In Greek mythology, Lycaon (/laɪˈkeɪɒn/; Attic Greek: Λυκάων, Lukáо̄n, Attic Greek: [ly.kǎː.ɔːn]) was a king of Arcadia who, in the most popular version of the myth, killed and cooked his son Nyctimus and served him to Zeus, to see whether the god was sufficiently all-knowing to recognize human flesh. Disgusted, Zeus transformed Lycaon into a wolf and killed his offspring; Nyctimus was restored to life.
Despite being notorious for his horrific deeds, Lycaon was also remembered as a culture hero: he was believed to have founded the city Lycosura, to have established a cult of Zeus Lycaeus and to have started the tradition of the Lycaean Games, which Pausanias thinks were older than the Panathenaic Games.[1] According to Gaius Julius Hyginus (d. AD 17), Lycaon dedicated the first temple to Hermes of Cyllene.[2]
Lycaon was the son of Pelasgus[2][3] and either the Oceanid Meliboea[4] or Deianira, daughter of another Lycaon.[5] His wife was called Cyllene, an Oread nymph who gave her name to Mount Cyllenê[6] though sometimes she was regarded as his mother instead.[7][3] In some accounts, the Arcadian town Nonakris was thought to have been named after his wife.[8] Lycaon was also known to have had at least three daughters: Callisto, Dia[9] and Psophis.[10]
According to the Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Lycaon has 50 sons.[11] An alternate list of Lycaon's sons is given by Pausanias. According to his account, almost each of them founded a city in Arcadia and became its eponym.[12]
Name | Apollodorus | Pausanias | Others | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Acacus | ✓ | foster-father of Hermes; founded Acacesium | |||
Acontes | 1 | ✓ | |||
Aegaeon | 2 | ✓ | |||
Alipherus | 3 | ✓ | ✓ | founded Aliphera | |
Ancyor | 4 | ✓ | |||
Archebates | 5 | ✓ | |||
Aseatas | ✓ | founded Asea | |||
Bucolion | 6 | ✓ | |||
Canethus | 7 | ✓ | |||
Carteron | 8 | ✓ | |||
Caucon | 9 | ✓ | ✓[13] | eponym of the Caucones that were believed to have settled in Triphylia | |
Ceteus | ✓[14] | father of Callisto or Megisto | |||
Charisius | ✓ | founded Charisia | |||
Cleitor | 10 | ✓ | ✓[13] | possibly eponym of Cleitor | |
Coretho | 11 | ✓ | |||
Cromus | ✓ | founded Cromi | |||
Cynaethus | 12 | ✓ | |||
Daseatas | ✓ | founded Dasea | |||
Eleuther | ✓[15] | stayed aside from the abomination | |||
Euaemon | 13 | ✓ | possibly eponym of Euaemon | ||
Eumetes | 14 | ✓ | |||
Eumon | 15 | ✓ | |||
Genetor | 16 | ✓ | |||
Haemon | 17 | ✓ | ✓[13] | possibly eponym of Haemoniae | |
Harpaleus | 18 | ✓ | |||
Harpalycus | 19 | ✓ | |||
Helix | 20 | ✓ | |||
Helisson | ✓ | founded the town of Helisson (also gave his name to a nearby river) | |||
Heraeus | 21 | ✓ | ✓ | founded Heraea | |
Hopleus | 22 | ✓ | |||
Horus | 23 | ✓ | |||
Hyperes | ✓[16] | founded Hyperesia | |||
Hypsus | ✓ | founded Hypsus | |||
Lebadus | ✓[15] | stayed aside from the abomination | |||
Leo(n) | 24 | ✓ | |||
Linus | 25 | ✓ | |||
Lycius | 26 | ✓ | ✓(possibly) | ✓[13] | founded Lycoa |
Macareus | 27 | ✓ | ✓ | founded Macaria | |
Macednus | 28 | ✓ | founded Macedonia | ||
Maenalus | 29 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓[13] | founded Maenalus |
Mantineus | 30 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓[13] | founded Mantinea |
Mecisteus | 31 | ✓ | |||
Melaeneus | 32 | ✓ | ✓ (possibly) | founded Melaeneae | |
Nyctimus | 33 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓[13] | succeeded to Lycaon's power |
Oenotrus | ✓ | ✓[17] | the youngest, founded Oenotria in Italy | ||
Orchomenus | 34 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓[13] | founded Orchomenus and Methydrium |
Orestheus | ✓ | founded Oresthasium | |||
Pallas | 35 | ✓ | ✓ | founded Pallantium | |
Parrhasius | ✓[18] | founded Parrhasia and said to be the father of Arcas | |||
Peraethus | ✓ | founded Peraetheis | |||
Peucetius | 36 | ✓ | |||
Phassus | 37 | ✓ | |||
Phigalus | ✓ | founded Phigalia | |||
Phineus | 38 | ✓ | |||
Phthius | 39 | ✓ | ✓[13] | possibly eponym of Phthiotis | |
Physius | 40 | ✓ | |||
Plato(n) | 41 | ✓ | |||
Polichus | 42 | ✓ | |||
Portheus | 43 | ✓ | |||
Prothous | 44 | ✓ | |||
Socleus | 45 | ✓ | |||
Stymphalus | 46 | ✓ | ✓[13] | possibly eponym of the town Stymphalus | |
Teleboas | 47 | ✓ | ✓[13] | ||
Tegeates | ✓ | founded Tegea | |||
Thesprotus | 48 | ✓ | ✓[13] | founded Thesprotia | |
Thocnus | ✓ | founded Thocnia | |||
Thyraeus | ✓ | founded Thyraeum | |||
Titanas | 49 | ✓ | |||
Trapezeus | ✓ | founded Trapezus | |||
Tricolonus | ✓ | founded Tricoloni |
There are several versions of the Lycaon myth already reported by Hesiod (Fragmenta astronomica, by Eratosthenes, Catasterismi), told by several authors. The most popular version is the one reported by Ovid in the first book of his Metamorphoses.
The different versions of the myth are as follows:[19]
The English poet Robert Graves, in his The Greek Myths, explained the origin of Lycaon's myth as follows: