DOOM Eternal – Doom Eternal Religion Language Mythology İnfluences Wiki Cultural History Artstyle Background Encyclopedia by Raidencan p1

Wolves

(Looking More like Vampiric Bats rather than Wolves to me 🙂

Doom eternal, like many other games, features Wolf aspects in the game, primarily on Argent people and Slayer gates.
Today we will look into Wolves on international cultural folklore.
It will be long, unlike other ones, because this motif can be seen on many more media and peoples worldwide we need to get the full picture. However, popularity in culture is different from many to another. The order is done tending to that rule.
Not all cultures have the same amount of imagery of Wolves. Keep that in mind. Have a good reading.

The Wolf is a common motif in the foundational mythologies and cosmologies of peoples throughout Eurasia and North America (corresponding to the Gray Wolf habitat). The Wolf’s obvious attribute is its nature of a predator, and correspondingly it is strongly associated with danger and destruction, making it the symbol of the warrior on the one hand and that of the devil on the other. The modern trope of the Big Bad Wolf is a development of this. The Wolf holds great importance in the nomadic peoples’ cultures and religions, both the Eurasian steppe and North American Plains.

p.s. I had to point out that I couldn’t find any intriguing pictures about Wolves in their respected cultural arts; we need to do with stories on those.

Individual

Sino – Tibetian, Semitic, and South American peoples have so little wolf aspects in their culture. On Eternal, you can found single examples of Mesopotamian, Caucasian, Afro – Asiatic, and Old North American cultural connections.

Akkadian (Mezopotamian)
One of the earliest written references to black wolves occurs in the Babylonian epic Gilgamesh, in which the titular character rejects the sexual advances of the goddess Ishtar, reminding her that she had transformed a previous lover, a shepherd, into a wolf, thus turning him into the very animal that his flocks must be protected against.

Chechen (Caucasus)
The wolf is a national symbol of Chechnya. According to folklore, the Chechens are “born of a she-wolf,” as included in the national myth’s central line. The “lone wolf” symbolizes strength, independence, and freedom. A proverb about the teips (sub-clans) is “equal and free like wolves.”
There is one myth that the mythological founder of the Chechen nation, Turpalo-Noxchuo (Chechen Hero, whose Chechens are descended from “like sparks of steel”), was raised by a fabled, loving “Wolf Mother.” Old Chechen lore holds that the sheep were actually created for the wolf to enjoy, but man “stole” the sheep from the wolf (this is rather interesting considering that many Chechens in the past have, in fact, been shepherds). According to the ethnographic historian Jaimoukha, in olden times, Chechens observed a wolf cult that would prevent lupine raids on sheep by observing Saturday as a special day.

Egyptian (Afro – Asiatic)
Wepwawet originally was seen as a wolf deity, thus the Greek name of Lycopolis, meaning city of wolves, and it is likely the case that Wepwawet was originally just a symbol of the pharaoh, seeking to associate with wolf-like attributes, that later became deified as a mascot to accompany the pharaoh. Likewise, Wepwawet was said to accompany the pharaoh on hunts, in which capacity he was titled (one with) sharp arrow more powerful than the gods alone.
The ivory label depicting the pharaoh Den, found at his tomb in Abydos, circa 3000 BC. Originally attached to a pair of royal sandals, which is depicted on the reverse. The side shown here depicts the pharaoh striking down an Asiatic tribesman along with the inscription “The first occasion of smiting the East.” Wepwawet is at the upper right.

Over time, the connection to war, and thus to death, led to Wepwawet also being seen as one who opened the ways to, and through, Duat for the spirits of the dead. Through this, and the similarity of the jackal to the wolf, Wepwawet became associated with Anubis, a deity worshiped in Asyut, eventually being considered his son. Seen as a jackal (also his wife Anput), he also was said to be Set’s son. Consequently, Wepwawet often is confused with Anubis. This deity appears in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos.
In later Egyptian art, Wepwawet was depicted as a wolf or a jackal or a man with a wolf or a jackal’s head. Even when considered a jackal, Wepwawet usually was shown with grey, or white fur, reflecting his lupine origins. He was depicted dressed as a soldier and carrying other military equipment, a mace, and a bow.
For what generally is considered to be lauding purposes of the pharaohs, a later myth briefly was circulated claiming that Wepwawet was born at the sanctuary of Wadjet, the sacred site for the oldest goddess of Lower Egypt that is located in the heart of Lower Egypt. Consequently, Wepwawet, who had hitherto been the standard of Upper Egypt alone, formed an integral part of royal rituals, symbolizing Egypt’s unification.
In later pyramid texts, Wepwawet is called “Ra,” who has gone up from the horizon, perhaps as the “opener.” In the later Egyptian funerary context, Wepwawet assists at the Opening of the Mouth ceremony and guides the deceased into the netherworld.

