Lycaon, king of Arcadia, was a wise and cultured king who had brought his people out of the wild conditions in which they originally lived.

However, King Lycaon continued to be a savage, sacrificing human beings in honor of Zeus, and he was even said to murder every stranger who came to his kingdom asking for hospitality.


Upon learning of Lycaon's behavior, Zeus wanted to check the rumors and disguised himself as a vagabond to pay a visit to King Lycaon.

The monarch instantly thought of killing his visitor, but quickly found out that it was the god Zeus, and invited him to enjoy a great banquet.

And to make sure that the wanderer was really Zeus, Lycaon decided to set a trap for the god of Olympus. He ordered that human flesh be served to him, the flesh of a child, presumably of a son of the same king.

But Zeus, who was the god of gods, realized the deception, and angered punishment Lycaon with the curse of becoming a wolf. Of course, Zeus granted him the grace that every ten years, if he hadn't eaten human flesh, he would become human again.

But every time he took the form of a human, Lycaon returned to making sacrifices and eating human flesh, transforming himself back into a wolf. And every so often, every night with a full moon, Lycaon goes out to the forest clearing or to the roads to howl asking for Zeus's forgiveness . And to devour everyone who passes by that place.

The myth of Lycaon provides one of the first examples of the folk tradition of the werewolf, which has endured to this day and is also related to the word lycanthropy, according to the poem metamorphosis, by the Roman poet. With this king of Arcadia, Lycaon.
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