Mythology
In mythology King Lycaon was a king of Arcadia who sired 50 sons. Lycaon wanted to test if Zeus was omniscient so he chopped up a guest as an offering. Since poor hosting and murder were looked down upon in Greek society Zeus cursed Lyacon to turn into a wolf and struck down his 50 sons with lightning bolts. Lycaon’s son Nyctimus survived Zeus’ wrath.
This is where the term Lycanthropy came from to describe a werewolf.