Inuit (Native Americans of Alaska)
Amarok, or Amaroq, is a gigantic wolf in Inuit mythology, said to stalk and devour any person foolish enough to hunt alone at night. Unlike wolves who hunt in packs, amaroks hunt alone.
In his book Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, Rink recounts several folk legends that feature the Amarok.
In one tale, a persecuted and physically stunted boy seeks to increase his strength. When he calls out to the lord of strength, an Amarok appears and wrestles him to the ground with its tail. This causes several small bones to fall from the boy’s body. The Amarok tells the boy that the bones had prevented his growth; he instructs the boy to return daily to develop his strength. After several days of wrestling with the Amarok, the boy is strong enough to overcome three large bears, thus gaining his village’s esteem.
In another story, a man mourning the death of a relative hears reports that an Amarok is nearby. He and a relative go in search of the Amarok. They find her pups instead, and the mourner kills them all. The mourner’s relative becomes frightened—the two retreat to hide in a cave. Looking out, they see the adult Amarok returning to her pups, carrying a reindeer in her mouth. When the Amarok fails to find her offspring, she hastens to a nearby lake and drags a humanoid form from the water; now, the mourner collapses. The Amarok, “from which nothing remains concealed,” took the mourner’s soul from his body.
In some tales, a person captures or kills an Amarok. The myth of the Amarok was most likely originated from the tale ancient Eskimos told about dire wolves.

Native Americans
Wolves figure prominently in the mythology of nearly every Native American tribe. In most Native cultures, Wolf is considered a medical being associated with courage, strength, loyalty, and success at hunting. Like bears, wolves are considered closely related to humans by many North American tribes. Some Northwest Coast tribes’ origin stories, such as the Quileute and the Kwakiutl, tell their first ancestors being transformed from wolves into men. In Shoshone mythology, Wolf plays the noble Creator god’s role, while in Anishinabe mythology, a wolf character is a brother and true best friend of the culture hero. Among the Pueblo tribes, wolves are considered one of the six directional guardians, associated with the east and the color white. The Zunis carve stone wolf fetishes for protection, ascribing to them both healing and hunting powers.
Wolves are also one of the most common clan animals in Native American cultures. Tribes with Wolf Clans include the Creek (whose Wolf Clan is named Yahalgi or Yvhvlke), the Cherokee (whose Wolf Clan name is Aniwahya or Aniwaya,) the Chippewa (whose Wolf Clan and its totem are called Ma’iingan,) Algonquian tribes like the Lenape, Shawnee and Menominee, the Huron and Iroquois tribes, Plains tribes like the Caddo and Osage, Southern tribes like the Chickasaw, the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico, and Northwest Coast tribes like the Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Kwakiutl. Wolf was an important clan crest on the Northwest Coast and can often be carved on totem poles. The wolf is also the special tribal symbol of several tribes and bands, such as the Munsee Delaware, the Mohegans, and the Skidi Pawnee. Some eastern tribes, like the Lenape and Shawnee, have a Wolf Dance among their tribal dance traditions.

Indo – European

In Proto-Indo-European mythology, the wolf was presumably associated with the warrior class, who would “transform into wolves” (or dogs) upon their initiation. This is reflected in Iron Age Europe in the Tierkrieger depictions from the Germanic sphere. Pictures chose for a direct description of cultures; most of them are less applied to arts.

Indic
In the Rig Veda, Ṛjrāśva is blinded by his father as punishment for having given 101 of his family’s sheep to a she-wolf, who in turn prays to the Ashvins to restore his sight.
In the Harivamsa, Krishna, to convince the people of Vraja to migrate to Vṛndāvana, creates hundreds of wolves from his hair, which frighten the inhabitants of Vraja into making the journey. Bhima, the god Vayu’s voracious son, is described as Vrikodara, meaning “wolf-stomached.”

