Sam Cabot's Blog - Posts Tagged "shapeshifters"

With the title SKIN OF THE WOLF it should come as no surprise that Sam Cabot’s new novel involves therianthropy, or shapeshifting. “The term ‘therianthropy’ comes from the Greek theríon [θηρίον], meaning ‘wild animal’ or ‘beast’; and anthrōpos [ἄνθρωπος], meaning ‘human being.’ It was used to refer to animal transformation folklore of Europe as early as 1901. Sometimes the term ‘zoanthropy’ is used instead. Therianthropy was used to describe spiritual beliefs in animal transformation in a 1915 Japanese publication, ‘A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era.’ One source, ‘The Human Predator,’ raises the possibility the term may have been used as early as the 16th century in criminal trials of suspected werewolves.”–from the Wikipedia page on the subject. For the full text of the entry click here.