WOLF - the symbol of the city of ARGOS (ca. 270-250 BC)
Apollo Lykaios, Lord of the Wolves | Apollo, der Herr der Wölfe | Apollo, Seigneur Loup
Another Greek god is Apollo Lykaios, "Apollo Wolf", or "Apollo Lord of the Wolves" (see below). It has been speculated that Apollo's original, pre-anthropomorphic form, was that of a wolf, though this is highly speculative: many Greco-Roman anthropomorphic deities might have had non-human predecessors, but we generally lack sufficient evidence to make such assumptions. It has also been suggested that Apollo Lykaios might here simply refer to the place/location of some the Apollo shrines, or the Lykaios means "bright" (also cf. Fritz Graf, Apollo, p.99). However, our ancient sources clearly associate Apollo with wolves. Already in Homer's epos on the Trojan war (c.850 BC), we hear of a "vow to Apollo, the wolf-born (Λυκηγενής) god, famed for his bow, that he would sacrifice a glorious hecatomb of firstling lambs" (Homer Iliad 4.85). Who is this god Apollo, the son of Zeus and Leto? According to Aelian, in his De Nature Animalium (10.26), Leto had turned herself into a λύκαιναν, a she-wolf. Apollo, and his twin sister, the goddess Artemis, are therefore indeed "wolf-born", as described by Homer. In the 4th-century BC, Aristotle also cites this mythical story: "...when they transported Leto ... from the land of the Hyperboreans to the island of Delos, she assumed the form of a she-wolf to escape the anger of Hera" (Aristot. Hist. an. 58a15f).
In another variation, Leto was accompanied by wolves (cf. Ael. NA 10.26) - a story that might be depicted on the image below. Antonius Liberalis (35), reporting a tale from Nicander (2nd century BC) and from Menecrates of Xanthus (4th century BC) in his Lyciaca, also tells us about Leto, but a slightly different account. Having giving birth to Apollo and Artemis, she went to Lycia with her twins where she wanted "to bathe her children" in a spring when some "herdsmen drove her away"; then, "wolves came out to meet her, and wagging their tails, led the way guiding her to the River Xanthus. She drank the water and bathed the babes and consecrated the Xanthus to Apollo while the land which had been called Termillis she renamed Lycia [Wolf Land] from the wolves that had guided her" (Translation: Francis Celoria) (see below for the name Lycia and the Greek word lykos, 'wolf').
A rare statue dedicated to Apollo Lykaios as "wolf god" from c.200 BC, discovered in Ptolemaic Egypt. The Greek inscription reads:
Ἀπόλλωνι Λυκαίωι | Θεόμνηστος Νικίου. "To Apollo Lykaios (dedicated by) Theomnestos, son of Nikios."
Black granite figure discovered in Luxor in the 1870s (Egyptian Museum, Cairo: CG 9276).
Also from Egypt, this limestone figure, h.: 51.6cm, c.330-200 BC, of "seated dog" (British Museum), from N wall of Amun-Ra sanctuary, acquired by Petrie. The "dog" is more likely to be a wolf, and it is possible that the Greek 'colonisers' were equating the Egyptian god Anubis with Apollo Lykaios.
Representation of Leto surrounded by wolves? (Sorry, I haven't found the source, yet. If anybody knows, let me know please).
Apollo Lykaios in Italy? Head of Apollo on front and a wolf on the reverse of this bronze coin from Bruttium, PHΓ/INΩN (Rhegium) (c.215-150 BC) (Rutter, HN, 2562).
The epithet Lykaios/Lyceus shows Apollo as protector and master of wolves (λύκοι). For example, the god Apollo Lykaios was invoked to ward off enemies (Aeschylus, Seven, 145):
"And you, Apollo, lord of the Wolf, be a wolf to the enemy force and give them groan for groan!"
And as an averter of evil, he protects herds, flocks and the young. We can see some parallels to the divine/protective role of wolves in other cultures, for example in Japan.
According to Pausanias (2.19.3f), the (mythical king) Danaus established a sanctuary in honour of Apollo Lyceus/Lykaios at Argos where the most famous of all Apollo's temples was consecrated to him under the title of “Wolf-god.” (cf. e.g. Weir Smyth, Aeschylus, vol. 2, Cambridge, MA. Harvard U.P. 1926).
