Damarchus

By Crusader1307

Perhaps the ‘’genesis’’ for the Modern Werewolf story, Ancient Greece’s Olympic Hero ‘’Damarchus’’ is often cited as such. According to fable, He was the ‘’fastest’’ of Runners. He came from the Hills of Arcadia. Attending The Festival of Lycaea, which had (it was said) – an extremely distasteful ‘’custom’’. A young boy was sacrificed to The Gods, with His remains being ‘’served up’’ as a ‘’treat’’ (cannibalism). Although participants did not have to ‘’partake’’, those who did – were given supernatural abilities. In this case, Damarchus decided to ‘’eat’’. Zeus turned Him into a Wolf as a result, and He used the speed of the animal to increase His own – winning. But the act had an unintentional end result. Damarchus had to remain a Wolf for 10 years. IF he never again ‘’tasted Human flesh’’, He would transform back into a Human again. As stated, many Arcane Historians cite this ‘’Legend’’ as one of the earliest examples of the ‘’Werewolf’’ Story.