620 | Wolves and Ethical Perspectives medieval battlefields, wolves were depicted as unwelcome transgressors of the boundaries between civilization and wilderness This is imaginatively embodied in werewolf folklore, fairy tales that cast wolves as cunning predators, like “Little Red Riding Hood,” popular bestiaries of the Middle Ages (books that assigned specific human characteristics, such as greed or valor, to various animals) in which wolves were depicted as symbols of humankind’s baser instincts; and epic literature, such as Beowulf These mythic and popular images served as moralistic warnings to humans, while also incarnating dark fears of the uncultivated forest It is difficult to gauge the precise impact of such tales upon actual wolf populations, but there is evidence that the fears expressed in these stories served to justify acts of retributive justice in both Europe and, later, in North America Convicted criminals in 10th-century England, for example, could avoid jail by delivering a prescribed number of wolf tongues to authorities In France, beginning in the ninth century and continuing well into the 19th century, special groups of wolf hunters were organized to exterminate wolves for payment In short, wolves were understood as the epitome of the outlaw creature, unable to remain in their proper place away from domesticated property, and therefore were the frequent target of vigilante justice Wolves as Deities If wolves have been the ultimate criminals to some, they have been an object of reverence and even worship for others Ancient gods like the Greek huntress Artemis or the Teutonic war-god Odin had powerful wolf companions According to legend, Rome was founded by twin boys nursed by a she-wolf Likewise, in Inner Eurasia, the Turks and the Mongols believed themselves to be descended from a wolf Permeable lines were also sometimes believed to exist between deities and wolves themselves, as in the case of the shape-shifting sun god Apollo, the patron of shepherds, who took the form of a wolf in some Greek legends, signaling perhaps the dual capacities of the gods in Hellenistic culture to protect and destroy Though agriculturally-based societies have typically had ambivalent relationships with wolves, the worship of wolves in Japan was widespread among mountain farmers up until the 19th century According to historian Brett Walker, the wolf was known as the Large-Mouthed Pure God and, when properly treated, was believed to protect the people’s crops from the ravages of wild boars and deer The power of wolves could also be harnessed in talismans and charms that served to protect their wearers from disease and infertility, among other misfortunes The Ainu, an indigenous Japanese tribe, worshipped wolves as their divine ancestors The modernization of Japan in the late 19th century, however, led to the waning of wolves’ sacred status In a span of a few decades, the two subspecies of wolves in Japan were eradicated, vividly demonstrating how changing ideologies can be expressed on the physical landscape Wolves as Symbols of Wilderness Japan was certainly not the only country to experience a dramatic reduction of wolves Much has been written on the Puritan encounter with the howling wilderness of New England and, for most of the early settlers in America, wolves