Lycaon
heroLycaon was the king of Arcadia who tested Zeus by serving him human flesh at a banquet — and was transformed into a wolf as punishment.
The Myth
When Zeus visited Arcadia disguised as a mortal, Lycaon decided to test whether his guest was truly a god by serving him a dish made from a slaughtered child (his own son Nyctimus, or a prisoner). Zeus overturned the table in rage, killed Lycaon's other sons with thunderbolts, and transformed Lycaon into a wolf. This act of impiety was one of the reasons Zeus sent the great flood. The story is the foundational werewolf myth of Western civilisation.
Parents
Pelasgus
Children
Nyctimus and fifty sons
Symbols
Fun Fact
"Lycanthropy" (werewolf transformation) takes its name directly from King Lycaon — the first werewolf in Western literature.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Arcadia
placeArcadia was both a real mountainous region in the central Peloponnese and an idealised landscape of...
Zeus
godSupreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and...
Achilles
heroThe greatest warrior in the Greek army at Troy, nearly invulnerable thanks to being dipped in the...
Actaeon
heroActaeon was a master hunter who accidentally saw Artemis bathing naked — she transformed him into a...
Adonis
heroAdonis was a youth of such extraordinary beauty that Aphrodite herself fell in love with him — his...
Adrastus
heroAdrastus was the only survivor of the Seven Against Thebes — he escaped on his divine horse Arion...