Tradition / Region: Romanian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Shapeshifter, Sheep
The Myth
In the Transylvanian village of Heitau, a Romanian farmhand once walked along the road with two maids. As they went, the man suddenly threw himself into a somersault. Then he somersaulted a second time, and a third.
At once he was no longer a man but a grey-spotted billy goat.
The animal charged furiously at the two girls. With its horns it gored and tore at their red katana, shredding the garments into pieces. The maids fled in terror as the goat raged around them.
After some time, the creature again threw itself into three somersaults. As it completed the last one, the goat vanished and the farmhand stood there once more in human form.
Yet the transformation had not left him untouched. A small shred of the torn red cloth had grown fast to his ears, and this strange mark, it was said, remained with him for the rest of his life.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Knecht als Ziegenbock. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/rumaenien/siebenbuergen/knechtalsziegenbock.html
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive