The legend of the werewolf has been prominent in popular history and folklore, continuing to inspire films and books to this day.
The Werewolf Legend dates back much further compared to the vampire legend. The earliest sources of the Werewolf Legend can be found in the writings of the famous historian Herodotus. According to Herodotus, in the 5th century BC, among the Scythians who lived on the shores of the present-day Black Sea, the werewolf legend was well-known.
The Scythians, who arrived later on the coast of the Black Sea, referred to the local inhabitants as Neurians. The Scythians regarded the Neurians as sorcerers. They believed that these sorcerers, using various spells, transformed themselves into wolves during the full moon and lived as wolves for a few days before returning to human form.
The transformation from human to wolf, known as lycanthropy, is also frequently mentioned in Greek mythology. According to Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses," the god Jupiter punished King Lycaon of Arcadia and transformed him into a wolf.
Lycaon, in turn, lived in terror, causing havoc. The god Jupiter, disguised, went to the palace. During the meal, Lycaon served Jupiter a dish made of human flesh to test if he was a god. Jupiter, realizing this, became furious and punished Lycaon by turning him into a werewolf.
In Turkish mythology, the werewolf is also present. In Turkish mythology, werewolves are called "erbörü." Similarly, the event described as the transformation of humans into wolves is found in our mythology. Unlike other nations, in Turkish mythology, a werewolf is not only male. The female counterpart of erbörü was known as eşbörü. Additionally, Turks believed that those born in March had the potential to become werewolves, viewing the transformation as a form of empowerment rather than a curse.
Especially during the Middle Ages, the accusation of lycanthropy, much like witchcraft, was used as a pretext to accuse and execute many individuals in inquisition courts. During this period, many werewolf cases were fabricated.
The werewolf legend involves the transformation of a person into a wolf during the full moon, behaving like a monster, and then reverting back to human form. The cause of this is believed to be a person being bitten by a wolf in the past or being born in specific months. These are the common characteristics of werewolf stories seen in many folklores around the world.
Historical Werewolf Incidents
In the 1500s, in France, villagers witnessed three wolves devouring a corpse. When the wolves saw the villagers, they fled. The villagers, in terror, pursued the wolves. They captured a person in the bushes, half-naked, with long nails, hands covered in pieces of flesh, and blood on them. This person was arrested, brought to trial, and claimed to be a werewolf, stating that the other two fleeing wolves were his werewolf companions. The court sentenced him to death, but later this sentence was commuted to confinement in a mental institution.
Similarly, at the end of World War I, three alleged werewolves were said to have been captured. In 17th century France, two individuals were claimed to be werewolves, and it was determined that both committed murders involving cannibalism and dismembering of bodies. In the 1960s, a girl in Singapore claimed that she was attacked by a werewolf, but its veracity was not confirmed. In Rome, during the full moon in the 1960s, two police officers recorded chasing a person behaving differently, howling like a wolf, and this was documented.
The werewolf is also popular among Native Americans. In 1946, in the U.S., a killer was identified in the Navajo tribe as having four legs, leading to rumors of the werewolf legend due to the killer consistently committing murders during the full moon.
In 1975, in England, a 17-year-old boy claimed over the phone that he was a werewolf and transformed during the full moon. Eventually, the boy committed suicide by stabbing himself in the heart.
Science and Lycanthropy
While werewolf videos, movies, games, and even tutorials on "how to become a werewolf" have diluted the concept in popular culture, as can be understood from the documented werewolf incidents, it is actually considered to be a condition of severe schizophrenia and psychological disorder.
In medical terms, lycanthropy is known as "Lycanthropy" and modern science states that humans are not structured to undergo such a rapid transformation and return to their original state. Especially during the Middle Ages, many individuals were executed under the guise of lycanthropy, providing a sort of justification. In medieval France, werewolf trials were held.
In medieval France and Germany, those accused of being werewolves were sentenced to be burned or hanged. Additionally, all those who identified cases of lycanthropy claimed to be werewolves themselves. Therefore, it can be said that this is the result of a psychological disorder, even though it may not be real. Although it is not real, lycanthropy has become a very popular material and legend.
According to common belief, werewolves can only be killed with a Silver Dagger or Silver weapon. Many such werewolf legends have been fabricated, but there have been no werewolf incidents in modern times.
The last incident, as mentioned above, remained as the claim of a 17-year-old boy. However, it is true that people are affected during the full moon. However, this influence is psychological. As it is known, since about three-fourths of the human body is composed of water, there is an interaction in humans during the full moon similar to the tides in the oceans. However, this influence can manifest as nervousness and tension, which is a normal condition.
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