Werewolves
Ancient Stories of Werewolves The Arcadian royal family, however, is the source of the most well-known story. King Lycaon and his fifty sons, who were infamous for their impiety, reportedly incensed Zeus when they fed him a dinner prepared by a slaughtered child. The Roman poet Ovid recounts in his Metamorphoses that Zeus punished Lycaon by transforming him into a wolf. This story is a prime example of ancient Greek mythology’s recurring subject of divine punishment and change. Written around 2100 BC, the Epic of Gilgamesh, gives us the earliest surviving example of man-to-wolf transformation. Ishtar, the goddess of fertility, love, and war, is in love with the hero Gilgamesh and thus flirts with him. Gilgamesh rejects her advances because he has heard of how badly she treated her previous suitors. One suitor in particular, a young shepherd who had fallen in love with the goddess, comes to mind. This shepherd left Ishtar abundant offerings at a mountain shrine. Ishtar ...