Norse Mythology: Difference between revisions

It's important to note that theThe Norse gods are usually considered by some scholars to be derived from the same ancestral Indo-European mythology as [[Classical Mythology|Classical]], [[Celtic Mythology|Celtic]], and [[Hindu Mythology]]. The mythology of Zoroastrianism is also similar, although with a monotheistic structure imposed on it. The "relations" mentioned below are those offered by scholars who think all myths except for their own culture's have a shared base.

* '''Odin''' (Old Norse Óðinn), All-Father, Oath-Breaker, and Lord of the Slain, wisest and chieftain of the Aesir (battle gods). His obsession with Ragnarök causes many of his actions, and is one of his most defining characteristics. Was identified as Mercury by the Romans, which may or may not be the case. Inventor of the runes (and rune magic and writing), he sacrificed one of his eyes at thea well of(some say Mimir's well, some say Urd's - both wells water the Nornsworld-tree Yggdrasil) and hung himself from the world tree Yggdrasil for many days to gain the secret of knowledgewisdom. Is the god of prophecy, poetry, and magic, but also of war and murder. In fact, he taught war to mankind, so that they would kill one another and swell the ranks of the gods with [[Cannon Fodder]] for the battle at Vigrid. He sometimes wields a spear named Gungnir, the [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|spear of the never-ceasing thrust]]; oaths sworn upon Gungnir ''cannot'' be broken. He is accompanied by two ravens, called Huginn ("thought") and Muninn ("mind"), whom he sends out across the worlds as messengers and as eyes and ears to spy for him.

* '''Thor''' (Þórr), a sometimes naive, sometimes shrewd, god with a magical hammer which required special gloves to handle. Usually associated with Thunder, which is not too far-fetched considering that this is exactly [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|what his name means]]. Lightning is said to arise when he throws his hammer (called Mjölnir) after trolls and giants. More generally, he was a weather god and therefore, also a fertility god (because good crops depend on the right weather) and especially worshiped by farmers and seafarers. Though notoriously irascible, he is also one of the gods who are most benign towards the human race, and constantly strives to protect Midgard from monsters and giants. It probably goes well with this profile that Thor is NOT''not'' is a war god <ref>He seems to get falsely associated with that domain sometimes in modern descriptions, and in fairness, his Hindu cousinanalog Indra ''is'' a war god</ref>—that office goes primarily to Odin (whose attitude towards humans is much more ambiguous). He does ride in a chariot, though, drawn by his two goats Tooth-grinder and Tooth-gnasher. Interestingly, his other cousin is [[Anything That Moves|Zeus]].

* '''Tyr''' (Týr), Son of Odin, or the giant Hymir in some stories, whose right hand was bitten off by Fenrir while tricking the wolf into being chained with a magic rope. He also presides over the Thing (pronounced "Ting"), a Germanic governing assembly, which makes him a god of law and justice. He was the main [[War God]] and was prayed to by warriors before battle. Unlike Thor he didn't go off fighting giants, he instead preferred large battles (even after he lost his hand). He and Thor once had a competition to see who was the strongest of the Aesir, with Tyr falling out at the final test. Confusingly, he (like Thor), is ''also'' a cousin of Zeus and Indra.

Incidentally, we still honor some of these gods on a regular basis (though using the Anglo-Saxon versions of the god), on Sunna's Day (maybe), Mani/Moni's Day (maybe), Tyr's day, Odin's day, Thor's day and Freya's day. Each occurs once a week in Western cultures that use the Germanic root names (in case you don't get it, these days are also known as Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, followed by [[Classical Mythology|Saturn's day]], and then on again to Sun's Day and Moon's Day, at which point the cycle repeats).