Famous wolves in popular culture

It is estimated that over 1,200 wolves roam Germany’s forests today, and every now and then, a few of them make headlines. While many reports praise the success of conservation efforts, other stories focus on attacks affecting livestock or hikers.

It seems that the resurgence of the wolf as a dominant creature in the forests of Germany evoked humanity’s primal sense of fear and, at the same time, respect for the animal. Our age-old fascination with the animal has manifested itself in stories, myths, and cultural figures, as the following list demonstrates.

Lupa, the benevolent wolf

Almost everyone knows the myth of the founders of Rome, Remus and Romulus, who nursed Lupa the she-wolf. The twins were the children of Rhea Silvia, daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa (an ancient Latin city near present-day Rome), who had been deposed by her brother Amulius.

King Amulius feared that Rhea’s twins conceived with Mars, the god of war, would pose a threat to his throne, so he ordered them drowned in the Tiber. The boys survived and were found by Lupa and a woodpecker, who took care of them until they were found by a shepherd.

Fenrir

Not to be confused with Fenrir Greyback from Harry Potter (we’ll get to that later), the direwolf Fenrir symbolizes “Ragnarok”, or the destruction of the gods and giants in Norse mythology. Fenrir was the son of the mischievous god Loki and a giantess, Angrboda.

Fenrir had an enormous appetite, and the gods, fearing his strength and size, captured him and tied him to a tree. Fenrir eventually managed to escape, killing the Norse god of war and death, Odin.

aesop’s wolf

No one is sure whether the fabulist of ancient Greece really existed. Regardless, his fables – stories with animal protagonists that highlight human follies – are still read today.

In various tales, the wolf often appears as an evil and scheming animal, disguised, for example, as a sheep or luring boys as prey. Hence the popular sayings, “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and “wolf crying”.

Japanese wolf gods

In Japan, wolves are considered important by the Ainu, indigenous people who live on the island of Hokkaido and revere animals like the god Horkew Kamuy, which means “howling god” in Japanese.

The Ainu were known to raise wolf pups as hunting companions and even let their dogs mate with wolves.

There are also stories of a wolf saving an elderly Ainu woman from an evil wild bear, and of wolves descending from the skies to inhabit sacred mountains and forests.

Unfortunately, the modernization of Japan in the early 20th century, known as the Meiji Restoration, ended most of these traditions and also caused the extinction of wolves in the region. Efforts to reintroduce the animals are ongoing.

Little Red Riding Hood’s Wolf

“Grandma, what big teeth you have,” said Little Red Riding Hood. “All the better to eat you,” said the wolf and pounced on her. These are familiar lines from the story of the young woman who goes out into the forest to find her grandmother.

Having its origins in 17th-century European folklore, the two best-known versions of the fairy tale are Charles Perrault’s “Le Petit Chaperon rouge” from 1697 and the 1812 volume of Brothers Grimm stories that includes “Rotkäppchen”.

The werewolf

The werewolf figure has inspired writers since ancient times. Some scholars believe that the shape-shifting predator idea originated in the Epic of Gilgamesh, in which Gilgamesh refuses to stay with a lover after she turns her previous partner into a wolf.

Werewolves also appear in Greek mythology, in the legend of Lycaon, son of Pegasus, who angered the god Zeus by offering him a meal made with the remains of a sacrificed boy. Zeus turned Lycaon and his children into wolves. This is probably why the werewolf’s scientific name is “lycanthrope”.

Werewolves also appear in the Norse “Saga of the Volsungs”, in which a boy and his father discover wolf pelts that can transform them into ravaging beasts.

The human fascination with werewolves continues to this day. Think Jack Nicholson in “Wolf” (1994) or, more recently, “Werewolves Within” (2021), not to mention the all-time hit, “An American Werewolf in London” (1981).

Harry Potter fans will, of course, remember the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, who bit Remus Lupine, Harry’s teacher and friend of his father, when he was a little boy and turned him into a werewolf. While Greyback actively searches for his victims, Lupine is the “good” werewolf who hides during the full moon and uses his powers only for noble purposes.

Akela from ‘The Jungle Book’

Rudyard Kipling unleashes his imagination in this story about an Indian boy raised by wolves in a forest. Recalling the story of Remus and Romulus, Kipling narrated the story of a baby who is abandoned in the forest and found by Akela, a wolf, and his wife, who take care of the “man’s cub”. Once the man cub grows up, he must either leave the forest or subject the wolf pack to the cruelty of the Sher Khan tiger. Sher Khan is desperate to capture and kill Mowgli and Akela becomes a victim of his enmity.

the dire wolf

The “Game of Thrones” series is probably the giant prehistoric beast’s biggest claim to fame. In the story, they form the sigil – the symbol – of House Stark, the ruling family of the North.

Today, scientists have reason to believe that direwolves were not, as previously thought, ancestors of wolves, but giant relatives of dogs. These giant canids were active in the Pleistocene era, 2.5 million years ago.

Wendy Wolf in Peppa Pig

Remember the wolf in “The Three Little Pigs” who wanted to huff and puff and tear down the little pigs’ houses? Wendy Wolf, who appears in the children’s animated series “Peppa Pig”, is a more childish version. Wendy’s dad loves to snort and make scary wolf and pig jokes, but he only uses the power in his lungs to push Wendy’s punch. Her mother, Wendy’s grandmother, also loves teaching Peppa and her friends how to howl like wolves and “wolf down” cake at birthday parties.

This non-exhaustive list could also include the Amarok, a mythical wolf from the Inuit culture that stalks and kills people who hunt at night, or Wepwawet, a wolf-headed god worshiped by the ancient Egyptians. And although Odin’s enemy Fenrir was a direwolf, the Norse god also had two wolf companions, Geri and Freki.

Edited by: Brenda Haas