to simply full wolf, and the lore is just as adaptable. For example, the lore surrounding silver has been adapted to turn the metal from lethal kryptonite to a mere nuisance or the result of a game of Telephone that originated with a famous werewolf hunter named Argent, the French word for silver (a clever twist found in

MTV’s Teen Wolf). Hollywood has a fascination with this mythological creature, considering its persistent presence from 1913 with The Werewolf to today with the latest of the Underworld movies. People know the werewolf just as much as they know the vampire or the unicorn, but

Hollywood’s werewolf is very different from the werewolf of Medieval England and

Renaissance Europe.

The werewolf mythology that existed after the end of the Classical Age and before the rise of Hollywood had the monsters under different names and with different characteristics.

Religion permeated the lore surrounding the werewolf, given that there is even a lasting connection between the monster and the devil. Specifically, the Anglo-Saxon term “were-wulf” is used synonymously with the devil in legal documents associated with King Cnut.1 Some versions of the werewolf in this time even describe the werewolves as sorcerers that created an ointment and enchanted girdle that, when they put these on, turns them into murderous wolves, with the help of the devil of course.2 The wolf is considered to be such a demonic animal, with

“unbridled cruelty, bestial ferocity, and ravening hunger,”3 that even the holy texts refer to it as such. This imagery is common throughout time, given some exceptions here and there, and the core of the beast remains the same as well.

The werewolf maintains most of its foundation well into the modern day, although changes have been made to either demonize or humanize the fictional creature based on trends in media. Examples of these trends can be found in the Twilight era, where monsters of all kinds began to appear more humanized, and in the 1980’s, where horror films used werewolves to represent the metaphorical repercussions of puberty and moral deviance. Other examples can be found in early Hollywood, particularly in black and white cinema with the revolutionary work of

Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man and other werewolf films.4 Studies have been performed to analyze how these trends in media might reflect the society of that time, looking at Freudian

1 Montague Summers, The Werewolf in Lore and Legend (New York, NY: Dover, 2003), 4. 2 Summers, The Werewolf, 3. 3 Summers, The Werewolf, 65. 4 Rick Worland, The Horror Film: An Introduction (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007), 70.

concepts, like repression, masculinity, and egos, and common themes, like political and societal commentary. These studies play a key role in understanding the persistence of certain mythological monsters, such as the werewolf. They show that despite the many changes the myth has undergone, the werewolf is still popular today where many other mythological monsters, like the chimera or manticore, have fallen to the wayside for the most part.

The werewolf is a creature that represents the complete opposite of what a society expects of its citizens, providing a dichotomy of the moral righteousness of the human and the insatiable wickedness of the wolf. In the classical world, Roman citizens were subject to social scrutiny and moral limitation, particularly in the age of the empire where the emperor Augustus promoted Rome’s own version of the nuclear family ideal. Thus, given the classical world’s intermingling of myth and reality, it is possible that the werewolf was used in a way similar to how we use the boogeyman today. In a classical context, at least among the Romans, it is likely that the werewolf myth served as a reflection of the less desirable facets of the human psyche manifest into a paradigmatic physical form, acting as something like a warning or parable.

Back to the Future: Werewolf Edition

The Werewolf as the Monster in the Modern Age

Hollywood has something of a love story with the horror genre, and mountains of books have been published recapping the history of Hollywood horror, detailing the feats of directors, costume designers, and lead actors alike. The horror genre has become so iconic that it inspired horror films about itself, such as the Scream films, satirical slasher movies that successfully combined irony and gore to create a cult classic. Universal Studios has a show and museum dedicated to the costume designs of its early horror films, such as The Wolf Man and The

Phantom of the Opera. While this study is not about the Hollywood werewolf, it is important to

note the effect entertainment media has had on the werewolf myth. Hollywood’s horror genre begins with the growing popularity of gothic literature in the late eighteenth century, leading to the immortalization of creatures like the vampire, the werewolf, and Frankenstein’s monster, and it ends with the Hollywood feature film that we are familiar with today, 3D effects and all.5 By adapting ancient mythology into a modern environment, many have argued that the monsters introduced in stories like Dracula, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, and Dr. Jekyll and

Mr. Hyde (and their later film adaptations) are the baseline for all horror stories thereafter.6

Hollywood uses horror to reveal commentary and insight into the inner and outer workings of the human mind. The horror movie has an “affinity for the less, often metaphysical, implicitly social.”7 This depth also extends to the kind of fear a scary movie incites, as one can experience fear while watching a war or disaster story, but the kind of fear experienced from a horror film goes a little deeper. The horror genre creates a more psychological fear that is personal8 and stays with the viewer long after the film has ended, which may be why the horror film has endured for so long.9 As one author puts it: “Thirty years after viewing a horror film, one vividly remembers a scene, a moment, or a single image of horror.”10 The multifaceted nature of the horror genre in Hollywood is almost unique and is perhaps why so many scary movies become so-called cult classics, evoking large followings and fandoms that exist decades after the film’s release.

Beyond the psychological and societal implications, another staple to the Hollywood horror is the monster. Paradoxically, the monster is the main draw of the film because even

5 Worland, The Horror Film, 26–30. 6 Worland, The Horror Film, 30. 7 Worland, The Horror Film, 8. 8 Worland, The Horror Film, 7. 9 Mark A. Vieria, Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic (New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 2003), 6–7. 10 Vieria, Hollywood Horror, 6.

though it is the source of our fear, it also fascinates, and thus, attracts us.11 “According to the

1937 Thorndike-Century Senior Dictionary, a monster is ‘1. Any animal or plant that is out the usual course of nature. 2. Huge creature or thing. 3. Huge. 4. Person too wicked to be human.’”12

The werewolf is defined in almost as many ways as the monster itself, but at its core, the definition remains the same, saying that a werewolf is a human who changes into the shape of a wolf, either with or without his own will, and as a result, they have the stereotypical characteristics of a wolf. These characteristics are usually exaggerated and reflect fear of wolves, like “the foul appetites, ferocity, cunning, the brute strength, and the swiftness of that animal.”13

Sub-genres have been built around monsters like the werewolf, the vampire, and the poltergeist, and it has been suggested that each of these monsters reflects a particular fear or threat, adjusted to accommodate the contemporary times.14

The monsters of Hollywood have a history and lore that is dictated by the lineage of films, books, and television shows dedicated to them, so each change is noted and analyzed for hidden meaning and commentary. This is likely one of the reasons the werewolf is such a household monster, as it can be molded to fit whatever society might be most drawn to at the time. Psychoanalyses commonly use Freudian concepts to analyze the gothic themes of the horror genre, citing repression of sexual energy, conflicting masculine and feminine energies, and individualism as motifs hidden beneath the monstrous villain and the damsel in distress.15

Additionally, the werewolf could have been used as a “primitive psychological mechanism to

11 Worland, The Horror Film, 9. 12 Worland, The Horror Film, 9. 13 Summers, The Werewolf, 2. 14 Worland, The Horror Film, 9. 15 Steven Jay Schneider, Horror Film and Psychoanalysis: Freud’s Worst Nightmare (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 6.

escape the real violence in contemporary society.”16 The accuracy of these theories is highly debated, however, as the monster changes so much over time, but then again, so do people.

