| Abstract [eng] |
This master’s thesis examines the symbolism and significance of the wolf in ancient Greek mythology and its transformations in contemporary Greek prose, based on Zyranna Zateli’s novel „With the light of the Wolf, they return“. The topic is connected to the broader problem of myth and mythical thinking: it is argued that myth does not disappear in modern culture, but continues to function as a form of meaning-making and understanding the world. Within the study, the wolf emerges as a liminal figure mediating between the wild and the civilized world, human and animal, life and death, community and exclusion. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the symbolism of the wolf in ancient literature and to demonstrate how models of mythical thinking associated with it function in Zateli’s novel. The research employs descriptive, comparative, hermeneutic, and structuralist methods. The main research material consists of ancient Greek and Roman authors – Apollodorus, Ovid, Pausanias, Herodotus, Strabo, Plato, Homer, Petronius, and others – as well as one work of contemporary Greek literature, Zateli’s novel. The ancient material is divided into three categories: mythological and religious, philosophical, and folkloric traditions. The first part of the thesis discusses the concept of myth and its relationship with religion, folklore, and literature. The second part analyzes variants of the Lycaon myth, the cults of Zeus Lycaeus and Apollo Lycaeus, the figure of the wolf in Iliad, Republic, and folkloric werewolf stories. It is established that in ancient tradition the wolf signifies not only threat or bestiality, but also a liminal state: it is associated with initiation, transgression, political and moral decline, social exclusion, and communal belonging. The third part examines Zateli’s novel, in which direct references to ancient mythology are almost absent; however, the symbolism of the wolf and the structure of the narrative reveal the continuity of archaic mythical thinking. The novel’s title, the motifs of twilight and “wolf light,” initiation episodes, genealogical narration, and the liminal states of the characters demonstrate that the wolf becomes a metaphysical figure opening connections between humanity, nature, memory, fate, and death. The conclusions state that the motif of the wolf and the werewolf, from ancient Greek tradition to the works of Ziranna Zateli, remains an important liminal figure enabling reflection on the relationship between humanity, nature, civilization, memory, and boundary states. This thesis could serve as a basis for further research on the ancient perception of time and its connections with animals. The limitations of the study are determined by the exceptionally broad research field; therefore, from the vast corpus of ancient literary sources, only those most suitable for achieving the aims of the thesis were selected. |
