Lycanthropy can be seen in ancient times and it is not something that has existed for a couple of hundred years. We are talking about very old myths where the transformation into a wolf was something that was believed as a fact. One of the first stories comes to us from a king named Lycaon, who became a wolf as a punishment from the Greek god Zeus.
Curiously, this punishment came to test the humanity of King Lycaon. Zeus reportedly made forays among the men dressed as mortals to see if they recognized him. If they did not recognize him they were cursed but if they did they were in no danger. King Lycaon challenged Zeus saying that he was a complete hoax of the priests. So he wanted to do a test of divinity. He took a common prisoner and cut his throat, cut him up, and cooked him to give to Zeus disguised as a human.