This article is about the creatures of mythology. For alternative meanings see Lycanthropy . Lycanthropy is the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into an animal. The term comes from Greek lykánthropos (???????????): ?????, lýkos ("wolf") + ????????, ánthr?pos ("man") (Rose, 230). The word can also be used transitively, referring to the act of transforming someone else into an animal, or Lycanthrope. The word lycanthropy is often used generically for any transformation of a human into animal form, though the precise term for that is technically "therianthropy". Sometimes, "zoanthropy" is used instead of "therianthropy" (Guiley, 192). Folk-etymology also links the word to Lycaon, a king of Arcadia who, according to Ovid's Metamorphoses, was turned into a ravenous wolf in retribution for attempting to serve human flesh (his own son) to visiting Zeus

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