Wolves are fascinating creatures with a host of traits and behavioral traits that mean they sold a lot of symbolic meaning.
I think it’s fair to say that early human interaction with wolves was a bit hit and miss and wolves would have been widely feared by the people ancient cultures. So much so in fact that the Greeks cooked up a crazy story, as they usually do, about a race of people who transformed into wolves once a year. This is where the legend of the werewolf comes from.
In the middle ages wolves were thought to be in cahoots with the Devil himself. This idea has stuck with those of us who descended from Christian ancestors and in fairytales and children’s stories, the wolf is always bad.
Having said this though, those among you who know your stuff when it comes to ancient history will probably be thinking right now about the story of Romulus and Remus. If you don’t know the story these two chaps were the founders of Rome, no biggie. They were raised and suckled by a she wolf. So if it wasn’t for wolves, Rome would never have existed… that how the story goes at least.
The Romans may have liked the wolf a lot but, there was one culture who fully loved the wolf and they were of course the Native Americans. These guys saw the wolf as a totem of strength and also a strong spiritual symbol too.
Another thing you should know about wolves if you didn’t already is that they mate for life and they are really good parents too. Combine this with their pack mentality and you have a fantastic symbol for loyalty and family.
There is also the saying “lone wolf” however, and a wolf tattoo could also represent being entirely self-sufficient and not needing the help of others.
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