Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University
Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University
Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University
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CHAPTER 3: THE WOLF AND CANINES<br />
Down through the ages, the wolf has never had a neutral relationship with<br />
humanity. It has either been hated, despised, and persecuted or revered,<br />
respected, and protected. It has been, and continues to be, a subject of myth and<br />
legend, folklore and fairy tale. 220<br />
For the inhabitants of the ancient world, the wolf was an animal charged with meaning.<br />
In Norse myth, the wolf was the enemy of the gods and order. According to Norse myth, at the<br />
time of Ragnarok, an epic battle in which the earth would be destroyed and nearly all the gods<br />
slain, two wolves, who had been chasing the sun and moon since the creation of the universe,<br />
would devour their prey, and the wolf Fenrir would swallow whole Odin the All-father. 221 The<br />
wolf was also used to symbolize the enemy of man in Greek literature, and the wolf is<br />
characterized by cruelty and savagery as early as Homer, who labels the creature “deadly and<br />
bloodthirsty.” 222<br />
On the other hand, the wolf, primarily through its relative the dog, could also be<br />
conceived of as a loyal guardian. The ancient Egyptians worshipped several canid deities.<br />
Anubis, to whom I shall return below, and Up-uaut were underworld gods depicted with the head<br />
of a jackal. Anubis was the guide of the dead to the underworld, and Up-uaut was the “Opener<br />
of Ways;” both fulfilled the role of psychopomp. 223 The wolf and dogs were also associated with<br />
gods and goddesses of the underworld by the Greeks. The chthonic goddess Hekate, who was<br />
sometimes conceived with canine attributes, was accompanied by a pack of baying hounds as she<br />
roamed the earth at night, and red dogs were sacrificed to her at crossroads, liminal places often<br />
associated with black magic. 224 Certainly, no one can forget that the guardian of the entrance of<br />
Hades was the three-headed dog, Kerberos. Numerous examples from other cultures could be<br />
220 Mech and Boitani 2003, xvii.<br />
221 Richardson 1977, 97.<br />
222 Hom. Il. 16.156<br />
223 Spence 1990, 106.<br />
224 For canine attributes, see Jenkins 1957, 60, for associations with hounds and magic, see Soren 1999, 620-3.<br />
Bevan (1986, 116-8) also explores the relationship between Hekate and canines and even suggests that the obscure<br />
goddess known only as Kynagia may be an incarnation of Hekate.<br />
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