Editing Wolf (section)

==== In folklore, religion and mythology ====
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{{Main|Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology}}
{{See also|Wolves in heraldry}}
[[File:Lupa Capitolina, Rome.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photograph of the sculpture ''Capitoline Wolf'' showing of the mythical she-wolf feeding the twins Romulus and Remus|The ''[[Capitoline Wolf]]'', sculpture of the mythical [[She-wolf (Roman mythology)|she-wolf]] feeding the twins [[Romulus and Remus]], from the legend of the [[founding of Rome]], Italy, 13th century AD. (The twins are a 15th-century addition.)]]

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.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=292}} The [[Ancient Romans]] connected the wolf with their god of war and agriculture [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]],{{sfn|Lopez|1978|p=210}} and believed their city's founders, [[Romulus and Remus]], were suckled by a [[She-wolf (Roman mythology)|she-wolf]].{{sfn|Marvin|2012|p=128}} [[Norse mythology]] includes the feared giant wolf [[Fenrir]],<ref name=Symbolism/> and [[Geri and Freki]], [[Odin]]'s faithful pets.{{sfn|Marvin|2012|p=78}}

In [[Chinese astronomy]], the wolf represents [[Sirius]] and guards the heavenly gate. In China, the wolf was traditionally associated with greed and cruelty and wolf epithets were used to describe negative behaviours such as cruelty ("wolf's heart"), mistrust ("wolf's look") and lechery ("wolf-sex"). In both [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]], the wolf is ridden by gods of protection. In [[Vedic]] Hinduism, the wolf is a symbol of the night and the daytime [[quail]] must escape from its jaws. In [[Tantric Buddhism]], wolves are depicted as inhabitants of graveyards and destroyers of corpses.<ref name=Symbolism/>

In the [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]] creation myth, the wolf was the first animal brought to Earth. When humans killed it, they were punished with death, destruction and the loss of immortality.{{sfn|Lopez|1978|p=133}} For the Pawnee, Sirius is the "wolf star" and its disappearance and reappearance signified the wolf moving to and from the spirit world. Both Pawnee and [[Blackfoot]] call the [[Milky Way]] the "wolf trail".{{sfn|Busch|2007|p=110}} The wolf is also an important [[Crest (heraldry)|crest]] symbol for clans of the Pacific Northwest like the [[Kwakwakaʼwakw]].<ref name=Symbolism/>

The concept of people turning into wolves, and the inverse, has been present in many cultures. One [[Greek myth]] tells of [[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]] being transformed into a wolf by [[Zeus]] as punishment for his evil deeds.{{sfn|Marvin|2012|p=47}} The legend of the [[werewolf]] has been widespread in [[European folklore]] and involves people willingly turning into wolves to attack and kill others.{{sfn|Marvin|2012|p=50}} The [[Navajo]] have traditionally believed that [[skin-walker|witches]] would turn into wolves by donning wolf skins and would kill people and raid graveyards.{{sfn|Lopez|1978|p=123}} The [[Dena'ina]] believed wolves were once men and viewed them as brothers.{{sfn|Mech|Boitani|2003|p=292}}