In the words of Pausanias (2.19, 3-4): "The most famous building in the city of Argos is the sanctuary of Apollo Lycius (Wolf-god). (...) the original temple and wooden image were the offering of Danaus. (...). The reason why Danaus founded a sanctuary of Apollo Lycius was this. On coming to Argos he claimed the kingdom against Gelanor (...). Many plausible arguments were brought forward by both parties (...). At dawn a wolf fell upon a herd of oxen that was pasturing before the wall, and attacked and fought with the bull that was the leader of the herd. It occurred to the Argives that Gelanor was like the bull and Danaus like the wolf, for as the wolf will not live with men, so Danaus up to that time had not lived with them. It was because the wolf overcame the bull that Danaus won the kingdom. Accordingly, believing that Apollo had brought the wolf on the herd, he founded a sanctuary of Apollo Lycius." See below for a silver coin from Argos depicting the wolf sent by god Apollo.
Silver Trihemiobol from Argos (approx. 270-260/50 BC): ov.: a wolf at bay; rv: crested Corinthian helmet left (BCD Peloponnesos 1114; HGC 5, 674).
Artemis Lykaina, the She-Wolf
Uncertain is the meaning of the goddess Artemis Lykaina (Λύκαινα, "she-wolf"): As with her twin brother Apollo, this epithet might refer to her birth (v.supra)? We also have a spell in Papyri Graecae Magicae (PGM) 3.434-35 in which Artemis was called Lykaina. Around AD270, Porphyry (de abstinentia 4.16) wrote that the Persians called Artemis/Diana a 'she-wolf'.
Another Apollo Lykaios? This seems to be a representation of the Apollo statue from Tarsus (Cilicia). Here, Apollo seems to be holding two wolves at their forelegs, one in each hand (c. A.D.235-238; SNG Paris 1590). We also find 5th-century BC obols from Tarsus showing the god Ba'al and the forepart of a wolf (SNG Paris 444 var.). (Also cf. Hittite myth, see left column.)
Small silver obol from Tarsus depicting seated god Baal on front and forepart of wolf on the reverse (approx. 361-334 BC; diam.: 10mm; Levante 226). Did the native 'wolf' Baal become 'Apollo Lykaios'?
Apollo's divine messengers: Wolves
We also have the story of the town of Lykoreia (Λυκώρεια), a polis on the summit in the Parnassus region (Central Greece, near Delphi and his famous Apollo sanctuary). According to one ancient story, reported by Pausanias (10.6.2; also cf. Suda s.v. Λυκωρεύς), the city's name comes from the howling of the wolves (λύκων ὠρυγαῖς) that led the residents to the peak of the Parnassus, which saved them from Deucalion's Flood (cf. Daverio Rocchi "Lycorea." Brill’s New Pauly). The wolves were the divine messengers of the god(s).
The stories of Apollo as "wolf god" and Lykoreia also lead us to this story from the Apollo Sanctuary of Delphi recorded by Pausanias (Paus. 10.14): "Near the great altar is a bronze wolf, an offering of the Delphians themselves. They say that a fellow robbed the god of some treasure, and kept himself and the gold hidden at the place on Mount Parnassus where the forest is thickest. As he slept a wolf attacked and killed him, and every day went to the city and howled. When the people began to realize that the matter was not without the direction of heaven, they followed the beast and found the sacred gold. So to the god they dedicated a bronze wolf" (translation W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, Cambridge, Mass. 1918; also cf. Ael. NA 12,40). Here again, people saw the wolf as Apollo's divine messenger.
Also cf. Liliane Bodon, ΙΕΡΑ ΖΩΙΑ. Contribution à l'étude de la place de l'animal dans la religion grecque ancienne. Bruxelles 1978. Cf. study in J. Bremmer (ed.), Interpretations of Greek Mythology. Routledge. and many more.