An example of the changing monster is the 1985 film Teen Wolf, which employs something of a “Heimlich maneuver” as the werewolf is switched from a macabre bringer of destruction to a loveable teenage boy that learns how to use his transformation to his advantage.17 This trend of “rehabilitation” can be seen in other werewolf films like An American

Werewolf in London (1981) and An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), although it can be argued that the fact that the werewolf has a human side is already a source of sympathy.18 The so-called “Heimlich maneuvers” are found in folklore and mythology too, but it is the newer retellings that feature this characteristic and the older ones that do so very sparingly.19 In some cases, the monster is defeated by its own blunder, creating a humorous twist to a previously scary film.20 Studies have suggested that this gradual shift towards redemption, humor, or, in some cases even kindness, is an attempt to make the world seem less frightening or to aide in seeing the world more objectively.21 These sympathetic or blundering monsters are so different from their horrific ancestors, who are thought to have once acted as outlets for a repressed desire in a time of strict morality, that it is likely they represent the increasingly lighthearted mindsets of the times in which they were presented.

The werewolf is older than Hollywood, so it is possible that any changes to its lore, history, or image are intentional to reflect what audiences want at that time. As times change, so do the associated monsters. For example, the werewolf experienced a humorous turnover in the

16 Charlotte F. Otten, A Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture (New York, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1986), 1. 17 Schneider, Horror Film and Psychoanalysis, 124. 18 Schneider, Horror Film and Psychoanalysis, 126. 19 Schneider, Horror Film and Psychoanalysis, 133. 20 Schneider, Horror Film and Psychoanalysis, 134. 21 Schneider, Horror Film and Psychoanalysis, 134.

1940’s and onwards that likely reflects the desires of a society that wants to forget the war and conflict erupting around them. Likewise, the same monster experienced a renaissance as the romantic interest to an awkward teenage girl in several books, television shows, and movies during the twenty-first century that could reflect the younger target audience’s own struggles as they go through puberty and the horrors of “growing up”. Thus, Hollywood plays a significant role in the perpetuation of the werewolf myth, always renewing the lore and revamping the myth to maintain doggedness (pun intended).

The Werewolf as the Victim in the Middle Ages

Before Hollywood and gothic literature introduced the macabre styling of the dark and spooky night and the blunders of the goofy monster, the werewolf spent its time in the Medieval

Period as something else entirely. These werewolves were not even called such, as the English term “werewolf” has a history of coming in and out of style. From the Greek lycanthropos and the Anglo-Saxon werewulf came the “man-wolf” and the “warwolf”, and each language has its own version and associated etymology for the term.22 The werewolf was also different during these times in that it was significantly tied to religion and posed questions about theology and philosophy. Specifically, it posed the question of the purpose of such monsters and the persistence of their existence when God was all-knowing.23 Monsters in general served this function, but the werewolf was especially talented in this because of its duality and transformative nature. Between the start of the Medieval Period, which was sometime around the fifth century, and some time into the Modern Period at around the early twentieth century, the werewolf didn’t undergo much change beyond what it was called and how much the monster

22 Summers, The Werewolf, 3–12. 23 David D. Gilmore, Monsters: Evil Beings, Mythical Beasts, and All Manner of Imaginary Terrors (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003), 47–48.

transformed. Despite the relative consistency in the werewolf, the monster in general grew in popularity as many were fascinated by the grotesque and amoral, although there was a brief stint of significantly less interest that was considered “an age without monsters” during the Age of

Enlightenment.24 The effect of the name, however, was important because it reflected how this monster was defined at the time of usage.

While the werewolf is the same at its core, the term an author uses to talk about the werewolf varies quite often. The term “were” was once used synonymously as “man”, hence the term “werewolf”, although it experienced a brief stint as “werwolf” when it was believed that

“wer” was more popular and, thus, correct.25 The werewolf also spent some time being called the

“warwolf”, as “wer” and “were” fell out of style and were forgotten, so people thought it was actually meant to be “ware” because, as Summers cites from a Middle English author, “a man had neede to be ware of them.”26 As odd this interpretation is, it is not uncommon, as the archaic

German wehrwolf has ties to the word wehren, which means to protect or take heed.27 Sometimes

“werewolf” appears as a proper noun or a synonym for the Devil,28 which relates back to the strong ties between the werewolf and religion. Furthermore, “werewolf” has been used to describe those afflicted with lycanthropy, the disease that causes a person to think they are a wolf, and small children (in the case of “warwolf”).29 There is even an instance of using

“werewolf” to describe a very large and vicious wolf.30 The word has several other variants, such as “men-woolfes”, but it eventually returns to “werewolf” between the thirteenth and fifteenth

24 Gilmore, Monsters, 59–63. 25 Summers, The Werewolf, 4. 26 Summers, The Werewolf, 4. 27 Summers, The Werewolf, 4. 28 Summers, The Werewolf, 5. 29 Summers, The Werewolf, 3. 30 Summers, The Werewolf, 3.

century.31 Still, it is a complicated etymology that has many different branches and languages before ending, eventually, at “werewolf”.

It is possible that these different names for the same monster can be traced back to how the people thought about the werewolf. For example, Great Britain had a long history of wolf attacks, ranging from mutilation of livestock to the death of children, and while few accounts survive, werewolf attacks and subsequent hunts actually occurred.32 It was even possible to be accused of “werewolfism”, as it led to investigations and hunts that quite closely resemble witch hunts, although later records show that these accusations were eventually not taken too seriously and skeptics were present even in the earlier periods.33 Perhaps the paranoia that surrounded the possibility of werewolf attack can be linked to the older term “warwolf”, which is thought to have come about because one had to be aware of these monsters. Additionally, in cases where the werewolf is believed to be a human possessed by a demon or a sorcerer in league with the

Devil, it could be that the word “werewolf” was used synonymously with the Devil because of this belief. The werewolf could also have been used as a metaphor for temptation and corruption, as seen in King Cnut’s Ecclesiastical Ordinances34, given both these beliefs and the idea that the werewolf represents giving into a more animalistic side of human nature. The werewolf is tied to the Devil in more ways than just definition, however, but this is common for other monsters as well.

