The wolf is a predatory animal considered dangerous to ppl and animals, in Central European tradition and well into the modern ear. It is hardly surprising that the wolf is prominent in fairy tales as a menace to humans-and images of "the enemy" in animal form-or that they are lefends of bloodthirsty humans turned into wolves("werewolves," literally "manwolves"). In old norse mythology the mighty wolf fenris must be tied up but then in a final battle breaks its bonds, swallows the sun, then is killed by odin, the father of all the gods, who himself dies in the process.
In classical antiqity the wolf was thought of as a "goast animal" whose very gaze could strick ppl speechless. Herodotus and Pliny the Elders report that the members of the Scythian nation of the Neuroi were transformed into wolves once a year, then back into human form. Behind the story could lie a memory of the wolf totem for the entire nation; Ganghis Khanalso claimed be descended from a blue-gray "chosen wolf"which itself was sired by the sky.
For the Romans, the appearance of a wolf before a battle could be an omen of victory, since the animal was associated withMars the god of war. The Spartans, on the other hand, feared defeat when wolves attacked their flocks before the battle of Leyctra(371B.C.). Although the wolf(because it seems dark) can symbolize the morning sun(Apollo), it's associations are predominantly negative ones: it stands for nature in the wild or for the forces of Satan. In ancient China, too, it stood for greed and cruelty; a "wolf gaze" is one of distrust and fear, such a person might feel toward a predatory animal traveling in packs. Only the Turkish steppe did the wolf function in a national totem, appearing on banners and flags.
There are, nevertheless, legends(in the Ordos region of northern China, for example) in which wolvves nurse and raise children. The frightening predator can uder some circumstances become the powerful guardian of helpless creatures, although, fear of "the big bad wolf" ultimately seems to prevail in most traditions. In Chrstian iconography the wolf is primarily the diabolical enemy that threatens the flock of the faithful. Only saints-e.g.,Francis of Assis, William of Vercelli(who saddled a wolf), Herve, and Philibert of Jumieges-have the power to transform the wolf's savagery into "piety>" St. Simpert of Augsburg is said to hae recued a child from the jaws of a wolf and forced the animal to return to its mother. The "jaws of hell" themselves are sometimes depicted as those of a dragon, sometimes those of a powerful wolf.
In early Christan test Physilougus, the wolf is describe as a "a crafty, wicked animal," pretending to be lame when it encounters a human, so as to be able to attack. "St. Basil said: this is what a cragfty, treacherous ppl are like. When they encounter a good ppl, they pretend to be utterly innocent and harmless, but their hearts a full of bitterness and deceit." The "wolf in sheep's clothing" serves as a symbol of the seductive false prophet, whose goals is to "corrupt the innocent."
Eniglish idioms preserve the image of the wolf as a ravenous, menace, a predator. "To keep the wolf from the door" is to earn sufficient money to avert starvation; "to cry wolf" is to raise a false alarm; and a human "wolf" (distinguished not by his howk but by hus "whistle") is a man who relentlessly prusues large numbers of women for sexual gratification.
In the imagery of ALCHEMY the lupus metallorum(the "wolf of metals") is said to devour the "lion"(i.e. gold), in order to "redeem" it. This appears to be a purification process for the cantaminated gold, using antimony, the "grey wolf" of the alchemist's laboratory.
The frequent protrayal of witches riding on or being transformed into wolves, goes back the an association of the wolves with the devil.
The wolf symbolizes cunning and treachery in fables of the wolf preaching to the sheep and "The Wolf and the Crane."(the crane extracts a bone caught in the wolf's throat, but the bird's only reward is that the wolf does not bite its head off: "such are the ungreatful rich who live on the poor.")
Although many years of Freudian psychoanaliysis were unable to free the "WolfMan" entirely from his obsessions, Jungians hold out hope for those so afflicted. They understand the wolf(as a dream symbol)as prowling the landscape of the psyche, representing untamed external energies, "intelligent" and uncompromising. The dreamer is called upon to channel this onslaught, which entails tthe resolution of great conflicts. Jungians are quich to point out, however, that in fairy tails this "rapacious" predator is outsmarted by the wise child and the young goat and can certainly be no match for the mature hunter.
Incidentally, modern animal behaviorist have established that the wolf doesn't altogether deserve it's bad retuation. With behavios modification though positive reinforcement it can be trained to co-exist with a human who adopts the manner of the "alpha wolf"(the leader of the pack).
As early as 1688 Bõcker offered the following positive view of the animal: "The wolf represents alert caution, which explains the frequent appearance of its name and image in coat of arms. The wolf prusues his spoils so shrewdly that the hunter can rarely catch him on the prowl."
In medival bestiaries, on the other hand, the wolf is an utterly diabolical creature. The eyes of the female are said to shine at night like laterns to bedazzle the sence of humans, just as the devil takes away out ablility to cry out (i.e. pray) and his gaze is bright. His works bedazzle the fool, who is blind to their ugliness and damnation that they bring [unterkircher].
Presumably legendary accounts of "wolf children" (i.e. abandoned children rasied by wolves)are found not only in India but also in European folklore, prehaps inspired by the Roman legend of Capitoline wolf that was said to have nurse Romulus and Remus