There is a certain problem with our Greek evidence, which we need to bear in mind, as I already alluded to earlier. First, much of the evidence comes from an urban context, with most of our ancient authors living in cities, sometimes retreating to their 'country estate'; these people have largely lost their relationship to nature. Let's take the example of Aristotle who wrote a certain 'zoological' account. Some modern scholars suggested that this might implies that people had limited knowledge of wolves and wolf behaviour prior to Aristotle's account. But this idea is of course not tenable since, firstly, Aristotle's knowledge of wolves would have primarily come from 2nd-hand accounts and literature, and, more importantly, people living in rural areas, like Arcadia, would have had a much more intimate knowledge of wolves for generations, acquired through experience and observations, and based on knowledge passed on from father to son, perhaps not dissimilar to North American Indians (see page 2 of website). Indeed, many people in the Greek and Roman world would have lost this more direct knowledge of animals, and nature in general, due to the increasing urbanisation across the Mediterranean World in the 1st millennium BC. As a result, the image of the wolf portrayed in Greek and Roman sources was changing through time; it is still rather positive in some of our earlier reports, like Homer, but certain negative views of wolves gradually become part of the general image. As a result, the story of king Lykaon might already have gone through various re-interpretations: it is clearly seen as a negative event, with wolves being 'cunning' and eating humans. - But how different was the original story, esp. in Arcadia...?
Wolves & Shamanism: e.g. Dolon
This section is still very incomplete. - More as soon as I find the time. We already have seen that people seem to (have) dress(ed) up as wolves during religious ceremonies, for example in the case of the Tlingit (see next page). There is more evidence for this ritual from various cultures. For example, the Navajo word for wolf, "mai-coh," also means witch: a person could transform if he or she wore a wolf skin. This is also something we see in this 2,500-year old Greek vase painting: a person wearing a wolf skin; was this Dolon, a hero that first appears in the Illiad (in the so-called Doloneia [Book 10], probably a later addition to Homer's Illiad; cf. J. Latacz, "Doloneia." New Pauly): Hector 'clad him in the skin of a grey wolf, and on his head he set a cap of ferret skin' (Hom. Il. 10.332-335; also Hom. Il. 10.454). Story and vase paintings might provide an insight into some rituals of pre-Homeric, Homeric or Archaic times. Dressing up with a wolf-skin or hat can be seen in many cultures, and Dolon's story might be a reflection of earlier religious / shamanistic understandings.
Dolon wearing a wolf skin. Attic red-figure vase from c.460 BC.
Another representation of Dolon wearing the wolf-skin (LIMC, s.v. Dolon 13; coupe attique à figures rouges, c.490-480; Ermitage, St.
Pétersbourg)
Draped bust of Amazon wearing a wolf skin headdress on a bronze coin from Amisos (Pontos, Black Sea, Mithradates VI Eupator, c.95-70BC) (SNG BM Black Sea 1218-9).
ISHTAR Wolf Transformation in the Gilgamesh Epos // Wolf Verwandlung im Gilgamesch Epos // Transformation en loup dans les récits épiques de Gilgamesh (Mesopotamia)
Perhaps a little excursion to the Gilgamesh epos from the 3rd millenium BC in useful here. It mentions the perhaps earliest known 'transformation' from man to wolf. This time, the hero Gilgamesh talks to the goddess Ishtar: "(...) You have loved the shepherd [or 'goat herder'] of the flock; he made meal-cakes for you every day, he daily slaughtered a child for your sake. Yet, you struck and turned him into a wolf; now his own herd-boys chase him away, his own dogs snap his flanks" (Gilgamesh VI). The Gilgamesh epos did clearly inspire lots of Greek myths, and the goddess Ishtar influenced Astarte and Aphrodite in later times across the Mediterranean. As in the case of the Greek King Lycaeon, we see the allusion to human sacrifice here, but this seems rather unrelated to him being turned into a wolf; rather, it seem ironic that a shepherd is turned into a wolf, and it was no punishment, as in Lykaion's case, but merely Ishtar's sense of humour...
Wolf Transformation, Shapeshifters and Greek "Werewolf" Myths | Wolfverwandlungen und "Werwölfe" in griechischen Mythen | Le "loup-garou" dans la mythologie grecque
God Zeus turned King Lycaon into a wolf after he had betrayed him. Engravement by Hendrik Goltzius from 1589 for Ovid's Metamorphoses 1.209ff.
The wolf play an important role in Greek religions. But his/her role varies enormously. The wolf is often related to the Greek gods Zeus, Apollo, Artemis and Leto, as we shall see below. Wolves seem to act as divine messengers of the gods, notably of Apollo. A particularly well attested wolf cult can be found in the more remote, mountainous region of Arcadia, on the Peloponnese, notably around the Mount Lykaion, the alleged birthplace of Zeus (for which cf. e.g. Mt Lykaion Survey Project; click here for overview), from which we also get the earliest 'werewolf' stories. Here and elsewhere, we need to piece together the ancient evidence for this wolf cult.
