Saturday 10 December 2011

Gods and Goddesses in Norse Mythology

In celebration of Coral Moore's book, "Broods of Fenrir", and the fact that I recently finished Ali Cross's book, "Become", here are a few gods from Norse mythology. (In case you're wondering about my choice, Norse mythology features in both books :).)

  1. Odin - Chief god, and the most powerful in Asgard. The world was created by Odin and his two brothers. You can tell him in pictures, because he only has one eye (he traded the other for infinite wisdom - think I'd rather have the eye and a steep learning curve ;)).
  2. Frigg - Wife of Odin and queen of Asgard. Goddess of marriage and fertility. Her name means "beloved one".
  3. Thor - Thunder god, the god of storms. Son of Odin and Fjorgyn (Earth). Strongest of all the gods, and known to be ill-tempered. He owns a hammer, called Mjolnir, which can hit any target, and always returns to him.
  4. Freyja (also known as Freya) - Goddess of love, lust, beauty, sorcery, and death (busy girl!). Daughter of the sea god, Njord, and twin sister of Freyr.
  5. Loki - Trickster god. He was not an Aesir, but Odin took him in and made him his blood brother. Hence, why he lives on Asgard. Not to be trusted. Full of mischief, and heads towards evil as time goes on.

So, there you have it, and here endeth today's lesson in world mythology ;). What myths do you like reading about?

8 comments:

JO said...

I struggled to get to grips with Indian mythology when I was there. Then gave up - it seemed the only way was to run with the complexity of stories rather than to made sense of them! (Though I still wonder how Krishna managed to 'pleasure eight maidens at one time')

Cherie Reich said...

I love Norse mythology! *laughs* I think I would've been more like Odin and give up an eye for infinite wisdom. Plus, I love Runes, which he discovered while hanging from Yggdrasil.

Coral Moore said...

You know I love the Norse myths! I have a soft spot for Loki. In a lot of the stories he really doesn't come off as a bad sort, but the gods never do treat him fairly, despite Odin's insistence that they should.

LynNerdKelley said...

"think I'd rather have the eye and a steep learning curve" - Okay, that's hilarious! I have to agree with you on that one! I enjoy mythology, but I can't keep all the gods from different cultures sorted out.

C D Meetens said...

Jo: I'd be wondering that too ;).

Cherie: Ooh, I haven't read that myth. I'll have to look it up.

Coral: Yes, there is something about Loki that I like as well. As you say, he's never depicted as evil, exactly - more wanting to cause mischief (and I know some children like that ;)).

Lyn: Glad to make you laugh :D, and I'm pleased you agree. Yes, I sometimes get deities from the various myths mixed up too, but I do love mythology.

Nicole said...

Cool mythology lesson - thanks!

Anonymous said...

If you like Norse mythology, I recommend the KEEPERS OF THE HIDDEN WAYS series by Joel Rosenberg. He only wrote 3 books in the series before his passing this past June, but his other series are all fantastic.

C D Meetens said...

Nicole: You're welcome :).

Joshua: I'll look out that series. Thanks for the recommendation.

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