Ares's Wolf/Origin

Origin
Ares is one of the two sacred animals of Ares. Ares' association with the wolf is familiar from what may be the most famous of Roman myths, the story of how a she-wolf (lupa) suckled his infant sons when they were exposed by order of their human uncle, who feared that they would take back the kingship he had usurped. The woodpecker also brought nourishment to the twins. The wolf appears elsewhere in Roman art and literature in masculine form as the animal of Ares. A statue group that stood along the Appian Way showed Mars in the company of wolves. At the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC, the appearance of the wolf of Ares (Martius lupus) was a sign that Roman victory was to come.