King Lycaon - Before we discuss 'wolf deities', let us focus on the ancient stories of humans being transformed into a wolf, most of which relate to Arcadia and seem to relate directly to the worship of a god called Zeus Lykaios, 'Wolf-Zeus'. The story of King Lykaon's transformation into a wolf might therefore just be an explanatory myth to explain the 'wolf cult' in Arcadia; there might also be other symbolic meanings attached to this myth. At the same time, we have to bear in mind that these stories were not written by Arcadians, but by outsiders who lived in cities, like Athens and Rome, and therefore quite detached from nature and also having a certain agenda for mentioning these stories (most notably in Plato - see below).
First, we have to remember that these early myths do not relate to "werewolves"; the term itself did not exist: Greeks usually just used the word 'wolf',lykos (but see Latin versipellis below). Also, the typical medieval and modern 'werewolf' attributes, like the full moon, are usually missing in Antiquity. In the case of the famous story of King Lykaon, we can see that we are dealing with divine punishmentby Zeus who was betrayed by king Lykaon, not some 'werewolf curse'. Moreover, Lykaon stayed a wolf! (For the various accounts cf. e.g. Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.209-243; Plato, Republic VIII, 16, 565d-566a; Hyginus, Scholiast on Caes. Germ.). Ovid, writing around A.D. 8, provides a rather colourful depiction of Lykaon's transformation: "His clothes became bristling hair, his arms became legs. He was a wolf, but kept some vestige of his former shape. There were the same grey hairs, the same violent face, the same glittering eyes, the same savage image." Already 400 years earlier, Plato provided the earliest mentioning of a myth relating to Zeus Lykaios: in his Republic we are told of "the legend that is told of the shrine of Lycaean Zeus in Arcadia (...) The story goes that he who tastes of the one bit of human entrails minced up with those of other victims is inevitably transformed into a wolf.” (Rep. 565d-e). This is important to understand some of the sacrifices and rituals that took place in honour of Zeus Lykaios in Arcardia (for Plato, of course, the story was only mentioned in passing, as a metaphor for contemporay politics, i.e. the tyrant turning into a "man-eating wolf"). Tasting human flesh is a recurrent theme in the cult of Zeus Lykaios. We also should not forget that there are many accounts of King Lykaon. And in many stories a transformation was not mentioned at all (e.g., Clement of Alexandria, Nonnus, Eratosthenes, Arnobius). Instead Lykaon is even said to 'maintain his father's institutions in righteousness', and it was his sons who upset Zeus: 'they sacrificed a child and mixed his flesh with that of the victim'; in return Zeus killed the murderers (cf. Nicolaus Damascenus, Frag. 43 (Fr. Hist.Graec. 3.378; Suidas, s.v. Λυκάων).
Wolf worship in Arcadia In any case, ancient Arcadia certainly seems to be have been an important centre of some form of "wolf worship". The story of king Lykaon leads us to Zeus Lykaios (another Arcadian "wolf god" was Apollo Lykaios, see below). Zeus Lykaios is the "Wolf Zeus". In his honour, a religious festival called the Lykaia was celebrated on Mount Lykaion, the "wolf mountain" (see overview and 2015-paper of recent excavation by David Romano and Mary Voyatzis, suggesting ritual activities on Mount Lykaison since circa 3,000 BC). Regarding these sacrifices during the Lykaia, we are also having the incredible story of an Olympic boxing champion that Pausanias (6.8.2) tells us: "Damarchus, an Arcadian of Parrhasia, (...) who changed his shape into that of a wolf at the sacrifice to Zeus Lykaios, and how nine years after he became a man again". He allegedly was turned into a wolf after he ate the flesh of a boy that was sacrificed to Zeus Lykaios by the Arcadians; are we dealing with a regular (annual?) event by which one member of the community was cast out (or sacrificed?) as a wolf. Pausanias, writing in the Roman period, tell us that he "cannot believe what the romancers say about him [i.e. Damarchus]". But several accounts of this story have survived; in other accounts Damarchus' name was Demaenetus, like here in Pliny's Natural History (NH 8.34): "Agriopas (...) informs us that Demænetus, the Parrhasian, during a sacrifice of human victims, which the Arcadians were offering up to the Lycæan Jupiter, tasted the entrails of a boy who had been slaughtered; upon which he was turned into a wolf, but, ten years afterwards, was restored to his original shape and his calling of an athlete, and returned victorious in the pugilistic contests at the Olympic games." (also cf. Scopas FGrH 413 F 1; Varro in Aug. Civ. 18.17; cf. René Bloch, "Demaenetus", Brill’s New Pauly; N.B.: 10 instead of 9 years here). This story is one of many pieces of evidence for 'wolf worship' and transformation that probably originated in earlier times in the Bronze Age and continued, in one way or another, into later times in this rather remote region of Arcadia, and which authors like Pausanias and Pliny, writing in the Roman period, obviously found rather odd.
