Lycaon

British

/ laɪˈkeɪɒn /

noun

Greek myth a king of Arcadia said to have offered Zeus a plate of human flesh to learn whether the god was omniscient

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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The Greek myth of Lycaon — a sacrilegious king transformed into a wolf as punishment for attempting to trick the god Zeus — informed the play.

From Washington Post • Oct. 14, 2022

And so, in October of last year, the sisters set forth on the longest and most harrowing odyssey ever recorded for Lycaon pictus, a carnivore already known as a wide-ranging wanderer.

From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2022

In punishment, the legend goes, Lycaon was either slain or turned into a wolf.

From Washington Post • Aug. 12, 2016

Lycaon broke free of his bone cage with a triumphant howl.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

She was the daughter of Lycaon, a king of Arcadia who had been changed into a wolf because of his wickedness.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023