The lines between the supernatural and the religious are extremely blurred in the Middle

Ages, which is not so different from the blurring of mythology and fact that is seen in classical antiquity. In the case of monsters, religion and folklore brought the horror to life rather than

31 Summers, The Werewolf, 12. 32 Summers, The Werewolf, 189. 33 Summers, The Werewolf, 193–200. 34 Summers, The Werewolf, 4.

costume designers and leading actors. Additionally, where the Hollywood werewolf (and other monsters) were the leading antagonists that propelled the plot further, it is the Devil himself that functions as the catalyst and the werewolf that is the victim here. Sometimes, it is not the victim, though, and it can be born of a wicked human almost as monstrous as the ravenous wolf already.

“Werewolfery is hereditary or acquired; a horrible pleasure born of the thirst to quaff warm human blood, or an ensorcelling punishment and revenge of the dark Ephesian art.”35 Still, it was more common, at least during times in which was religion was the dominating factor in people’s lives, for the werewolf to be a human victim themselves. Several studies have analyzed this difference, as it blatantly goes against the modern werewolf standard.

This difference is most noticeable in Medieval England where the werewolf was romantic and sympathetic. Instead of being a parable or fable, the werewolf stories of this period were about philosophy and theology. The werewolf was a victim—of curse or fate, depending—that had the form of a wolf but the mind and soul of a man, raising questions about the nature of change and metamorphosis in a time that was dictated by a this-or-that religion.36 Here a conflict can be seen in the ways a werewolf can change: some authors illustrate a very physical transformation, a man turns into a literal wolf, while others describe a mental transformation, a man falls asleep and commits atrocious acts as a demon takes over his body in the night.37

Religious belief is also seen in that, regardless of what transformation takes place, the human soul is untouched and still human. This is likely because of the belief that the human soul is inherently good, as it was made in God’s image, or imago Dei.38 Still, the human mind is subject to the ravenous nature of the wolf, and some stories feature characters who, after their change,

35 Summers, The Werewolf, 2 36 Caroline Walker Bynum, Metamorphosis and Identity (New York, NY: Zone Books, 2001), 94–95. 37 Bynum, Metamorphosis, 96–98. 38 Bynum, Metamorphosis, 95–96.

lose touch with their human side and murder.39 This is a pessimistic view on human nature that follows into Hollywood’s version of the monster, as the horror genre often features pessimistic commentary on the inevitability of humans succumbing to their darker sides, such as in the television show Supernatural.

Pessimism is not the only thing that carried into the horror genre from older lore; the religious influence found in werewolves and other monsters has carried as well. Holy symbols, acts of unconditional love or kindness, and true followers of faith are frequently used as the kryptonite of monsters, heavily suggesting that the temptation and sin represented by the monster can be held at bay by religion.40 This is seen in the vampire, who can be repelled by holy water and a cross, and the witch, who cannot come on hallowed ground. Many monsters today still maintain their religious background, considering that most of their weaknesses are holy symbols, protagonists with pure hearts, and the like41; however, exceptions are growing in number as the monster genre updates with current times and ironically plays off certain pieces of lore as dated or just a myth.

The werewolves of the Middle Ages are certainly influenced by religion, and this influence is found even in the werewolf myth of today. The werewolf is the unlucky monster in most cases during the period between the classical world and the modern one. In these tales, the werewolf is cursed with a wolf body and human soul, which remains unchanged because it was created in God’s image, making it untouchable by most authors in these highly religious times.

However, some exceptions exist where the werewolf succumbs to his savage temptation, and this pessimism in human nature continues into Hollywood’s horror genre. The religious monster

39 Bynum, Metamorphosis, 95–98. 40 Worland, The Horror Film, 8–9. 41 Worland, The Horror Film, 8–9.

repellants also carry over, despite the entertainment industry’s desire to be secular. These werewolves are more than just religion, though, and pieces of lore surrounding the werewolf can be found in older folklore and traditions that have carried over into the modern day.

The Werewolf as the Shape-Shifter in Folklore

After the end of the Middle Ages, folklore and local tradition experienced a renaissance during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries called the Romantic Revival.42 The nineteenth century also introduced the Folk-Lore Society and the term “Folk-Lore” itself, which was considered more appropriate than “popular antiquities.”43 Led by antiquarians and collectors, the

Romantic Revival encouraged the research of “popular antiquities,” or traditional customs and beliefs.44 Those who studied folklore and tradition were divided into two groups during the

Romantic Revival: one group tried to maintain a scientific approach in their research, recording oral traditions with plain transcription, but another group tended towards decorating and refurbishing the tales to make them more attractive to readers.45 The folklore renaissance came to a close during the First World War, although it is still studied today, just not in the same numbers.46 Still, this revival in the study of folklore was crucial for the evolution of the monster genre; interest in the supernatural stories provided by these tales was on the rise47, and as a result, older oral traditions that may have been lost otherwise were recorded.

Among these supernatural stories were things like witches and fairies, but the werewolf was also present. Unlike Hollywood and Medieval England, however, the werewolf was actually one of many different species of shape-shifter. These were-animals are found all over the world,

42 Katharine M. Briggs, Animals in Folklore, ed. J. R. Porter & W. M. S. Russell (Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Littlefield, 1978), 3. 43 Briggs, Animals in Folklore, 3–4. 44 Briggs, Animals in Folklore, 3–4. 45 Briggs, Animals in Folklore, 4–5. 46 Briggs, Animals in Folklore, 13. 47 Briggs, Animals in Folklore, 4.

usually taking the form of an animal that threatens populations and livestock in that area.48 For example, where Europe had the werewolf, New Zealand had were-lizards, Central America had were-coyotes, and Africa had were-hyenas.49 Among folklorists, these were-animals are thought to have originated from totemism, a system in which a group of people, such as a clan, believe that they are descendants of an individual who was both human and animal, which was then considered sacred among the descendants.50 Despite the system originating from the Australian aborigines and the Melanesians, folklorists apply it to cultures and civilizations all over the world.51 Thus, in folklore, the werewolf is considered to be a derivative of these were-animals, although it is changed into a more sinister character down the line.52

The werewolf was considered a sober fact and rarely used as a source of entertainment before the Modern Age, although it had experienced a drought during the Age of Reason, which

“had no use for werewolves in fact or fiction.”53 The Romantic Revival also resuscitated the werewolf in fiction, leading to a new series of characters and novels that took from folklore54; as

