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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 />

48

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