Wolves in Folklore, Religion and Mythology

mythology · wolves · storytelling · culture

Heroes and villains. Wolves show up as both wise, noble characters and scary villains in stories from Europe, Asia, and North America. The famous Big Bad Wolf from fairy tales came from old European folklore.

Sacred to many peoples. Nomadic groups living on the Eurasian steppes and North American Plains saw wolves as especially important to their religions and way of life. Many tribes believed wolves had spiritual powers.

Ancient stories. Wolves appear in the foundational myths and creation stories of many civilizations across Eurasia and North America. These ancient cultures wove wolf stories into the very fabric of how they explained the world.