Iranic
According to Zoroastrian legends, Zoroaster as a child was carried by the devs (the gods) to the lair of the she-wolf, in the expectation that the savage beast would kill it; but she accepted it among her own cubs, and Vahman brought an ewe to the den which suckled it. (It was impossible in the Zoroastrian legend for the wolf herself to give milk to the infant since wolves are regarded as devices creatures.) According to the Avesta, the Zoroastrians’ sacred text, wolves are a creation from the ‘darkness’ of the evil spirit Ahriman and are ranked among animals’ cruelest. And belong to the daevas. The Bundahishn, a Middle Persian text on the Zoroastrian creation myth, has a chapter dedicated to the ‘nature of wolves’ as seen in Zoroastrian mythology belief.
Wusuns, an Indo-European semi-nomadic steppe people of Iranian origin, had a legend that after their king Nandoumi was killed by Yuezhi, another Indo-European people, Nandoumi’s infant son Liejiaomi was left in the wild, and He was miraculously saved from hunger being suckled by a she-wolf, and fed meat by ravens.

Germanic
Norse mythology prominently includes three malevolent wolves:
the giant Fenrisulfr or Fenrir, eldest child of Loki and Angrboda, feared and hated by the Æsir, and Fenrisulfr’s children, Sköll and Hati. Fenrir is bound by the gods but is ultimately destined to grow too large for his bonds and devour Odin during the course of Ragnarök. He will be slain by Odin’s son, Viðarr, who will either stab him in the heart or rip his jaws asunder. Fenrir’s two offspring will devour the sun and moon at Ragnarök.

However, Geri and Freki were the Norse god Odin’s faithful pets reputed to be “of good omen.”
Wolves were seen as both being negative and positive to the Norse people. On the one hand, they can represent chaos and destruction (e.g., Fenrir, Skoll, and Hati), while on the other hand, they can also represent bravery, loyalty, protection, and wisdom.
In the Hervarar saga, king Heidrek is asked by Gestumblindi (Odin), “What is that lamp which lights up men, but flame engulfs it, and wargs grasp after it always.” Heidrek knows the answer is the Sun, explaining: “She lights up every land and shines over all men, and Skoll and Hatti are called wargs. Those are wolves, one going before the sun, the other after the moon.”

Greek – Aegean
The Ancient Lydians associated wolves with the sun god Apollo.
Mount Lykaion is a mountain in Arcadia where an altar of Zeus was located. Zeus Lykaios was said to have been born and brought upon it and was the home of Pelasgus and his son Lycaon, who is said to have founded the ritual of Zeus practiced on its summit. This seems to have involved a human sacrifice and a feast in which the man who received the portion of a human victim was changed to a wolf, as Lycaon had been after sacrificing a child. The sanctuary of Zeus played host to athletic games held every four years, the Lykaia.

In Greek mythology, Lycaon was a king of Arcadia who, in the most popular version of the myth, tested Zeus’ omniscience by serving him the roasted flesh of Lycaon’s own son Nyctimus, to see whether Zeus was truly all-knowing.
In return for these gruesome deeds, Zeus transformed Lycaon into a wolf and killed his offspring; Nyctimus was restored to life.
Despite being notorious for his horrific deeds, Lycaon was also remembered as a culture hero: he was believed to have founded the city Lycosura, to have established a cult of Zeus Lycaeus, and to have started the tradition of the Lycaean Games, which Pausanias thinks were older than the Panathenaic Games. According to Gaius Julius Hyginus, Lycaon dedicated the first temple to the Hermes of Cyllene.

Slavic
The wolf as a mythological creature is greatly linked to Balkan and Serbian mythology and cults. It has an important part in Serbian mythology. In the Slavic, old Serbian religion and mythology, the wolf was used as a totem. The wolf is a symbol of fearlessness. Vuk Karadžić explained the traditional, apotropaic use of Vuk (wolf): a woman who had lost several babies in succession would name her newborn son Vuk because it was believed that the witches, who “ate” the babies, were afraid to attack the wolves.

