Gold ring with wolf

This gold ring was discovered in a field near the tombs in Sant’Angelo Muxaro 
in southern Sicily. The tombs at the site probably belonged to the wealthy elite of the settlement, which was established long before the arrival of the Phoenicians and Greeks, but continued to be inhabited after. This ring shows a prowling wolf, the great enemy of the farmer. Hunting wolves and other wild threats to livestock was a dangerous pursuit and those who undertook such an endeavour might have been considered the bravest in the community, and eventually awarded respect and high status.