Later in his work, Pausanias specifically mentions wolf transformation during a sacrifice to Zeus Lykaios: "8.2.6 - All through the ages, many events that have occurred in the past, and even some that occur today, have been generally discredited because of the lies built up on a foundation of fact. It is said, for instance, that ever since the time of Lycaon a man has changed into a wolf at the sacrifice to Lycaean Zeus, but that the change is not for life; if, when he is a wolf, he abstains from human flesh, after nine years he becomes a man again, but if he tastes human flesh he remains a beast for ever." Pausanias' account might suggest a particlar form of ritual by which one man was selected (or rather, cast out) as an annual(?) sacrifice. A complimentary story on the Arcadians was reported by Euanthes according to Pliny the Elder's Natural History from AD79 (FGrHist 320 = Plin. NH8.34): "Euanthes ... informs us that the Arcadians assert that a member of the family of one Anthus is chosen by lot, and then taken to a certain lake in that district, where, after suspending his clothes on an oak, he swims across the water and goes away into the desert, where he is changed into a wolf and associates with other animals of the same species for a space of nine years. If he has kept himself from beholding a man during the whole of that time, he returns to the same lake, and, after swimming across it, resumes his original form, only with the addition of nine years in age to his former appearance. To this Fabius adds, that he takes his former clothes as well. It is really wonderful to what a length the credulity of the Greeks will go!" (Again, Roman scepticism about Greek myths!) All this seems to suggest a kind of initiation ritual, rite de passage, coming-to-age ritual:
a boy (not a man, as in Pausanias' account), selected by lot, going out into the 'dessert', living like a wolf (cf. the kypteiain nearby Sparta or the Lupercalia in Rome).
But why? Is this a curse on the local community?
Or is the 'wolf', having been cast out of his community, a kind of sacrifice of the community, or a 'scapegoat' - the boy who was cast out for a number of years might be important to guarantee the well-being and suvival of the community.
(Cf. e.g., W. Burkert, Homo Necans, p.87; also see below for the 12th-century AD Irish story of a wolf transformation lasting seven years of a man and a woman chosen by lot every seven years.)
The story of king Lykaon has been interpreted in various ways: it was considered an etiological myth that explained a 'brotherhood of men-wolves' and the worship of a 'wolf god'. Others, like Burkert (1983:84-93), consider the metamorphosis to be 'equivalent to asymbolic death' during a 'tribal' initiation rite (or rite of passage). We also see certain symbolic contrasts: human vs. animal; civilisation vs. wildness, etc. Lykaon as king and as wolf show the king as 'civiliser' (urbanism, human society, institutions) versus 'wildness', as well as Lykaon's impiety and transgression, resulting in Zeus' punishment: the god might also reject the 'commensality' with men. (Cf. M. Jost, 'The Religious System in Arcadia' in D. Odgen, Companion to Greek Religion, p.275). Apart from the symbolic value, we also should not forget that all these texts somehow seem to refer to some kind of human sacrifice taking place in Arcadia for Zeus. But we also should not forget other possible interpretations of the myth, and we must take into account the nature of our sources: we do not actually have Arcadian sources, but an Athenian philosopher (Plato), a 1st-century AD natural historian from Rome (Pliny the Elder), and a 2nd-century AD geographer from Lydia (Pausanias and his Description of Greece). The Arcadian rituals and myths probably come from much older times: with people living in a rural area, in harmony with nature, their relationship with animals might have been much more positive compared to Plato, Pliny and Pausanias, but unfortunately Arcadian accounts have not survived.
