Vampires in history

Vampire myths go back thousands of years and they are found in almost every culture around the world. Their variety is almost endless; from red eyed monsters with green or pink hair in China to the Greek Lamia which has the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a winged serpent; from vampire foxes in Japan to a head with trailing entrails known as the Penanggalang in Malaysia.

The history of the vampire begins in ancient Persia, where a vase was discovered depicting a man struggling with a huge creature which is trying to suck his blood. Then, there was discovered a deity known for drinking the blood of babies, Lilitu or "Lilith", in a Babylonian myth. During the 6th century BC, traces of the "Living Dead" were also found in China. More legends continued throughout the entire world, including India, Malaysia, Polynesia and the lands of the Aztecs and Eskimos. For example, Aztecs believed that offering a young victim’s blood to the Gods ensured the fertilization of the earth.

The modern concept of the vampire occurs for the first time in European civilization. In both Roman and Greek mythology, there are found numerous bloodthirsty Goddesses, known as Lamiae, Empusae and Striges, names which eventually evolved into the general terms for Witches, Demons and Vampires. But these Vampires, though they do drink blood, were only Goddesses...not "living Dead", but disembodied divinities capable of taking on human appearances so that they might seduce their victims. The vampires we know today are nothing else but mutation determined by fiction and movies.

 

Source: http://dracula.cc