Episode #236 - Real Werewolves?
Our Fake History
PodcastOne
4.7 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 7 October 2025
⏱️ 85 minutes
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Summary
Stories about human beings transforming into wolves are as old as literature itself. Even the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh featured a story of a man becoming a wolf. The Werewolf may be one of our most ancient and historically durable monsters. Could Werewolf stories reflect a distant, if blurry, historical memory? Belief in real werewolves seems to have peaked during the witch-panics of 16th and 17th centuries. How should we understand the people who confessed to being real werewolves? Tune-in and find out how sympathetic wounds, enchanted girdles, and werewolf ointment all play a role in the story.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey friends, Sebastian here. This is just a little reminder that I'm going to Greece and I want you to come with me. |
| 0:07.9 | In 2026, our fake history is teaming up with John Schor's travel to offer an amazing journey through Athens, Crete, and Santorini. |
| 0:19.5 | We're going to hit the historical sites, check out the museums, explore |
| 0:23.6 | ancient ruins, and the whole time I'm going to be hanging out telling stories. I would love for you |
| 0:29.0 | to come with me. If that sounds like something you'd be into, then please click the link in the show |
| 0:34.2 | notes or go to Our Fake History.com and follow the links for the trip itinerary. |
| 0:41.0 | If you book, please use the promo code Oph-H so they know that I sent you. All right, enjoy the show |
| 0:47.9 | and I'll see you in Greece. |
| 1:03.3 | There's a story that there was once a king named Lycaon from the Greek region of Arcadia. |
| 1:10.6 | Lycaon was a vicious and bloodthirsty ruler who had earned a reputation for cruelty. He had passed this love for violence |
| 1:14.3 | onto his many sons, who had become well known for sadistically tormenting the people of Arcadia |
| 1:20.7 | for sport. Before long, tales of King Lycaon's depravity reached the ears of the gods on Olympus. And so Zeus, |
| 1:32.7 | king of the gods, took it upon himself to investigate the situation. Disguising himself as a |
| 1:39.7 | traveler, Zeus set out on a walking tour of Arcadia to see just how bad things had become in the kingdom. |
| 1:48.1 | The Roman poet Ovid, who provides us with the most famous version of this tale, |
| 1:53.3 | relates the events from the perspective of the god himself. |
| 1:58.0 | Ovid's Zeus disgustedly reports that, quote, it would take too long to tell of the wickedness |
| 2:05.4 | I found in Arcadia. The rumors were even milder than the truth, end quote. After taking stock of |
| 2:14.0 | Lycaon's misrule, Zeus then headed directly for the king's palace. |
| 2:20.3 | When he arrived, the god did not play coy. Instead, he announced immediately that he was Zeus, |
| 2:27.3 | king of the gods, and that he had come to partake in Lycaon's hospitality. Many in Lycaon's household recognized Zeus immediately and quickly dropped to their knees and started |
| 2:40.2 | worshipping the Olympian. |
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