The story of wolf transformation spread more widely and seems to have become quite popular during the Roman period. We learn about the entertaining story of Niceros who, during Trimalchios' fantastic dinner party, told this story about his friend, a soldier, who transformed into a wolf in a graveyard: "He stripped himself and put all his clothes by the roadside. My heart was in my mouth, but I stood like a dead man. He made a ring of water round his clothes and suddenly turned into a wolf. Please do not think I am joking; I would not lie about this for any fortune in the world. But as I was saying, after he had turned into a wolf, he began to howl, and ran off into the woods. At first I hardly knew where I was, then I went up to take his clothes; but they had all turned into stone..."; and later he became a human again, returning to Nicoros' house (Petronius, Satyricon, 61f, c.AD60). This story is probably based on the myths from Arcadia, but they now reveal a certain common belief in 'werewolves'. There still is no demonising, no monsterous creature in any of these reports - unlike medieval and modern werewolf accounts - just a normal wolf... Nicoros' friend is described in Latin as a versipellis ('turning grey'), which means a shape-shifter (see the short account on the 'versipellis' in Pliny's Natural History 8.34).
Medieval Werewolves | mittelalterlicher Werwolf... | le loup-garou du Moyen-Âge
These ancient accounts are quite different from medieval and modern stories of "werewolves". Still today, the wolf is considered "evil", even in the academic community so it seems. Wolf representations are frequently interpreted in a negative way. The term "werewolf" is first attested in a text by Burchard, the Bishop of the diocese of Worms, AD 1000-1025. And most werewolf stories come from a period in which wolves were demonized, especially by the Church! This process got worse since the 16th century with increasing population and cases of rabies. At a time when witch hunting became increasingly common, the wolves also suffered: from a "Christian" perspective, the wolf was the enemy of the "Agnus Dei", the "Lamb of God", the Christian community... And in the 19th century, people lost their respect for nature - animals and humans - due to increasing Industrialization and profiteering...
Diese antiken Geschichten von Wolfsverwandlungen sind völlig verschieden vn mittelalterlichen und neuzeitlichen Geschichten. Auch für viele Wissenschaftler ist der Wolf immer noch "der böse Wolf", und so werden auch oft antike Kulte und Mythen anderer Kulturen interpretiert. Das Wort werwolf ist zum ersten Mal von Burchard, Bischof von Worms 1000-1025 belegt. Doch die meisten dieser Geschichten stammen aus einer Zeit, in der Wölfe verteufelt wurden, insbes. durch die Kirche und verstärkt seit dem 16. Jahrhundert. Wachsende Bevölkerungszahlen und Tollwut spielen dabei sicherlich ebenso eine Rolle, wie die Verteufelung durch die Kirche (z.B. der Wolf als Gegenspieler zum Agnus Dei, dem "Lamm Gottes" und damit der christl. Gemeinde), parallel zu den zahlreichen Hexenverbrennungen! Und im 19. Jh. folgte dann die Industrialisierung, ohne Respekt vor Natur, Tieren oder Menschen.
Lycaonia & Lukkawana "Wolf Land" ? | Le "Pays du Loup" ?
A Greek silver obol from Lycaonia (probably c.324/3 BC), showing Herakles on the obverse and a wolf and a star on the reverse (with legend: "ΛΑ-ΡΑΝ" and monogram ΠΑΡ). The wolf here symbolised the country. But why? For some, the name has merely similarities with the Greek word for wolf, lykos. On the other hand, already in Hittite times (2nd millenium BC) we learn of the "wolf land", Lukkawana ("lukka" is Hittite for "wolf", similar to Greek lykos and Latin lupos). The association with wolves might therefore be more ancient than some people think...
Herodotos' wolf shape-shifters in Scythia | Wolfsverwandlungen bei den Skythen
A Scythian gold handle, apparently in form of a wolf, its fur depicted as incised spirals, with turquoise inlays (approximately 4th century BC; 7.3cm long; probably from Southern Ural Mountains; auctioned at Christies' 13/12/2013).
Talking about 'shape-shifters', this story is interesting. The 5th-century BC Greek historian Herodotos (4.105) has recorded a story he heard about the Neuri who are said to have lived north of Scythia (roughly northern Ukraine, southern Belarus today): "It may be that these people are wizards; [2] for the Scythians, and the Greeks settled in Scythia, say that once a year every one of the Neuri becomes a wolf for a few days and changes back again to his former shape. Those who tell this tale do not convince me; but they tell it nonetheless, and swear to its truth". But perhaps we need to understand Herodotos' story quite differently: "becoming a wolf for a few days" could be part of an annual ritual, a 'rite de passage' (passage/initiation rite, coming-to-age ritual), perhaps comparable with NW American Indians.
