werewolves – no pesky nuisances here

werewolves – no pesky nuisances here

The origins of werewolves and their association with wolves are very different from those of revenants and vampires.  The first written account of a human becoming a werewolf may be in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (1 AD) in which the story is told of King Lycaon being transformed into a wolf by the king of the gods, Jupiter (Zeus, if ancient Greeks are telling the story).  Jupiter was disgusted that Lycaon served human meat for the god to eat (presumably Lycaon ate human flesh himself).  To emphasize that only animals, not civilized humans, ate human flesh, Jupiter transformed Lycaon into a werewolf.  As an animal, Lycaon could continue to feed on human flesh, but was utterly cut off from human company, from human society; was declared inhumane and non-human.  The image of a human being transformed into a wolf-like, uncivilized creature is a central theme of a werewolf. They are way more than pesky revenants, they are decidedly deadly. 

From Lycaon we also obtain the word and the concept of a lycanthrope or lycan, that is, a shape-shifter.  Shape-shifters are usually conceived as having the ability to change bodily forms at will.  It seems strange to me that Lycaon’s fate should be associated with shape-shifters since his transformation was neither self-induced, nor is there any indication he could ever change back into human form.  Even the lucky fellow chosen to become a werewolf at the festival of Jupiter Lycaon could only become human again if he did not eat human meat for nine years.  Fat chance.

Vampires, certainly revenants, are less often associated with shape-shifting, another difference between them and werewolves.  Some, especially Victorian, accounts of vampires have them shape-shift into bats.  Most recent stories give them tremendous speed and great strength letting them make huge leaps, but without wings (except, sometimes, for the old-timers, e.g. in “Únderworld”).  Perhaps the image of powerful vampires turning into scrawny little flying rats seems sissified, or turning into human-sized bats beyond the realm of modern credulity.

On the other hand, wolves and werewolves have no relationship with rebirth or returning from the dead, so central to the image of revenants.  They are strictly slingers of death, evil creatures in league with the devil.  To early shepherds wolves were terrifying enemies.  They were deadly threats to the unwary lone farmworker or traveler and to young damsels wearing red, hooded cloaks.  In spite of werewolves being human, they are straightforward extensions of wolves and wolf-like behavior.  This is very different from the fairly convoluted reasoning that originally linked bats to revenants and vampires. 

Nor do vampires cycle between being human and being a vampire as werewolves are forced to do when a full moon rises.  They may try to disguise themselves to walk among humans, but they are always vampires.  And, although they may sleep for long stretches of time, they wake up at will.  Overall then, vampires, as related directly to revenants, appear to be very distinct from werewolves.