Wolf
Few animals conjure up more symbolic meaning—for better or worse—than the wolf. Mysterious and intimidating, the wolf is a common motif in the mythologies and cosmologies of peoples throughout its historical range. The ancient Greeks associated wolves with Apollo, the god of light and order. The Romans connected the wolf with their god of war and agriculture, Mars. According to the writer and philosopher Dante Alighieri (c. 1265–1321), wolves were seducers, hypocrites, magicians, thieves, and liars. Native American culture is more complementary, citing the wolf as an animal of power. In fact, many tribes credit the actual creator of the earth to be a wolf. Whatever the belief, the
wolf is well established for its sharp intelligence, self-reliance, and appetite for freedom.