Ara 1

In ancient Greek mythology, it was thought that the Cyclopes originally built the altar as a place to sacrifice to the Olympian gods. The altar, usually depicted upside down, but sometimes upright with the smoke drifting into the Milky Way, was identified as the altar of Lycaon. Lycaon sacrificed a child (according to one legend, it was Arcas) to Zeus on the altar on mount Lycaeus, and immediately after the sacrifice was turned into a wolf, which may have also formed the basis for the myth of the constellation Lupus.
In other Greek tales, Ara was identified with the altar of the god of wine, Dionysus.
Ara was also sometimes identified with that of the centaur Chiron; its original Latin name was Ara Centauri.