Norse Mythology, Gods and Goddesses
Who said Greek mythology was any better than Norse Mythology? The Vikings wrote about some bad ass Norse gods in the Icelandic Eddas and Sagas, and heres a list of the coolest Nordic gods and goddesses and the myths that made them famous.
Thor / Þór
Arguably the most famous, Thor is the brutish god of Thunder and lightning. He´s depicted as a powerful, protective, defensive warrior, sometimes seen as the most important of all gods, and related to the ideas of Hercules and Jupiter from Latin sources. He carries his hammer Mjölnir and wears his all-mighty belt Megingjörð to overcome all evil and misbehaving giants. 25% of Icelandic settlers in the 10th century had the root ´Þór´ in their name, as well as many place names and farms being christened to Þór. Pictures and statues of red-bearded Thor with his hammer have sometimes been interpreted as him holding a cross, allowing him to be saint like and respectable by Christianized Iceland after the year 1000, but we will never erase the pagan images of him riding through the giant world with a chariot pulled by goats, creating stars from Aurvandil´s toe, and fishing the world-encircling serpent Jörmungand from midgard with the head of an ox.
Freyr
Another one of the key gods in Norse paganism, Freyr is considered a fertility god, and one of the founding fathers of the Swedish Royal Hourse in Snorri´s euhemerized version of Nordic god geneology. He´s the brother of Freyja, son of the sea god Njörðr, and comes from the Vanir class of gods. He rides a shiny boar pig and sails a supernatural ship that can fold into your pocket, and is known to be the best horse back rider of the gods with his horse Bloðughofi, 'Bloody-Hooved.' He yields a magical sword which is capable of fighting on its own, and falls in love with the giantess Gerðr before dying to Surtr, fire itself, after fighting swordless in Ragnarok (the doom of the world). Though this wild-animal riding god (who was apparently pretty well endowed, if you know what I mean ladies) seems to be the most fanciable, keep in mind that Baldur was the most beautiful of the gods. He was married to the goddess Nanna.
Odin / Óðinn
This guy is a wild, drunken, horny, shape-changing, traveling wanderer, who recites poetry and seduces women to gain knowledge. He takes all who die from battle into Valhalla, the hall of the dead, and wears a blue cloak and a hat that covers one of his eyes to make him seem a little pirate like. His staff or spear is also always with him, and he has 2 pet ravens called 'Thought' and 'Memory´, and historians wrote about him as a creepy old wizard man who rides an 8 legged horse called Sleipnir. He sounds pretty sketchy to me... but how cool to have a horse with 8 legs!
Freyja
She´s kind of like the female version of Odin, a little slutty, super independent, and a doer of black magic. She´s the wife of a lost, wondering man, which some have assumed to be Odin, which means she is the same goddess as Frigg, the wife of Óðinn. She has a beautiful golden necklace called Brisingamen, and wears a bird costume once in a while. She takes the dead who Odinn doesn't want, the ones who don't die as courageous warriors. She also likes boars like Freyr, and has her own wild pig named Hildisvín, and rides in a carriage pulled by cats. If that doesn't make her a crazy cat lady, then I don´t know what would...
Sif
Sif is the blonde and shiny haired wife of Thor, considered the goddess of fertility and harvest. She has long beautiful hair that´s cut off in a nasty prank by Loki, the mischievous half God, and he gets her hair re-made by elves from strands of gold as thin and numerous as the hairs from her head. I never understood why I was named Katrin Sif, since I was born a brunette, but my hair is pretty shiny and I like corn, so I guess if I'm fertile enough, I and Sif could be friends.
This is, by no means, an exhaustive list, since many important gods and goddesses are missing, but I'm hoping my colleagues and specialists from the University of Iceland can help fill in the gaps. After studying these gods and goddesses all week, preparing for an Old Norse Religion exam, I can't seem to stop having dreams about folding sail boats, images of hairy, shiny pigs, hopes of racing an 8 legged horse, or fear of becoming a crazy cat lady with my own cat wagon when I get old. It´s a crazy life for the student of Norse mythology... and somehow I worry that I'm getting more stupid, not smarter, with the blurring boundaries of fiction and reality in my ´academic´ studies.
Who is your favourite Norse God or Goddess ?
기타 흥미로운 블로그
요쿨살론부터 비크까지, 꽃보다 청춘 5화
드디어 하늘씨과 쓰리스톤즈가 합류했는데요! 설원을 달리는 모습에 저도 아이슬란드가 엄청 그리워졌답니다. 빙하와 빛나는 요쿨살론 첫번째로 향한 요쿨살론(Jokulsarlon)은 아이슬란드의 대표적인 명소 중 하나랍니다. 영어로 Glacier lagoon 이라고도 하는데요. 방송에 나온 것처럼 눈 앞에 보이는 빙하는 빙하수가 흘러서 녹았다 얼었다를더 보기스코가포스 폭포부터 오로라까지, 꽃보다청춘 4화를 따라서
여행 5일째, 포스톤즈가 처음으로 향한 곳은 아이슬란드 남부에 있는 스코가포스 폭포(skogasfoss)입니다. 아이슬란드 남부의 대표적인 폭포 중 하나에요. 방송에서는 들르지 않았지만 스코가포스 거의 바로 옆에 위치한 셀리야란드스포스(seljalandsfoss) 폭포와 함께 같이 들르곤 한답니다. 스코가포스 폭포는 폭포의 물줄기 끝까지 올라갈 수 있단더 보기꽃청춘을 따라서
요즘 인기리에 방영되고 있는 꽃보다 청춘 아이슬란드편! 저도 매주 빼놓지 않고 시청하고 있습니다. 많은 분들께서 포스톤즈의 발랄한 매력과 아이슬란드의 놀라운 경치에 빠져드셨을 것 같습니다! 이번에는 꽃보다 청춘을 따라서 아이슬란드를 한번 가보도록 해요! 사실 아이슬란드가 한국에서 그렇게 가기 쉬운 나라는 아닙니다. 거리도 멀고 항공권도 비싸고! 우더 보기
아이슬란드 최대의 여행 마켓플레이스를 전화에 다운로드하여 전체 여행을 한 곳에서 관리하세요
전화 카메라로 이 QR 코드를 스캔하고 표시되는 링크를 누르면 아이슬란드 최대의 여행 마켓플레이스를 주머니에 넣을 수 있답니다. 다운로드 링크가 포함된 SMS 또는 이메일을 받으려면 전화번호 또는 이메일 주소를 추가하세요.