Dacian (moden day Romania)
In his book From Zalmoxis to Genghis Khan, Mircea Eliade attempted to give a mythological foundation to an alleged special relation between Dacians and the wolves:
Dacians might have called themselves “wolves” or “ones the same with wolves,” suggesting religious significance.
Dacians draw their name from a god or a legendary ancestor who appeared as a wolf.
Dacians had taken their name from a group of fugitive immigrants who arrived from other regions or from their own young outlaws, who acted similarly to the wolves circling villages and living from looting. As was the case in other societies, those young community members went through initiation, perhaps up to a year, during which they lived as a “wolf.” Comparatively, Hittite laws referred to fugitive outlaws as “wolves.”
The existence of a ritual that provides one with the ability to turn into a wolf. Such a transformation may be related either to lycanthropy itself, a widespread phenomenon, but attested especially in the Balkans-Carpathian region, or a ritual imitation of the wolf’s behavior and appearance. Such a ritual was presumably a military initiation, potentially reserved for warriors’ secret brotherhood (or Männerbünde). To become formidable warriors, they would assimilate the wolf’s behavior, wearing wolf skins during the ritual. Traces related to wolves as a cult or as totems were found in this area since the Neolithic period, including the Vinča culture artifacts: wolf statues and fairly rudimentary figurines representing dancers a wolf mask. The items could indicate warrior initiation rites or ceremonies that young people put on their seasonal wolf masks. The unity of beliefs about werewolves and lycanthropy exists in the magical-religious experience of mystical solidarity with the wolf.

Ural – Altaic

In Myths of Ural – Altaic people, we usually see Wolf as a mother figure,
there are some exceptions for this in Indo – European ones, but primarily fertility can be more seen in these parts.

Finnish
Unlike fox and bear, the Wolf has been feared and hated in Finland for a long time. The Wolf has been the symbol of destruction and desolation, to the extent that the very name of Wolf in the Finnish language, Susi, also means “a useless thing,” and the by-name hukka means perdition and annihilation. While bear has been the sacred animal of Finns, Wolves have been hunted and killed mercilessly for a long time. The Wolf has been represented as an implacable and malicious predator, killing more than it manages to eat.

Japanese
In Japanese mythology, In the Shinto belief, the ōkami (Wolf) is regarded as a messenger of the kami,

Grain farmers once worshiped wolves at shrines and left food offerings near their dens, beseeching them to protect their crops from wild boars and deer. Talismans and charms adorned with Wolves’ images were thought to protect against fire, disease, and other calamities and brought fertility to agrarian communities and couples hoping to have children. The Ainu people believed that they were born from the union of a Wolf-like creature and a goddess.

Okami (Okami-no-kami) in the Kojiki, or the Nihon Shoki: Kuraokami or Okami
who are a legendary Japanese dragon and Shinto deity of rain and snow? In Japanese mythology, the sibling progenitors Izanagi and Izanami gave birth to Japan’s islands and gods. After Izanami died from burns during the childbirth of the fire deity Kagu-tsuchi, Izanagi was enraged and killed his son. According to different versions of the legend, Kagutsuchi’s blood or body created several other deities, including Kuraokami.

Mongolian

In the Secret History of the Mongols, the Mongol peoples have descended from the mating of a doe (gua maral) and a Wolf (boerte chino). In modern Mongolia, the Wolf is still seen as a good luck symbol, especially for males.
Mongol mythology explains Wolf’s occasional habit of surplus killing by pointing to their traditional creation story. It states that when God explained to the Wolf what it should and should not eat, he told it that it might eat one sheep out of 1,000. The Wolf, however, misunderstood and thought God said, kill 1,000 sheep and eat one.

Korean
Bul-Gae (Korean: 불 개 Fire Dog), the mythical Fire Dogs in Korean mythology, are dog beasts from the kingdom of darkness that chase the sun and moon, causing eclipses when they bite both the celestial bodies.
In Korean mythology, the cosmological narratives and legends, such as the “Isik, Wolsik” legend, explain the Bul-Gae dogs’ eclipse phenomenon.

According to the myth recorded in the Hangugui-Seolwo (Folk Myths from Korea), there were many realms of heaven. One of them, the kingdom of darkness, was called Gamangnara (the Dark World). The king of Gamangnara got weary with darkness and desired the light of the sun and moon. He sent one of the gigantic fiery hounds, the Bul-Gae, belonging to one of his dark world subjects, to chase the sun and bring it to his realm. However, when the Bul-gae tried to bite the sun, the sun was too hot, burning the dog’s mouth, and the Bul-Gae had to let it go. The king of darkness got angry and then sent another, more ferocious Bul-Gae to fetch the moon at least. When the Bul-Gae bit the moon, the moon was too cold, freezing the dog´s mouth, and the Bul-Gae had to let it go as well, which infuriated their master. The king always sends his dogs, they try to fetch the light, but they always fail and run back to Gamangnara. When the Bulgae bites the sun, it is called a solar eclipse; when they bite the moon, it is a lunar eclipse. During eclipses, the dark parts covering the sun and moon were believed to be the parts bitten and covered by the Bul-Gae’s mouths.

