Who were the early Viking settlers to reach Iceland’s shores, and who were the Gods that they worshipped? How is this Viking heritage still visible in Iceland today, and why did Icelanders give up their Pagan beliefs? Who were the most important Gods in the Norse Pantheon and how are they remembered today? Read on to explore Vikings and Norse Gods in Iceland.
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- Discover everything you need to know about the History of Reykjavik
- Read about The History of Iceland and get to know Iceland's Viking heritage
- Learn the answer to the question: Where Did Icelanders Come From?
Take just ten minutes to walk around Iceland’s picturesque capital city Reykjavik and you’ll quickly notice how proudly the island wears its Viking heritage. Hotels and guesthouses sport bold logos, souvenir shops brim with model longships, and yes, plenty of horned helmets. For the record, those horns belong on opera stages, not longships, but the image has stuck.
More often than not, you’ll see that Viking look everywhere, though minus the horns, while souvenir shelves are awash with longboats, cloaks, and toy axes.
Many tour providers operate under the banner “Viking”, i.e. Adventure Vikings, Viking Heli-Skiing, Viking Horses, and even one of Iceland’s most famed beers carries the name. All of this points to a proud, adventurous chapter of history that Icelanders are happy to share.
Consider how this devotion goes even further. In downtown Reykjavik, the photo studio Mink Viking Portraits lets guests dress as berserkers for a memorable snapshot. Nearby, two institutions, the Settlement Exhibition and the Saga Museum, bring Viking Age Iceland to life. Beyond the capital, you can step into a reconstructed longhouse at Eiriksstadir in West Iceland or board a full‑scale replica ship at Viking World near Keflavik. Each June, the Hafnarfjordur Viking Festival turns Vidistadatun Park into a living market of crafts, battles, and storytelling.
- See also: Top 9 Museums in Reykjavik
The modern Icelandic male, it’s true, often sports a legendary beard worthy of Sweyn Forkbeard.
What’s often left unsaid is that most early Icelanders were not “Vikings” by profession. “Viking” describes an activity, seaborne raiding or expeditions, not a people. Iceland’s settlers were largely farmers, fishers, traders, and craftspeople of Scandinavian origin who reached the island around 870 AD.
Once they made Iceland home, the cycle of raiding quickly faded. What endured, at least for a time, was devotion to Norse Mythology. Icelandic has also remained notably conservative, today it resembles Old Norse closely enough that students can read the sagas with only modest help.
Who Were The Vikings?
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The word “víkingr” in Old Norse refers to people who went on seaborne expeditions. Scholars debate its deeper origin, with leading proposals linking it either to vík (“bay, inlet”) or to vika (a nautical “rowing shift”/sea‑mile). What’s not in doubt is the reputation these mariners earned across Europe and beyond.
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Arab, Byzantine, and Slavic writers knew of Norse traders and raiders operating along the great rivers of Eastern Europe, while in the west, longships struck monasteries and market towns. Nimble, shallow‑draft boats let crews move fast at sea and deep inland by river.
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Neighbours used a host of labels, Danes, Northmen, heathens, yet by the 10th century Norse influence reached from the North Atlantic to the lands of the Rus’. In the North Atlantic, Iceland was settled, across the Atlantic, Leif Erikson reached North America. In England, Sweyn Forkbeard and Cnut the Great wore the crown. These were not mere pirates but farmers, traders, warriors, and rulers.
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Why did expansion happen? Competition for resources, political pressures at home, and rich trading opportunities abroad all played their part. The trade in enslaved people was a grim but significant part of this economy, and as Christian kingdoms expanded and laws forbidding the enslavement of Christians took hold, the incentives for raiding shifted. More fortified coasts and stronger monarchies also made the once easy targets far harder to strike.
By the 12th century, the Scandinavian realms had embraced Christianity and centralized power. The old style of raiding no longer fit the politics, or the economics, of the age.
Where Are The Norse Gods?
The Christianisation of Iceland took place at the national assembly in 999/1000 AD, when the pagan lawspeaker, Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði, decided that Christianity would become the law of the land. Iceland was an independent commonwealth at the time, the choice was made at Alþingi to avert civil war.
- See also: Folklore in Iceland
According to the medieval sources, the compromise initially allowed some old practices in private, including pagan rites, exposure of infants, and eating horse meat, before these were later abolished. A beloved later tradition links Þorgeir’s decision with Godafoss Waterfall (“Waterfall of the Gods”), where he is said to have cast his idols into the falls. Whether or not that detail is historical, the name and the story have become part of North Iceland’s cultural landscape.
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Today, Iceland is broadly Christian in heritage, yet the old myths remain vivid in literature, place names, and art. There is also an active modern pagan community, Ásatrúarfélagið, recognized since the 1970s. Its new temple at Oskjuhlid in Reykjavik has been under construction in stages, ceremonies and community events continue while work progresses.
Who Were The Norse Gods?
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Most of what we know about the Norse pantheon is preserved in Icelandic texts: the Poetic Edda and the 13th‑century Prose Edda compiled by Snorri Sturluson. They blend myth, poetry, and cultural memory into the cosmology of the Nine Worlds, all bound by the great ash, Yggdrasil.
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These Nine Worlds include:
- Asgard.
- Álfheimr/Ljósálfheimr.
- Niðavellir/Svartálfaheimr.
- Midgard (Earth).
- Jötunheimr/Útgarðr.
- Vanaheimr.
- Niflheim.
- Muspelheim.
- Hel.
- See also: Icelandic Literature For Beginners
Below are some of the most enduring figures for Iceland’s pre‑Christian population.
Odin
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Also called the Allfather, Odin is the chief of the Æsir, associated with war, death, poetry, and wisdom. From his high seat Hliðskjálf in Valaskjálf he can look out over all the worlds, and he presides over Valhalla, where the einherjar (fallen warriors) feast. In his relentless hunt for knowledge he even sacrificed an eye for wisdom.
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Odin’s name lives on in Wednesday, Woden’s Day, and in Iceland you’ll find folklore tying his eight‑legged horse Sleipnir to the horseshoe‑shaped Asbyrgi Canyon.
Thor
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The red‑bearded god of thunder and protector of gods and humans, Thor wields the hammer Mjöllnir and the strength‑belt Megingjörð. He was the most popular deity among many settlers in Iceland. His day is Thursday (Þórsdagr), and classical writers equated the Germanic thunder‑god with Jupiter in their naming of the week.
Loki
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Loki the Trickster is a shape‑shifter of jötunn (giant) ancestry who lives among the gods. Brilliant, amoral, and dangerous, he helps and harms in equal measure, and ultimately sets in motion Ragnarök, the doom of the gods. His children include the wolf Fenrir, the goddess Hel, and the World Serpent, Jörmungandr.
- See also: Witchcraft and Sorcery in Iceland
Baldr
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Baldr the Brave, beloved son of Odin, embodies light, innocence, and beauty. He dies when his blind brother Höðr is tricked into striking him with a dart of mistletoe, the one thing not sworn to do him no harm, sending Asgard into mourning and foreshadowing Ragnarök.
Frigg
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Frigg, Odin’s wife, is associated with marriage, foresight, and the home. She lends her name to Friday in the Germanic languages and was called upon for childbirth and domestic arts. Some traditions link her closely with Freyja, though they remain distinct figures in the sources.
Did you enjoy our article about Vikings and Norse Gods in Iceland? What did you find most interesting about Viking and Pagan history during your stay in the country? Make sure to leave your thoughts and queries in the Facebook comments box below.
