Wolves feature prominently in legends from around the world. Sometimes they are seen as monsters, sometimes as nobility. Since, until recently, wolves were a very real threat to humans in Europe, there are many folktales and children's stories involving wolves, including “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” The fear of wolves also sparked a belief in werewolves—creatures that are human at times, but under certain conditions become ferocious wolves—throughout much of Europe, especially during the Middle Ages.
In Roman mythology, however, it is a wolf who makes Roman civilization possible. The twin orphan babies Romulus and Remus were, according to legend, nursed by a she-wolf. Romulus went on to found Rome.
(pronounced YAWR-moon-gahnd), a giant serpent, and Hel, the goddess of the dead—were thrown out of Asgard (pronounced AHS-gahrd), the home of the gods, by Odin (pronounced OH-din). But Odin felt that the gods should look after Fenrir.
In time, Fenrir grew incredibly large, and only Odin’s son Tyr (pronounced TEER) was brave enough to approach and feed him. The gods finally decided to chain the beast, but Fenrir broke the two huge chains they made to restrain him. Asked by the gods to create something that would hold Fenrir, the dwarves produced a silky ribbon called Gleipnir (pronounced GLAYP-nir). To make it, they used the sound of a cat moving, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish, and the spit of a bird.
The gods took Fenrir to an isolated island and challenged him to prove that he was stronger than Gleipnir. Because the ribbon seemed so weak, Fenrir suspected it was magical. He allowed himself to be bound with it only after Tyr agreed to put his hand in Fenrir’s mouth. When Fenrir found that he could not break Gleipnir, he bit off Tyr’s hand. The gods put a sword in Fenrir’s open mouth, with the tip of the blade against the roof, to quiet him. Saliva ran from his howling open mouth, and formed a river called Van Hope.
According to legend, Fenrir will be released just before Ragnarok (pronounced RAHG-nuh-rok), the final battle in which the gods of
Asgard will be killed. It is written that Fenrir will swallow Odin during the battle and then be killed by Odin’s son.
World History
