When most of us (including me) hear "Greek mythology", we picture the gods of Olympus, mythical creatures such as centaurs and cyclops, and heroes such as Perseus and Hercules.
Yes--I know it's "Herakles" and Hercules is the Roman name!!
However, as I performed further research into mythology, I found creatures in Greek folklore that came after Ancient Greece times!
One such creature is the vrykolakas, an undead monster similar to a vampire.
"Vrykolakas" sounds a lot like "vukodlak", the term for vampires in Southeastern European Slavic languages.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Greece was invaded by the Slavs.
Based on this history, I believe that the vrykolakas myth was imported into Greece by these Slavic invaders.
Since the Southeastern European Slavic lands are just north of Greece, this theory of mine is not out of the question.
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