Editing Mount Lykaion (section)

===Legendary period===

Pausanias states that the [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]]ns claimed [[Cretea]] atop Mt. Lykaion as the birthplace of Zeus,<ref>Pausanias 8.36.3, 8.38.2</ref> although tradition had handed down at least two other locations for Zeus’ birth.<ref>cf. Cicero, ''De Natura Deorum'' 3.53</ref>

[[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]], son of [[Pelasgus]], the mythical founder of the Greek race, is said to have instituted the worship of Zeus at Mt. Lykaion, giving the god the epithet Lykaios and establishing games in his honor.<ref name="Pausanias 8.2.1">Pausanias 8.2.1</ref> The ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'', a Roman-era mythological compendium, adds the story that Lycaon attempted to test Zeus’ omniscience by tricking him into eating a sacrifice mixed with human flesh. In punishment, Zeus slew Lycaon and his fifty sons.<ref>Apollodorus, ''Epitome'' 3.8.1</ref> Other sources, including the Roman poet [[Ovid]], claim instead that Lycaon's punishment was transformation into a wolf, an early example of [[lycanthropy]].<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'', 1.163ff.</ref>