Russell & Russell quote from the 1975 presidential address to the Folklore Society, “folklore is an integral part of literature, not an intrusive element in it, something which may affect the language, structure, and themes of outstanding works in both poetry and prose.”55 Authors did extensive research into folklore traditions regarding their subject matter in an attempt to preserve them, and thus, the tropes found in werewolf fiction are likely derived, at least in part, from folklore, such as the murderous and often cannibalistic behavior of the werewolf and the

48 W. M. S. Russell & Claire Russell, Animals in Folklore, ed. J. R. Porter & W. M. S. Russell (Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Littlefield, 1978), 171. 49 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 171. 50 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 171–172. 51 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 171–172. 52 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 171–172. 53 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 144–145. 54 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 145. 55 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 145.

dichotomy of villainous or victimized werewolves. Some examples of these works of fiction are

The Wolf in the Garden, The Werewolf of Paris, and Wagner the Wehrwolf.56 These examples are also evidence of the prevalence of the French werewolf, as “in western Europe France is above all the country of the werewolf.”57

France has dominated the werewolf folklore tradition in trial cases, fiction, and oral tradition. Out of twenty-one trial cases studied by Summers, author of The Werewolf, France had accounted for seventeen of them.58 It is also noteworthy that all twenty-one trials ended in conviction and sentenced to death, and during the peak of the frequency of trials, the 1590’s, bad weather and harvests were plaguing the entirety of Europe.59 In France, scholars and lawyers documented trials and fiction regarding the werewolf, but there was also an even larger amount of folklore.60 French folklore was extensive, and most werewolf tradition went beyond what was recorded in courts. For example, the French believed in lupins, wolf-like creatures that made noises and howled as they stood near the walls of cemeteries.61 France is also home to the Beast of Gévaudan, a wolf of legend that was so monstrous, it was reported to have killed an estimated

60 people.62 It was so notorious that it even became a plotline in the MTV television show, Teen

Wolf, where it was adapted into a werewolf, and other retellings have done this as well. France has a long history of particularly vicious wolf attacks, such as a recorded attack in Paris in the thirteenth century that claimed fourteen victims, and the government even had an institution dedicated to wolf control.63 Perhaps one of the reasons France was so ladled with werewolf

56 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 147–148. 57 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 148. 58 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 153. 59 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 153. 60 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 153. 61 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 155. 62 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 158. 63 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 157–159.

folklore and tradition was because it was also distraught with actual wolves, despite several attempts to make the animal extinct.64 While France did dominate the werewolf market, so to speak, it still shared its folklore traditions with most of Europe, such as in the tale Little Red

Riding Hood65, as the wolf was the biggest threat to both humans and livestock in Europe and northern Asia.66

Italy also has a plethora of werewolf folklore that goes as far back as classical antiquity.

Belief in werewolves persisted through the folklore revival of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and tales of the lupo mannaro or lepomene67 are told even today, although in the form of fictitious stories told to children.68 The lupo mannaro and lepomene are the names given to the werewolf of Italian folklore, and locals believed that “a wolf must kill a hundred sheep to slake his thirst in their blood.”69 Italian folklore also connects demons with the werewolf, showing how widespread these beliefs were among the Europeans, but they also have such a high amount of unique beliefs about how to ward against werewolves, how werewolves are made, and how to identify them that it would require an entirely separate essay to discuss them.70 Today, proverbs and phrases are riddled with references to the wolf, as well as children’s stories and superstitions, such as the belief that wearing wolf’s skin can make you become more audacious or a wolf’s foot is a medicinal charm.71 The lupo mannaro and lepomene are also still connected to their ancient origins, where wolves and werewolves also permeated local lore. For example,

Christmas, or winter in general, seems to have a consistent significance in that werewolves either

64 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 160. 65 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 159. 66 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 157. 67 Anthony Rini, "Popular Superstitions in Petronius and Italian Superstitions of To-day," The Classical Weekly 22 (1929): 83, doi: 10.2307/4389241. 68 Summers, The Werewolf, 162. 69 Summers, The Werewolf, 162. 70 Summers, The Werewolf, 162–166. 71 Summers, The Werewolf, 163.

are born around this time or are more likely to be around at this time.72 Additionally, the effect of moonlight is also found in the writing of Roman author Petronius73 and in later folklore traditions, myths, and even in Hollywood movies. As such, the werewolf has been present in documents of both Greek and Italian origin since classical antiquity and well into the Middle

Ages. The belief in werewolves can even be found in modern day Greece and Italy, where there are festivals that have been held since the times of paganism.74

The werewolf of European folklore may have arisen because of a deeply rooted fear in wolves, especially in France, but it persisted because of the beast’s call to the darkest parts of humanity. Where the monster physically resembled the wolf, the term was also used synonymously with serial killers or mass-murderers. Folklorists have noted how trials of werewolves sound similar to that of mass-murderers, especially in regards to bloodlust and treatment of the victims.75 Authors use the werewolf as a synonym for gangs and murderers, such as in the case of Paul I. Wellman, who titled a chapter “Werewolves in the Wildes”.76 There is even a link between Nazis and the werewolf, as one headquarters was called such and some allegedly saw themselves as the monster as well.77 This connection between the werewolf and violent crime is seen also in several laws, where the term “wolf” or “wolf’s head” was used to refer to outlaws.78 This old connection, as well as the widespread fear of wolves, is likely a factor in the belief and persistence of the werewolf myth.

Despite the actual fear inspired by the creature, folklore believed, for the most part, that werewolves were victims of circumstance, which is the main difference between it and scholarly

72 Summers, The Werewolf, 150;163. 73 Rini, “Popular Superstitions,” 83. 74 Summers, The Werewolf, 152. 75 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 164–165. 76 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 165. 77 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 165. 78 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 166.

work, where it was believed that the werewolf was in league with the Devil.79 Folklore identified werewolves in ways similar to that of other places, noting hairy hands, a unibrow, pointed ears, and a “loping” walk.80 Moonlight was the primary source of change, but sometimes spells, wolf skins, girdles, and ointment were sufficient for the task as well. In Italy and India, it was believed that urination was used to create some kind of magical barrier, although this only occurs in

Petronius’ werewolf story; one author observes that this is also done by dogs to mark their territory with their scent, and perhaps this is the inspiration behind such a belief.81 In wolf form, the werewolf is believed to be subject to a process called repercussion, in which any wounds inflicted upon the wolf will also be inflicted upon the man, and it may cause him to shift back to human as well.82 The werewolf can also remove the girdle or skin or roll in dewy grass to turn back as well. 83 Some cures exist, although they remain predominantly in the realm of folklore and did not make it to trial records. Examples of these cures are to carve a cross into the forehead, strike the werewolf with a key, or call the werewolf’s Christian name three times.84

