The Myth: According to the mythology of ancient Greece, King Lycaon was the king of Arcadia. He was known for being extraordinary cruel and to regularly challenge the gods themselves. It was this last vice which drew the attention of Zeus who arrived in mortal disguise to test and challenge King Lycaon. Lycaon was able to see through this disguise and decided to test the true might of a god, to see if Zeus was as omnipotent as others claimed the King of the Gods was. To test the god, King Lycaon killed his youngest son of Nyctimus, cut him up and served him in a dish as meat for the god. Zeus immediately detected the treachery, threw off his disguise to appear in his full godly glory, and proceeded to use his lightning bolts to destroy Lycaon’s palace. As for King Lycaon, Zeus turned him into a wolf and brought Nyctimus back to life. There were many who believed that King Lycaon stalked the night still, developing a taste of human flesh due to the horrific act of cannibalism that he performed.
Continue reading
