August 21, 2017

Odin, the one-eyed Norse god of war and the battlefield was revered by Berserkers, frenzied Viking warriors who fought ferociously without armor and felt no wounds. But Odin was a complex character who also had domain over wisdom and poetry. Norse mythology, also called Teutonic mythology, consists of the myths and legends of Scandinavia and Germany. The foremost god in the Norse pantheon, Odin was father to many of the Aesir (Norse race of gods), including Thor and Balder, and a father-figure to others such as Loki. For this reason, Odin was often known as “Allfather.”

Odin the Allfather of Norse mythology. Credit: Victor Villalobos (licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

The magnificent hall Valhalla was Odin’s home in Asgard, the domain of the Norse gods. There he feasted with the souls of heroes who had died in battle. A fearless fighter himself, Odin carried a spear as his weapon, and he rode an eight-legged horse called Sleipnir. Before battle, Odin would cast his spear over the forces of one side, choosing them as the victors. He then sent in the Valkyries, a group of warlike goddess-maidens, to choose which warriors lived and died and then to carry fallen heroes to Valhalla.

Odin was the wisest god; he had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Two ravens, Huginn and Muminn, sat by his side and told him all they saw throughout the world each day. Odin gained his greatest wisdom from Mimir, a mysterious and ancient being who guarded a well whose waters were the source of all knowledge in the universe. Visiting one day, Odin asked for a drink from this well of knowledge. Mimir refused unless the god offered something of value in return. Without hesitation, Odin plucked out one of his eyes and dropped it into the water. Seeing that Odin made the necessary sacrifice, Mimir reluctantly dipped his cup into the well and gave the one-eyed god a hearty drink.

Odin himself spoke only in verse, and poetry was a gift he granted only to select people to whom he offered a sip of his magical mead (honey wine). Odin stole this mead of poetry from the greedy giant Suttung, who hoarded the precious liquid in a huge vat. The mead gave anyone who drank it the ability to speak in beautiful prose. To steal the drink, Odin swallowed the entire vat and took the form of an eagle to escape the enraged giant. Weighed down by the mead held in his throat, and with Suttung in hot pursuit, Odin barely reached the safety of Asgard’s walls. He spat the mead into a huge container and has guarded it ever since. However, a few drops spilled and fell to Earth, where the precious liquid is the source of all bad poetry among humans today.

Wednesday, from the Anglo-Saxon word Wodensday (Odin’s day) is so-named to remind people of Odin’s all-seeing presence and to always be hospitable. Hospitality was an essential virtue for the people of northern Europe. Odin often wandered across the land wearing a wide-brimmed hat to shade his face, calling unannounced on homes and farms. The people of northern Europe knew never to turn away a weary traveler—it just might be the mighty Allfather in disguise.

July 17, 2017

Loki, the god of strife in Teutonic mythology, was a clever trickster. Teutonic mythology, also called Norse mythology, consists of the myths and legends of Germany and Scandinavia that date from about the A.D. 400’s. The “good” gods of Norse Mythology, the Aesir, were born of Odin the All-Father. Mischievous Loki, however, was the son of the wind giant, Fárbauti, who belonged to a race of giants called the Jötun. In Norse mythology, the Jötun and other giants were enemies of the Aesir gods. Loki’s descent from, and involvement with, the giants made him a suspect and untrustworthy character.

Loki strikes a defiant, fearsome, and dramatic pose. Credit: © Vuk Kostic, Shutterstock

Loki lived and was later imprisoned in Asgard, the Upper World of the Aesir. Loki did whatever he pleased there, however, which often displeased the other gods, and he took every opportunity to cause mischief. His antics riled the other gods so much he was sometimes called the “spirit of evil.” Loki was also jealous and hateful of his foster brother, the great god of thunder, Thor, and of his foster father, Odin, the ruler of Asgard.

Odin’s son Balder was the god of beauty, goodness, and light, and beloved by all. Balder’s mother, the goddess Frigg, made animals, plants, and even stones swear an oath never to harm Balder. Loki, who had powers of sorcery and shape-shifting, appeared as an old woman to trick Frigg into revealing Balder’s only weakness: the mistletoe plant. Loki guided the hand of the blind god Hoder to throw mistletoe at Balder and kill him. Balder’s death began the twilight of the gods, the great battle called Ragnarok which would consume the gods, giants, Asgard, and Midgard (Earth) in fire. Balder would then return to the purged Earth to rule a new era.

Loki paid dearly for his hand in Balder’s death. The trickster was chained to three rocks and tied down with his son’s intestines under a serpent dripping poisonous venom. His wife, Sigyn, held a bowl above Loki’s head to catch the venom. Each time she left to empty the bowl, the venom hit Loki’s face, and his agonized writhing caused earthquakes on Earth. Loki eventually broke free from his chains to lead the giants against the gods in the calamitous Ragnarok.

In modern times, Loki is a character that appears in Marvel comics and motion pictures. Loki plays either the role of archvillain or antihero, depending on his whim and desire to help or hinder Thor and the Avenger superheroes on Earth.