The werewolf myth permeated folklore, legal matters, and medicine during the Middle

Ages. The monster acted as a victim, a metaphor, and a demonic presence, but it retained its general foundation as a ravenous and insatiable human and wolf hybrid all throughout. The folklore belief in werewolves continued well after literary interest in the monster died out,85 but different forms of the werewolf myth itself began long before the Romantic Revival. Beyond the totemic theory that werewolves are only one kind of were-animal or shape-shifter, werewolves can be found as far back as Ancient Greece and as far from Europe as North America. In fact, the

79 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 153–154. 80 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 154. 81 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 155. 82 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 155 83 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 155. 84 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 155. 85 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 155–156.

totemic theory even includes the beliefs of Ancient Greece, noting that Apollo seems to have association with a wolf clan, and both he and his mother even took the form of a she-wolf occasionally.86

I Was a Roman Werewolf

The Werewolf in Classical Antiquity

The ancient Mediterranean was so wrought with mythology that it blended into reality, creating scientific texts that talk about the phoenix at the same time as the dog and historical records that discuss civil war while also discussing wars between gods and giants. While the

Middle Ages did not shy away from this mixtures, especially in the case of monsters, the period was no match for classical antiquity. Perpetuated by the Greeks and Romans, the monster was a sensation among the ancient civilizations; in fact, during the classical age, the representation of monsters was at its highest.87 Monsters were so popular that some ancient authors, namely

Lucian and Horace, even made fun of their people’s obsession.88 While monsters first appear in

Homeric legend, they “immediately proliferate into the richest reparatory of perhaps any ancient civilization.”89 Among the Mediterranean ancients is where we find the one of the first werewolves of the western world, an Arcadian king named Lycaon.90 We also find several historical accounts of werewolves as entire cultures, such as the Neuri, a group in Scythia that the ancient historian Herodotus describes as having the ability to change into a wolf during a certain time of the year. During the classical age, the werewolf was every bit as real as the horse,

86 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 172. 87 David G. Gilmore, Monsters: Evil Beings, Mythical Beasts, and All Manner of Imaginary Terrors (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003), 37. 88 Gilmore, Monsters, 37. 89 Gilmore, Monsters, 37. 90 Gilmore, Monsters, 40.

and while every age has its skeptics, the belief was even more widespread than it was during the

Middle Ages.

Among the ancients, there was no werewolf more famous than the Arcadian king Lycaon.

The story of Lycaon is most famously described by the Roman poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses, although several authors also tell the tale, such as Apollodorus, Lycophron, Nicolaus

Damascenus, and Hyginus.91 Despite the several different authors, each story has either Lycaon or his sons as villainous and immoral characters who are righteously turned into wolves.92 In

Ovid’s version, Lycaon is notorious for his cruelty and monstrous nature that was present even before he was cursed into a wolf. Ovid begins his tale with Jupiter, or Zeus as the Greeks know him, holding court with the Olympians and discussing the fate of humanity.93 Jupiter, determined to extinguish the humans, brings up the example of Lycaon, the cruel tyrant of Arcadia, who had doubted the validity of Jupiter’s presence.94 Lycaon tried to test Jupiter by serving him human meat, but Jupiter was well aware of his plot and punished him accordingly by burning down his house.95 Although Lycaon fled, Jupiter was still able to punish him by turning him into a wolf.

Ovid96 describes the process as such:

He fled in terror, and when he reached the silent fields He let loose a howl. He tried to speak but could not. His mouth foamed, and he turned his usual bloodlust Against a flock of sheep, still relishing slaughter. His clothes turned into a shaggy pelt, his arms into legs. He became a wolf, but still retains some traces Of his former looks. There is the same grey hair, The same savage face; the same eyes gleam, And the same overall sense of bestiality.

91 Summers, The Werewolf, 135–137. 92 Summers, The Werewolf, 135–137. 93 Ovid, The Essential Metamorphoses, trans. Stanley Lombardo (Indianapolis, ID: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2011), I.186–203. 94 Ovid, Metamorphoses, I.201–203. 95 Ovid, Metamorphoses, I.227–237. 96 Ovid, Metamorphoses, I.240–I.246.

The story of Lycaon is told and retold over time, although changes are made according to contemporary trends. In this case, the transformation into a wolf is a complete one, although some distinguishing features remain, like hair color. More importantly, though, is that the shape reflects the individual’s character. Here, the tyrant is changed into a form that reflects his bloodlust and viciousness, and this goes back to the philosophical questions posed by the werewolf of the Middle Ages about humanity and its choices. These philosophical questions, however, appear to be drawn from the classical werewolf. Lycaon was transformed into a wolf, which reflected his bestiality, and as such, by the time of the Middle Ages, it was accepted that those whose morals were in the wrong were described with wolf-like characteristics, such as howling.97

Lycaon reappears in classical texts beyond this story, serving his purpose even further as a motivation to remain on the straight and narrow, so to speak. In Pausanias’ work, Description of Greece, he describes Arcadia as still being plagued with werewolfism. Here, however, Lycaon was not turned into a wolf because he tried to trick Zeus but because he tried to sacrifice a human baby to the altar of Lycaean Zeus.98 Pausanias says he believes this tale, as it has been passed down among the Arcadians for a long time, and since Lycaon’s transformation, men are always turning into wolves during a sacrifice to Lycaean Zeus.99 Unlike Lycaon, however, if the man abstains from human flesh, he will turn back into a man after nine years.100 Here again the werewolf serves as a moral lesson in which every decision that goes against the moral

97 Otten, A Lycanthropy Reader, 223. 98 Pausanias, Description of Greece, Volume 4: Books 8.22-10 (Arcadia, Boeotia, Phocis, and Ozolian Locri), trans. W. H. S. Jones, Loeb Classical Library 297 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1935), 351. 99 Pausanias, Description of Greece, 351. 100 Pausanias, Description of Greece, 353.

boundaries of humanity is punished, and it appears that from then on, the werewolf will serve this purpose well into the modern age.

The werewolf myth is also present in historical and scientific texts of the classical world.

While these authors do share their skepticism, just their discussion of the topic reflects how widespread the werewolf belief was. In one instance, the werewolf myth is connected to the

Neurians, a group of people described by the Greek historian Herodotus in his Histories.