Scythian wolf head, approx. 5th century BC, engraved on wide end of a boar's tusk.
Wolves in Hethitische Mythologie | Wölfe in der hethitischen Mythologie | le loup dans la mythologie hittite
We are still in the sphere of Indo-European religion, but moving back in time to the 2nd millenium BC and the Hittite Empire (the language is Indo-European and closely related to Germanic languages; we can therefore expect certain 'parallels'). ____
WOLVES: UNITY & OMNISCIENCE ___
There, wolves seem to have symbolised inter aliaunity and omniscience, features that we also find in many other cultures. In our ancient sources, we find for example king Hattusilis I, in the 17th century BC, urging his warriors to unite "like a wolf pack". We also find the Hittite term LÚMES UR.BAR.RA, "wolf people" or "wolf men" (pesnes ulipnes) (referring to certain dignitiaries or funcionaries in Hittite texts). Dressing in wolf skin seems to provide magical power, among others omniscience (also see the Germanic 'wolf warriors', Old Norse: úlfheᵭnar [úlfr, "wolf"], very close to the Hittite term). We also find the expression "You have turned into a wolf" in the Hittite Laws (§37 for the abductor of a woman) - similarly the Sanskrit "he is a wolf" for a special juridical status, or Old Icelandic "shall be called a wolf" (cf. Gamkrelidze et al., p.414; Lamb, p.63: in Old Norse morᵭvargr denoted a man outlawed for murder [vargr as synonym for úlfr, "wolf"]). _____
The mythical capture of the Wolf ___
There is also an allusion to a mythical capture of the wolf by myhical beings: "seize the wolf by his paws and the lion by his jaws" (Gamkrelidze et al. p.428, different translation in Lamb, pp.64f; KUB XII 63, 21-34). This may remind us of a much later coin from Tarsus, once part of the Hittite sphere of influence, depicting the god 'Apollo'(?) seizing two wolves by their front paws (see right column on this page). The Hittite story of seizing the wolf and lion relates to the house of the storm god. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the wolf in Hittite myth is extremely limited, and in iconography, the lion seems to have been more popular. But Lamb (op. cit., p.63) provides food for thought, based on a linguistic study: the Hittite term for god's creatures was siunas huidar; huidar can also denote a wolfpack as in huednas pankur (equal to ulipnas pankur, "wolf's family"). This might once again reflect a relation between wolves and creation that might have survived in an Indo-European language, even though the actual myths are lost (Lamb, p.63 also shows the linguistic parallels between the Hittite word for wolf, huidar, and the Norse god Fenrir). (For discussion and further bibliography, cf. Thomas V. Gamkrelidze, Vjaceslav V. Ivanov, Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans, a reconstruction...; Sydney M. Lamb, Sprung from some common source: Investigations into the prehistory of Languages).
Hittite libation cup, rhyton, probably in form of a lion (or perhaps a wolf?). Despite the frequent appearance of the word 'wolf' in Hittite texts, wolves are rare in Hittite art and iconography, while lions are a common motif (from Kültepe-Kanesh, c.2,000-1,700 BC).
More Examples of Mythical/Divine Wolves in the Greek World
Cysicus & Mater Theon
Electron stater with a wolf-like mythological creature from Cyzicus (Mysia), dating to c.550-500 BC. Some scholars suggested a lion, as in the Persian lion-headed griffins, or even the Mithraic Areimanios, but it looks more like a wolf-headed creature. We are dealing with a local god whose identity remains unknown.
Κύζικος/Kyzikos/Cysicus was a city in Mysia (north-west Turkey), traditionally said to have been founded by the Argonauts. We might also think here of Meter Theon, the Mother of the Gods, a title given to a number of important mother goddesses in the ancient world, notably Cybele. In the Homeric Hymn 14 to the Mother of the Gods (c.7th-4th century BC) we are told that: "[Meter Theon] is well-pleased with the sound of rattles and of timbrels, with the voice of flutes and the outcry of wolves and bright-eyes lions, with echoing hills and wooded coombes" (trans. Evelyn-White). And in the Greek Lyric Anonymous Fragments 935 we can read among others "of the Mater Theon, how she went wandering through the mountains and glens trailing her flowing hair and distraught in her mind. (...) And Kypris [Aphrodite] urged her (...): ‘Mother, go off to the gods: father Zeus summons you; and do not keep on wandering over the mountains; have fierce lions or grey wolves become your friends?’" (Inscr. shrine of Asklepios, Epidaurus, (trans. Campbell, Greek Lyric V).
