Unlike other crimes that seem to follow a semblance of cognition, the idea of cannibalism defies all laws of human nature and has consistently held a negative connotation throughout history. Cannibalism, even in ancient societies, is met with varying degrees of intolerance, with its only mediatized occurrences of acceptance deriving from Bible.
In “Metamorphoses”, Ovid gives readers multiple examples of the barbarity ascribed to cannibalism. Beginning in Book One, Ovid presents readers with the character of Lycaon, the king of Arcadia. In order to determine the divinity of his guest, Jupiter, Lycaon attempts to serve him the roasted and poached flesh of an innocent hostage. Jupiter, seeing through his duplicities, transforms Lycaon into a wolf as punishment. Stories of mortals transforming into gods due to honorable or heroic acts scatter Greek Mythology, however the story of Lycaon exists as an extreme