Herodotus describes the Neurians as having the same customs as the Scythians,101 except for one important trait. According to Greeks and Scythians alike, the Neurians may possess magical powers in that once a year, each Neurian becomes a wolf for a few days and then returns into their human form again.102 Pliny, a Roman author, also discusses the werewolf in his Natural

History. Pliny states that the werewolf myth originated with the Arcadians, whose beliefs have already been discussed, and there is a variation, called the stag-wolf or lynx, that has been seen in the arena of Pompey the Great from Gaul.103 He also shares some lore regarding the werewolf, such as the belief that the tail of the werewolf has a love-poison that is shed when the creature is caught.104 The lore surrounding the werewolf is complicated during classical antiquity, and most of it is based off of cultural beliefs and folklore. For the most part, all of this lore has fallen out of popularity, but some things, like the magical properties of silver, have maintained over time.

Mythology and reality were commonly blurred in classical antiquity and the Middle

Ages, but there are always skeptics. While the gods are widely believed, this is not always the case for the werewolf myth. For example, Pliny the Elder and Herodotus share their disbelief in

101 Herodotus, The Histories, Book IV, trans. Tom Holland, Penguin Classics (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2013), IV.105. 102 Herodotus, The Histories, IV.105. 103 Pliny, Natural History, Book VIII, trans. H. Rackham, Loeb Classical Library 353 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983), 59–61. 104 Pliny, Natural History, Book VIII, 61.

the idea of werewolves quite frankly, while Pausanias proudly proclaims that he believes in the

Arcadian werewolves. In some cases, the werewolf is seen purely as a literary figure of fiction, but in others, it is included in historical and scientific texts, despite the author’s skepticism. It is not always clear who sees the werewolf myth as fact or fiction, however, and this is likely a cause for the blurring of lines.

The Werewolf as Fiction

Little survives of Greek literature from the Hellenistic period, but what did remain was enough to influence Roman literature,105 especially in regards to monsters. Latin literature that deals with monsters is dominated by witches, but there are also ghosts and werewolves. In werewolf fiction of classical antiquity, werewolves could be a grouped together with either the ghost or the witch.106 Sometimes, the werewolf is also referred to as the versipellis, or “one who can change the skin.”107 However, this term has been used to refer to witches that change their form, and it is also later used to refer to a demon.108 This type of literature can be considered

Roman gothic, as it was full of the macabre and supernatural. In these cases, the border between fact and fiction is distinct, but just because something is fiction does not mean it has no basis in truth, at least among the ancients. As such, it has been noticed that Roman literature likely draws much of its fantasy from folktale, using fiction as a way to commentate on the world around them.109 The influence of folktale is also seen in the Middle Ages, especially in Italy.

Another influence from classical antiquity is a popular werewolf story written by

Petronius in his The Satyricon that is considered to have set the pattern followed by all modern

105 Daniel Ogden, Night’s Black Agents: Witches, Wizards and the Dead in the Ancient World (New York, NY: Continuum Books, 2008), 43. 106 Ogden, Night’s Black Agents, 57. 107 Georg Luck, Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds, A Collection of Ancient Texts (Baltimore, MD; The John Hopkins University Press, 2006), 20. 108 Summers, The Werewolf, 19. 109 Ogden, Night’s Black Agents, 76.

werewolf fiction.110 In The Satyricon, a section is dedicated to the symposium of Trimalchio, and here is where the character Niceros tells his tale of the werewolf. Niceros begins his story by asking his fellows to take him seriously,111 which could be considered a reflection of the view society had on the belief in werewolves at the time. Niceros then tells the company about the time he went to visit his lover, whose husband had just died, and he asked his master’s friend, as he was still a slave at the time, to accompany him.112 During their trip, they pass through a cemetery, and the friend suddenly removes his clothes, urinates around them, and transforms into a wolf.113 Niceros then runs to his lover’s home, where she informs him that her livestock had just been attacked by a wolf, which her slave had wounded.114 The next day, Niceros had returned home, but not before stopping to check the spot in which his friend had left his clothes and where now there was only blood; upon returning home, he saw his friend being treated for a wound on his neck.115 At the end of Niceros’ story, Trimalchio admits that he believes him and even adds his own story about witches.116

The tale of the werewolf in Petronius’ work is different from other werewolf stories in that the wolf did not attack any humans, only other animals, although in stories where the werewolf is a victim, this is seen occasionally as well. It is also important to note the method

Petronius shares this werewolf story. He uses Niceros and Trimalchio as means by which to spread a supernatural story, possibly reflecting how folklore and supernatural stories are shared in reality. This point is considered by Ogden as well, who also points out that the affirmations of

110 Russell & Russell, Animals in Folklore, 151. 111 Petronius, Satyricon, trans. Michael Heseltine & W. H. D. Rouse, ed. E. H. Warmington, Loeb Classical Library 15 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913), 133. 112 Petronius, Satyricon, 133–135. 113 Petronius, Satyricon, 137. 114 Petronius, Satyricon, 137–139. 115 Petronius, Satyricon, 139. 116 Petronius, Satyricon, 139.

truth made by both characters is a common theme in the supernatural genre in both Greek and

Roman literature.117 Petronius’ work is a possible reflection of common practices in regards to supernatural folklore, such as the affirmations of truth and the context of sharing stories among friends. It is also possible that these features passed on into the Middle Ages with oral traditions.

Werewolves also featured in other stories, such as the tale told by the Greek storyteller

Aesop, a figure whose history is about as clear as Homer’s. In this Aesopic story, a thief pretends to be a werewolf in order to steal an innkeeper’s cloak.118 Another story featuring the werewolf is found in Virgil’s Eclogues, where the monster is tied to a witch instead of ghosts, like in

Petronius’ tale. This eclogue is an example of Roman adaptation of the Greek, as the story stays very close to its predecessor, an idyll written by the Greek poet Theocritus.119 In Virgil’s work, the werewolf is a man named Moeris who turns into a wolf and disturbs souls in their tombs.120

In these cases, the werewolf is either in passing or nonexistent, but the fact remains the werewolf is still a common figure in classical literature.

In Roman gothic literature, the werewolf appears in different roles, going from main character to nonexistent plot device. While Roman literature was influenced by Greek, Roman literature and mythology likely influenced later stories. For example, the werewolf is affected by both his clothes and the moon in Petronius, something we seen in both Middle Age and modern age literature. There is also the affirmation of honesty that continues, as well as the connection between witches, werewolves, and ghosts. The tale of Lycaon is also a framework for other werewolf stories in that the human is changed into a physical manifestation of the beast within.

117 Ogden, Night’s Black Agents, 58–59. 118 Ogden, Night’s Black Agents, 57. 119 Luck, Arcana Mundi, 113. 120 Virgil, Eclogues, trans. H. Rushton Fairclough, ed. G. P. Goold, Loeb Classical Library 63 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1916), 81–83.