This myth is quite reminiscent of the Nordic myth of the chtonic, giant, monstrous Sköll wolf, which always hunts Sol, the sun goddess and will eat her at Ragnarok, and his brother Hati, who serves the same role with Máni, the personified moon. The Bul-Gae myth also shares similarities with the Hinduistic serpent villain, Rahu, who chases the sun and tries to swallow it, creating solar eclipses, as well as the Slavic mythology dragon-serpents Zmej, that try to swallow the sun in the sky during rainstorms and can absorb and steal the power of the sun by sunbathing.

As it was seen appearance-wise, Bulgae is the closest candidate for the Argenta Wolves appearance.

Most influential, National Symbols

Indo – European
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Romans

According to Herodotus, after the war of Troy
(Troia – Çanakkale Dardanelles)
refugees of early Romans migrated to modern-day Italy. (these not only limited to the Trojan war, unlike what heredot told)
As they start to live, they began to take inspiration from local Etruscan people – Etruria (today’s Tuscany). Then they (maybe rulers themself) attributed some local legend elements. Like the Roman emperor family tree. The legends spanning its way all to Jupiter and his continued lineage, so on and so forth.

They did this by combining elements of local people’s folklore and folklore before migration.
Early Greek, Lydia – Hittite cultures, possible influence as Lydia, Apollo’s main praying community, and their association with Wolves
local Etruscans diminished over the time of wars and conflicts. However, their ancient beliefs still reside in those lands.

In Roman mythology, Wolves are mainly associated with Mars, the God of war and agriculture.
The twin babies were ordered to be killed by their great uncle Amulius. The servant ordered to kill them; however, they relented and placed the two babies on the Tiber river banks.
The river, which was in flood, rose and gently carried the cradle and the twins downstream. Under the protection of the river deity Tiberinus, a she-wolf known as Lupa in Latin would be adopted by an animal sacred to Mars.
The Capitoline Wolf nurses Romulus and Remus, sons of Mars and future founders of Rome.
Time passes, a Shepard raises twins without their identity, and eventually, they take their revenge on their uncle.
When they arrive home, they couldn’t decide which hill empire will be set upon. Two brothers clashes, and.
Romulus kills his twin brother, then announces his rule as the First emperor of Rome as this was the tale of the city name and first emperors mythical story.

As a consequence, the İtalian Wolf is the national animal of the modern Italian Republic.
In Antiquity, the she-wolf was identified as a symbol of Rome by both the Romans themselves and nations under the Roman rule. The Wolf’s special status was not based on national ideology but was connected to Wolf’s religious importance to the Romans.

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Ural – Altaic
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Turkic
As with most ancient people’s beliefs, the Wolf was thought to possess spiritual powers and that parts of its body retained specific powers that could be used by people for various needs.
In the mythology of the Turkic peoples, Wolf is a revered animal. In Turkic mythology, Wolves were believed to be the ancestors of their people. The Bozkurt (Grey Wolf) legend is an old Turkic myth that tells how the Turkic people were created. (Tellings of this event can differ from many Turkic peoples to another, but the main story is the same)

Aproxemently in Northern China, a small Turkic village was raided by Chinese soldiers, but one small baby was left behind. An old She-Wolf with a sky-blue mane found the baby and nursed him; then the She-Wolf gave birth to half-Wolf, half-human cubs, from whom the Turkic people were born.
After some generations, increased attacks and drought led to a huge joined exodus.
It is believed that a Gray Wolf (probably one that saved the child or one from shes lineage) showed the Turks the way to their legendary homeland Ergenekon, but to do this, Turkic people must pass through a mountain.

Wolf has led them to the passage, but it was too thin for humans. So to fit, it is said that they molted the whole iron mountain to pass it as the whole federation.

Which, in turn, allowed them to spread and conquer their neighbors.
The passing from the iron mountain is close time to the start of the Spring season. this led to celebrations of Nevruz festivals. (Start of spring)

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