Man Into Wolf

<p>Man is a wolf to man - Roman proverb</p><p></p><p>In this landmark study first published in 1948 Robert Eisler develops a theory of man's dual nature. <em>Homo sapiens</em> is descended from two very different types of ancestors: from gregarious peaceful vegetarian gatherers who lived communally in herds; and from carnivorous predatory hunters who evolved under the pressure of hunger caused by the climatic change at the end of the pluvial period who donned wolf pelts and imitated the pack hunting of wolves and who developed indiscriminate even cannibalistic pre­datory aggression.</p><p></p><p>The great number of ancient Indo-European tribal names such as Luvians Lycians Lucanians Dacians Hyrcanians etc. meaning 'wolf-men' or 'she-wolf-people' found in Italy Greece the Balkan peninsula Asia Minor and North-west Persia and the numerous Germanic Italic and Greek personal names meaning 'wolf' and 'she-wolf' clearly prove that the transition from the fruit-gathering herd of 'finders' to the lupine pack of carnivorous hunters was a conscious process accompanied by a deep emotional upheaval still remembered by man's subconscious superindividual ancestral memory (Jung) and reflected in the 'superstitions'-i.e. the surviving atavistic beliefs-about 'lycanthropy'. This is the Greek term formed from <em>??????</em> = 'wolf' and <em>??????????</em> = 'humanity' for the dread folk-lore of men converted into 'wer-wolves'.</p><p></p><p>Eisler's main thesis is accompanied by an abundance of footnotes providing endless fascinating examples from history and mythology and by appendices discussing Jungian archetypes the Roman <em>lupercalia</em> the Dionysian mysteries of the Greeks and more.</p>