In these stories, the lines between fact and fiction are relatively distinct, save for the case of

Lycaon, who is presented as a mythological figure along the lines of the gods, but there are still cases in classical antiquity of werewolves as fact, such as in politics or medical cases.

The Werewolf as Fact

The werewolf has been presented as a mythological figure, a literary figure, and a figure of history and science, although in the case of Herodotus and Pliny, the werewolf was considered just as fictitious as the one in Petronius’ The Satyricon. In addition to its role in history and science, the werewolf also played a part in the factual world as a political concept and medical disease. The medical disease is called lycanthropy, likely derived from the first werewolf himself, Lycaon. Still, despite the treatment of lycanthropy as a fact during classical antiquity and later on in the Middle Ages, it also had its skeptics.

Because the major historical and scientific texts have already been discussed, the skepticism of historical and scientific writers ought to be as well. Among the classical authors that consider themselves historians and authors of science, Pausanias is one of many who presents the werewolf as fact. He says he believes the stories of Arcadian werewolves, as they have been passed down for ages.121 However, Herodotus, ever the skeptic, leaves a note regarding the Neurian werewolves: “Personally, I am unconvinced by this particular story, but they insist upon it nevertheless, and will swear to it on oath as they tell it.”122 Herodotus is a

Greek historian known as the pater historiae, or the father of history, by Cicero, a Roman orator, and by the time of the Romans, history was an already established subject123; however, it was used differently for the Romans and Greeks, as the Romans used history in a “moralizing and

121 Pausanias, Description of Greece, Volume 4, 351. 122 Herodotus, The Histories, IV.105. 123 Tom Holland, introduction to The Histories, by Herodotus, Penguin Classics (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2013), xix.

didactic” way, while the Greeks preferred a history that was “analytical and critical”.124

However, how critical can the Greeks be when Pliny, a Roman, states: “It is astounding to what lengths Greek credulity will go; there is no lie so shameless as to lack a supporter.” Pliny125 further shares his skepticism by saying:

We are bound to pronounce with confidence that the story of men being turned into wolves and restored to themselves again is false—or else we must believe all the tales that the experience of so many centuries has taught us to be fabulous...

However, the skepticism of these authors also warrants its own skepticism, as some historical records and scientific texts discuss the werewolf alongside the phoenix, another mythological creature, and the serpent, an actual animal.

The mental illness lycanthropy is also presented alongside actual illnesses, although much of classical medicine is disregarded in the modern age, such as the concept of the four humors, which play a part in this mental illness and many others. Lycanthropy is a disease in which the sufferer believes they are a wolf and behave as such, despite there being no physical evidence of the transformation. The belief in the disease is most common in the Middle Ages, and in the context of the ancients, there is little record of the disease. From the classical age and onward, lycanthropy was considered an excess of the melancholy humor, one of four humors that determined the health of an individual.126 The melancholy humor was associated with black bile and was considered “cold and dry, thick, black...”127 In regards to lycanthropy, an excess of melancholy could lead to hallucinations, depression, and insanity, and the association was so strong that “melancholic lycanthropia” became a term used in the Renaissance that had been

124 Holland, introduction to The Histories, xix. 125 Pliny, Natural History, Book VIII, 59. 126 Otten, A Lycanthropy Reader, 23. 127 Otten, A Lycanthropy Reader, 24.

adapted from Aëtius’s De Melancholia.128 Ancient physicians, such as Dioscorides and Celsus, tried to treat certain diseases with henbane, which created similar symptoms to belladonna, and as a result, it was likely that a side effect of higher dosages could have been lycanthropy and other hallucinogenic issues.129 Other possible diseases related to lycanthropy could be that described by Galen, in which a patient believes themselves to be a dog.130

Lycanthropy also existed in the political system of the classical world, though not in the same ways as it did in the Middle Ages in France and Italy. Specifically, the Greeks used werewolf imagery and the concept of werewolf societies to describe tyranny.131 Werewolf societies were created by groups of soldiers who considered themselves to be more than human when fighting, although more so in the figurative sense and not in the supernatural sense.132

Here, the werewolf was a powerful force of bloodlust, and this imagery is retained throughout classical antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern day. As such, the term werewolf is applied to the tyrant, who takes much more than his fair share from the people, as described by Plato in his

Republic.133 Here, the tyrant has violated the people by taking too much and crossing boundaries set by the laws of the polis, and this destruction of political rights is enough to erase “the line demarcating human and bestial realms.”134 However, the term werewolf here is used metaphorically, not factually, although it has been mistakenly interpreted as such before.

Kunstler notes that the ancients used these mythological and metaphysical terms as ways to

128 Otten, A Lycanthropy Reader, 24. 129 Otten, A Lycanthropy Reader, 29. 130 Summers, The Werewolf, 13. 131 Barton Kunstler, "The Werewolf Figure and Its Adoption into the Greek Political Vocabulary," The Classical World 84:3 (1991), 190, doi:10.2307/4350761. 132 Kunstler, “The Werewolf Figure,” 190. 133 Kunstler, “The Werewolf Figure,” 193. 134 Kunstler, “The Werewolf Figure,” 194.

describe things they did not yet have the words for or concepts they did not yet understand,135 and this is the common reasoning for most of classical mythology as well.

So while the werewolf existed on a particular border during the classical age where it spent most of its time being tugged between the lines of fact and fiction, its impact on the classical population, particularly the Romans, cannot be ignored. The werewolf imagery so permeated their lives that it was included in both reality, fiction, and mythology, here placed into a separate category because of the strongly held beliefs of the ancients. As such, it does not necessarily matter whether the Romans believed in the werewolf or not—it still held a place in almost every facet of their life, be it mythology, science, history, literature, or politics.

A Roman and His Werewolf

The Ancient Romans dedicated much of their time to their society’s ideal version of what we call today a “nuclear family.” Perpetuated by Augustus, the ideal Roman was an impeccable figure in both his home, his work, and his country. Even before Augustus was the image of the

“proper” Roman held in high esteem. Thus, it could be considered ironic that the werewolf myth is so popular among the Romans. However, every society has found use for the werewolf myth, as it reflects that which is inhuman but unavoidable in human nature. In order to understand the fascination with the werewolf myth in classical antiquity, the imagery of the wolf itself must be understood.

Wolves are also considered the “eternal symbol of ferocity and inordinate evil appetite, hard by which rides cruel devouring lust.”136 Even today they hold this imagery, although perhaps that is because it has been perpetuated by both classical antiquity and the Middle Ages.