Forepart of wolf left, head reverted (and to the right a fish swimming upwards?), on an electron coin from Mysia, Kyzikos, dating to c.500-450 BC (SNG France 241 (2)). Also cf. coin from Mysia above, showing wolf-man holding a fish in his hand
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A representation of the same myth. Here we can see that we are dealing with a winged wolf, crouching to the left, looking to the right. The fish, tunny, is now 'swimming' under the wolf. The wolf as mythical, celestial deity?
(Mysia, Kyzikos. electron coin, c.500-450 BC).
Wolves chasing deer and hare. Greek pottery, British Museum.
Wolf preparing to spring to the other side, on a he-goat, on this red-figured askos (British Museum)
Greek & Hellenistic World
Wolf (rater than lion?) on the reverse of an electron coin from Lesbos (Mytilene), c.454-427 BC (Bodenstedt 47 (2))
The head of a wolf on a small obol (diam: 8mm) of the Macedonian king Archelaos (413-399 BC); under the wolf, Herakles' club (Herakles is shown on the other side).
Lycaonia is the 'Land of Lukka', Lukkawanna, in Hittie, i.e. the 'wolf land' (also cf. Greek word lykos). A silver obol from Laranda (today Karaman) showing Herakles and, on reverse, the forepart of a wolf (with legend ΛΑ-ΡΑΝ // ΠΑΡ (Göktürk 65) (approx. 324/3 BC).
The obverse might change, but what we traditionally perceive as the reverse still shows the wolf. Again an obol from Laranda in Lycaonia, c.324/3 BC (Göktürk 64).
Laodicaea, Asia Minor (SW Turkey). The goddess Aphrodite on the obverse and a wolf with double axe, labrys, on the coin's reverse. Dating to the reign of emperor Tiberius (AD14-37).
Another silver obol of the Macedonian king Archelaos (413-399BC) who associated himself here with Herakles and a wolf holding his prey (SNG ANS 72 (2)).
Isis on Wolf
Greco-Roman representation of the goddess Isis on the back of a wolf, who looks to Isis (with two erotes(?) underneath); circular steatite votive patera (W: 12.2cm; British Museum no. EA38511; cf. E.A. Arslan, Iside: il mito, il mistero, la magia, 1997: 282)
The Egyptian goddess Isis and a wolf (or dog) on this Aelxandrian coin? Isis and the "dog star" Sothis/Sirius.
Roman period...
A wolf- (or dog-)headed deity on this Roman limestone relief from the 3rd century AD, depicting some form of offering scene.
A syncretic, hybridised deity, taking up characteristics from different deities: a wolf head, crowned with sheaves of wheat, and holding a key,
the snake-like legs perhaps more an indicator of the cosmic warrior god Abraxas
(but he is usually represented
with the head of a lion or cock, together with sword and shield; also, other depictions from the Roman empire of snake-like monsters, e.g. from the Jupitergigantenreiter in Eastern Gaul); the rest of the god is human, clothed in animal skin; in his right hand, he holds a key, and in his left hand, a caduceus and sheaves of wheat (the caduceus is an attribute of Mercury, together with the ram depicted on the left), and also some 'poppies'(? - healing quality?).
A bearded man kneeling at the right, presenting a loaf of bread on an offering table, its support with a lion head and a feline paw. (There are some Greek representations of a ketos, "sea monster", with a head resembling perhaps a wolf, notably the unique represenation of Perseus, Andromeda and Ketos on a Corinthian black-figure vase of the 6th century [coincidence? Corinth is not fa away from Arcadia...] (for vase painting, cf. Woodward, Perseus, 1937 and S.R: Wilk's Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, p. 53).
But at the end of the day, we do not know what kind of deity we are dealing with here: wheat, key, caduceus, poppies,... - does seem to be rather benign: fertility and propserity? and the offering is also rather harmless: a load of bread. (Sorry, though thoroughly checked when auctioned at Christies, and deemed genuine, we do not seem to know where the stele was found).
On first sight, a wolf-like monster, here clearly indicated as Ketos, but see image below for the full picture of a ketos, sea-monster.
On this more or less contemporary vase painting, depicting Herakles and ketos, we can clearly see that no allusion to a wolf was intended by the painter.
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