Probably the best known of the Norse Gods, thanks in no small part to Marvel basing a superhero on him, Thor, the God of Thunder, is the son of Odin and Jörð and the husband of the Goddess Sif. ![]() Yep that's right, Wednesday is Woden's Day! Thor Odin is known in other languages as Woden and is the source of the English word Wednesday. He is particularly fond of berserkers and other warriors for whom the battle is the most important factor. Rather, he's more interested in the chaos of the battle. Read more: Norwegian Mythology & Folk TalesĪs a war-god, Odin is concerned not with the reasons for conflict or even its outcome. He was not thought of in this way to the Norse. In the popular culture of today, Odin is most commonly portrayed as an honourable leader and commander on the battlefield. His wife, Frigg, bore him Baldr and Höðr and with the Jötnar Gríðr and Rindr he sired Viðar and Váli. His best known son is Thor who was conceived with Jörð, the personification of the Earth. Odin, God of Wisdom, Poetry and War, has at least five sons, by four different partners. He's famous for riding into battle on his faithful eight-legged steed Sleipnir and wielding his dwarf-forged spear Gungnir which is said never to miss a target. His father was the Borr and his mother was the Jötunn Bestla. OdinĪs the ruler of Asgard – the realm of the Æsir, Odin is considered the All-Father of the Gods. Jotunheimen translates to the Home of the Giants. The Gods are often considered together with the Jötnar (singular Jötunn) or Giants in English.Īs an aside, this gives its name to one of Norway's biggest National Parks. ![]() The Æsir were associated with chaos and war, while the Vanir were associated with nature and fertility. The Gods can be split broadly into two tribes. He was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The best attempts to write the mythology down come in the form of the Eddas and the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson. Often, this was in the form of poetry and/or the Icelandic sagas. It's hard to pin down exactly how many because the mythology was passed down orally for centuries. Eventually, it spread to other popular culture including RPG's, Japanese animation, and of course Marvel comics and movies. More recently, such references began to appear in science fiction and fantasy literature. This was especially so in Scandinavia, Germany and the UK. ![]() With the advent of mass printing technologies, references to the myths, legends and heroes began to spread in European literature. Little was known about them outside Scandinavia and Iceland until the 19th century. While it may seem like the gods and goddesses of Norse mythology must have been popular for centuries, that's not strictly true.
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