The myth behind the word Lycanthropy

The First Werewolf!

The word Lycanthropy has Greek origins and it comes from Lycaon.

Lycaon was one of the ancient Greeks that didn't worship the Gods of Olympus. Some people did not worship the Gods of Olympus, instead they worshipped the Titans.

Lycaon was the king of Arcadia. He was the son of Pelasgus (the eponymous ancestor of the Pelasgians, the ancient Greeks used to believe Pelasgus was the first man) and Oceanid Meliboea or Deianira (daughter of another Lycaon, she was loved by the river god Orontes, who stopped his waters out of love for her!). Lycaon had 50 sons!

Lycaon not only didn't worship the Olympians but he also challenged them. One day he invited Zeus for dinner and he served him human flesh. Zeus got furious and he threw thunderbolts. He crushed the place and turned Lycaon and his sons into wolves!

Lycaon and his sons wanted to break this curse desperately and went to the Druids to help them turn back to human.

The Druids couldn't turn them back to human but they taught them how to shift back and forth and that made them werewolves. So Lycaon and his sons were the first werewolves! That's where the word lycanthropy comes from.