Damarchus () or Demaenetus was a victorious Olympic boxer from Parrhasia (Arcadia) who is said to have changed his shape into that of a wolf at the festival of Lycaea, only to become a man again after ten years. St. Augustine, ''

The City of God ''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' (), often called ''The City of God'', is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. Augustine wrote the book to refute allegations that Christian ...

'', Book XVIII, Chapter 17 Pausanias investigated the story for his famous work ''

Description of Greece ''Description of Greece'' () is the only surviving work by the ancient "geographer" or tourist Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias (c. 110 – c. 180). Pausanias' ''Description of Greece'' comprises ten books, each of them dedicated to some ...

'' and, while he seems to believe that Damarchus the boxer did indeed exist, he notes that Damarchus' inscription at Olympia mentions nothing about his supposed metamorphosis to a wolf. Pausanias, ''

'', 8.2.6 The festival of Lycaea involved human sacrifice to

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. A young boy was killed and then consumed by one of the participants, in this case by Damarchus, and as a result Zeus would transform the cannibal into a wolf. Pliny, '' The Natural History'', Chapter 34.(22.) According to Pausanias, the werewolf could once again live as a man provided he abstained from human flesh for nine years; if, however, the wolf tasted the flesh of a man, he would remain a beast forever.

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

and Pliny agree with the main aspects of the story but claim the requisite waiting period was ten years, not nine. The story is briefly alluded to in Plato's masterpiece, '' The Republic'', however in Plato's version there is no suggestion that the change could be undone.

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

, '' The Republic'', 565D

References

{{Ancient Olympic winners Werewolves in Greek mythology Ancient Olympic competitors Ancient Arcadian athletes