Norse Mythology — 1
I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now? — John Lennon
Human life is an exquisite amalgam of myths and stories. Stories that have slipped past our conscious mind long ago and settled in our subconsciousness. Stories that have heros and villains far more complex than our sci-fi movies. Because they don’t tell a tale about a distant someone or something. They tell the story of us and our own “ordinary lives”.
In this series of blogs, I will explore the tales from different mythologies of different civilizations. I will start with Norse mythology because I find it particularly special. Special in the sense that it portrays the images developed in the mind of people who didn’t entirely trust or like their gods. It's fascinating to note that the long-forgotten gods of Norse mythology, have left their names in our days of the week. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday came from Tyr the one-handed son of Odin, Odin, Thor and Frigg respectively.
The Norse gods came from Germany, spread into Scandinavia and then into the Viking civilization mostly Orkney and Scotland, Ireland and the north of England. There are two sets of gods that we find in Norse mythology viz, Aesir and Vanir. Mostly they were worshipped by two different tribes who didn’t particularly like each other. The tribe which worshipped Aesir invaded the land of the Vanir-worshippers and various events unfolded afterwards. While trying to visualize the vibrant characters of Norse Mythology one may also try to imagine the long Norwegian winter nights, the unending daylight of midsummer and the dazzling Northern lights.
We will start with Odin, the oldest and highest of all the gods. Odin sacrificed his eye in exchange for a drink from the mystical Well of Urd at the base of the world-tree (called Yggdrasil). He thus gained cosmic knowledge and wisdom. He was ready to sacrifice himself for power and the knowledge of runes. Thus he hung from the world-tree and hung there for nine nights. He suffered a lot of physical pain and when he was at the verge of dying, the runes were revealed to him. Odin thus understood magic and he could control the entire world. Odin is thus a manifestation of a person who is willing to give up his physical existence for divine knowledge and wisdom. We may call him a saint but he is not as simple as that.
Odin has two ravens called Huginn and Muninn. They mean “thought” and “memory” respectively. These birds fly across worlds and whispers to Odin’s ears the knowledge of the world. Odin sits on his high throne at Hlidskjalf and observes the worlds. He is the all-father, the lord of the slain. He has a different name and form in every country but it is only Odin they worship.
Odin brought war into the world. Battles are begun by throwing a spear at the enemy, dedicating the battle and all the lives it cost to Odin himself. If one survives a battle it is with Odin’s grace and if one falls it is because Odin has betrayed him. The souls of those who die bravely are taken to the hall known as Valhalla by the Valkyries(battle-maidens). Odin will be waiting there for the braves and they will all drink and fight and feast with Odin as their leader.
The world of Norse Mythology is that of an Asgard that is not a futuristic city but a cold Viking hall and a collection of buildings, an Odin who is brilliant, unknowable and dangerous, a Thor who is very powerful but not very bright and a Loki who is neither evil nor good but a complicated being, resembling our own inner soul. We will explore the relationship between Odin, Thor and Loki in the following part of the series. Till then Ha det godt!