In classical antiquity, the wolf is considered a figure of bloodlust, rage, and all that is wild and

135 Kunstler, “The Werewolf Figure,” 189–190. 136 Summers, The Werewolf, 66.

untamed. The connection is even found in politics, where the werewolf is associated with tyranny,137 but also with violent crime. “The connection between wolves and violent crime is an old one. When a Roman was convicted of matricide, his face was covered with a wolf-skin.”138

Furthermore, the wolf occupies something of a liminal space, as it has always been viewed as

“boundary crosser” because it is both cunning and socially developed while still being a beast.139

Given these associations, it would make sense that the werewolf is then a monster that is used to represent the darkest parts of humanity, especially among the Romans, who prided themselves on being morally just.

One author puts it best by saying, “For the most part we have made the beasts of fancy in our own image—far more cruel and bloodthirsty, that is to say, than the actual ‘lower animals’... the were-wolf is far more frightful than the wolf.”140 This follows especially in the ancient

Mediterranean, where giants, witches, and werewolves run amok in fiction and fact. Among the ancients, the werewolf is treated as a human of immoral mind, full of bloodlust and rage unfit for an actual human. Take Lycaon, for instance, who was transformed into the creature that most closely resembled his true nature. Consistently, the werewolf has been used to reflect the worst of humanity, regardless of whether or not the creature is actually a victim or a perpetrator.

Whether it is a metaphor for a serial killer or a cannibalistic tyrant, the werewolf spells nothing good for any who come across it.

The ancients used mythology and the fantastic to bring forward concepts they have not grasped yet, hence the prevalence of the mystic even among the skeptics like Herodotus and

137 Kunstler, “The Werewolf Figure,” 194. 138 Russell & Russell, Animals, 166. 139 Kunstler, “The Werewolf Figure,” 190–191. 140 Joseph Nigg, The Book of Fabulous Beasts: A Treasury of Writings from Ancient Times to Present (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999),

Pliny. Thus, it is likely that, even if the creature was thought of as fiction, the werewolf was used as a warning to those who dared to err on the side of immorality and as a lesson for those who already have. In the time of moral righteousness during classical antiquity, the werewolf myth brings light to the repercussions of our moral choices, and as Otten141 puts it:

“Humans who become werewolves in the myths and legends, or who cause others to become werewolves, are involved in moral metamorphosis: a process that recognizes the exhilaration that comes with engaging in degrading lycanthropic acts but also reveals the degradation that come to those who deliberately choose to exhibit bestiality.”

Conclusion

The purpose of this study was not to disprove or prove the werewolf myth. Instead, it was to assess the purpose and persistence of the werewolf myth from classical antiquity to today. Even so, an important aspect of a myth’s continuity is its retelling, which can be done by both skeptics and believers. Every era has its fair share of both, each arguing for the validity of their chosen sides. For example, skeptics argue that if we begin to believe in the werewolf, then we must believe in every marvelous or outrageous thing, but believers argue that the werewolf myth is so universal and timeless that it must be based on a grain of truth. Summers142 is an avid believer in the werewolf myth and says:

As old as time and as wide as the world, the belief in the werewolf by its very antiquity and its universality affords accumulated evidence that there is at least some extremely significant and vital element of truth in this dateless tradition, however disguised and distorted it may have become in later days by the fantasies and poetry of epic sagas, roundel, and romance.

However, there is still a valid argument for the skeptics, as well. For example, it is often brought up and discussed that one method of transformation in a werewolf is the wearing of a wolf pelt or girdle, which could easily mean that these individuals wore wolf pelts or similar

141 Otten, A Lycanthropy Reader, 223. 142 Summers, The Werewolf, 1. 34

items while doing something less than human. In the Middle Ages and in the classical world, monstrous humans, such as serial killers and mass-murderers, were referred to as werewolves. In regards to the Neuri, one author suggests that perhaps they wore thick fur pelts during the winters143 and had different customs than the Romans, who often referred to those different than they as savages or barbarians. Even the famed she-wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus, the mythological founders of Rome, has been explained into fact as a woman who was called lupa, which literally means she-wolf but could also refer to a scandalous woman.144 When your life is so heavily influenced by the mythological, religious, or folklorish, it is hard to differentiate fiction from fact, especially when you are interpreting these things centuries afterward. Thus, it is not important whether the author believes in the werewolf or not; the myth will still persist because of both arguments, as well as because of its aptitude for reflecting commentary on human nature.

Ralph Waldo Emerson is attributed with the quote, “Dreams and Beasts are two keys by which we are to find out the secrets of our nature.”145 The werewolf is one such beast, known today as the metaphor for uncomely behavior and repressed desire in Hollywood horror films. In the Middle Ages, it was known for the philosophical and theological questions it posed, each wondering how determined our lives are by God and how could God create such monsters. Both in the Middle Ages and in classical antiquity, the werewolf also served as a synonym for uncouth citizens and outlaws, with trial records calling for the prosecution of werewolves and serial killers alike and Romans covering those who committed matricide with wolf skin. This is largely

143 Summers, The Werewolf, 134. 144 Summers, The Werewolf, 67. 145 Gilmore, Monsters, 47. 35

in part due to the wolf’s reputation as the killer and the hunter, and from here we get phrases like

“wolf in sheep’s clothing” and the idea of criminals “howling”.

“Like the Devil, monsters reflect, then, a monitory tendency, a warning to man, and can have positive uses in pointing out human frailty.”146 In classical antiquity, the werewolf, and other mythological figures, were used to represent concepts not yet understood. As such, the werewolf served as a warning to the ancient Mediterranean that our actions, both moral and immoral, have consequences. This is the predominant theme of the story of Lycaon, whose story is told countless times but maintains its biggest point in that Lycaon was turned into the beast that most closely resembled his nature. So in the classical world, it is likely that the werewolf myth served as a reflection of the darker side of the human psyche manifest into a representative physical form, functioning among the skeptics as a parable and metaphor and among the believers as a serious warning.

Hollywood took the werewolf of the Middle Ages and created a monster that could both gratify the dark repressed desires of humanity and condone such a behavior by turning the werewolf into a graphic monster. The Middle Ages took the werewolf of Classical Antiquity and turned it into a victim we can sympathize with, meant to provoke questions regarding the fate of humanity and our choices in fighting our more animalistic sides. They also took the wolf and created a monster that appropriately reflected the darkness of humanity that they could not understand, like the serial killer. Classical Antiquity created the werewolf to be a fable and a warning to all those who could not hold back their poor behavior. Each era took the timeless monster and molded it to fit their needs, but it still looks the same as it did when Ovid wrote his

Metamorphoses. In short, the Wolf Man and Lycaon have a lot to talk about.

146 Gilmore, Monsters, 59.

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