Norse mythical figures: Odin's brief introduction

Odin (Old Norwegian:? Inn) is the main god in Nordic mythology. Odin is described as an extremely wise one-eyed old man. He has the most diverse characteristics of all gods so far. He is not only a god summoned to prepare for war, but also a god of poetry, death, runes and magic.

He also exists in Germanic mythology in the form of Woden (Old English), Wodan (Old Frankish) and Wutan or Wuotan (Old Highland German). The origin of the modern English working day name "wew not dnesday" can be traced back to Walden Day, that is, W not dnesd in old English? G, still visible in the Dutch name woensdag.

As? Mr. Wang, a member of the family of the gods, helped create the world, lived in Asgard (the fortress and home of the gods), gathered the killed soldiers in Varhala (the temple of the murdered), but was finally compressed into being killed by the wolf Fenrir in the dusk of the gods, which was "the ultimate fate of the gods" and the world was destroyed.

function

Odin is an ancient and primitive character in Norse mythology, although he is like Jens Peter Shi Ji? Dt), many scholars think that his highest position in the sacred hierarchy may be a later supplement (2 19). Odin's role as "the father of all gods" or "the father of all gods" is more from the later literary theme-it seems to be called God by Christianity-than the actual reflection of his social status in the Viking era. Scardick's poems (in the Viking era, the poems in the pre-Christian era were mainly heard by the king and his entourage in court), such as Bader, Thor and Wali, who were named Odin's sons. Later, in the13rd century, the Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson added Heimdahl, T? R, Bragi, Vader and hoddle. By the way, although he married Frigga, many of these sons came from different mothers, and Odin appeared as a lecherous in many stories, even boasting about him, which is reminiscent (perhaps inspiring? ) from Zeus in Greek mythology.

Odin's main admirers mainly include elites-kings, chiefs and poets-but also soldiers.

More specifically, Odin's role as a god of war. Although he looked gray, he was never really portrayed as a soldier (on the contrary, it was the performance of Thor), but was called to provide advice and special gifts when preparing for war. Among the sources in the south and west of Germanic countries, it was Odin who decided whether the battle or a single soldier won or ended in a slightly less fortunate way. Odin has his Valkyria-a supernatural female warrior-who makes soldiers fight in the murdered body to his special warrior paradise, Wahala; These warriors, known as Ain Hejia, became Odin's striking force against the forces of the underworld in the twilight of the gods. Because of this, individual soldiers are also attracted by Odin's main admirers, otherwise they are mainly composed of elites: kings, chiefs and poets.

When he cleans up the battlefield for the recruits, it may leak, so Odin's connection with the war naturally flows to his connection with the dead. As the leader of the so-called wild hunting, Odin further illustrates this point-a widespread and ancient Germanic cult has taken the myth of an immortal legion. Through his understanding of runes and magic (sei? R) savvy, he is also a poet. Even when it comes to this skill, he is even considered to be the most skilled and knowledgeable of all gods. Odin mainly used magic to see the future. As Neil Price explained:

He [Odin] is described as being in a trance, leaving his body in the spirit of an animal and traveling abroad, with many illusions of wisdom due to various sufferings. (246)

This kind of divination is closely related to Odin's advisory role, and the rulers of the Viking era will be very interested. In addition, the nature of Odin's magic often makes him regarded as a shaman, and his function as a healing god further strengthens this aspect.

attribute

Odin can be identified by his hat and cloak, long beard and only one eye (reminiscent of Gandalf's last respect in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings). His spear is one of his main attributes, which seems to appear in Viking beliefs, as implied by the miniature spears found in southern and central Sweden.

Other attributes are the ring Draupnir, which drips water every nine nights to form eight new rings, and Masrepnir, which was mentioned in ancient Nordic literature a long time ago and separated by some effective eight legs. Similarly, Odin's two crows, Huginn ("thought") and Muninn ("wisdom"), are very old mythological elements, which were proved by their appearance on decorations and rune stones before 10 BC. In 800 ad. They flew around the world to collect news. When they came back, they sat on Odin's shoulders and whispered in his ear. Odin's prose "Ada" said:

Huginn and Muninn are hovering every day.

On the vast land;

I'm worried about Huginn if he doesn't come back,-

However, I am more concerned about Muning.

(Jill Fagin, 38)

Therefore, Odin is also known as the "God of Crows". If you have seen the battlefield after the action, you will know what Odin's crow and his role as a god of war have to do with the dead; The battlefield is not only a feast for crows, but also a feast for crows.

Other attributes are Valkyria-they may be represented by small female statues, sometimes holding wine horns to show their worship of Odin-and his wolves Gerry and Freiky. He may also be related to eagles and snakes, and his potential function as a shaman also means that the staff is also prominent.

The myth related to Odin

Consistent with our true understanding of Viking Nordic mythology, in our limited original materials, only three gods are dominant in more than one known myth; Odin is one of them, along with Thor and Loki. Most likely, we only have the skeleton of the stories of these gods, which were told and believed by the vikings before Christianity. Some of these bones are as follows:

Odin's profound knowledge comes from Mimi's head. Odin's head won't rot, so he can forward secret clues from the "other world".

Before the creation, Bree, the ancestor of the gods, appeared from the ice, and his son Bor and his giant daughter Bestla gave birth to Odin and his brothers (usually called Willie and VI). Then the two brothers killed the primitive giant Ymir, created the earth with his flesh, created the sky with his skull, created mountains with his bones, and created the ocean with his blood. With a real residence, they shaped the first human couple Ask and Embla with two trees or two pieces of wood.

Odin's profound knowledge is attributed to Mimi's mind (or because he drank water from a well in Mí mir). Mí mir is a wise consultant. Snorri Sturluson tells how Vanier (the family of the God of Fertility) cut off his head and gave it to Odin. Odin turned to magic and healing herbs to prevent his head from rotting, so that he could go from the "other world". According to Snorri, the price Odin paid for this was one of his eyes. His rich knowledge appears in other myths (from poetic Ada); At Vaf? rú？ In Ni * *×× l, Odin and the giant Vaf? rú？ Neil fought bravely and defeated him, but in Grimny, Odin in disguise was tortured and finally asked King Gallo? R showed his extensive knowledge of mythology.

In addition, Snorri explained that Odin's superb poetic skills were due to his relationship with Gunnar? I slept for three nights and stole the mead from Scalz. Because of this appeasement, he was allowed to take three sips, but he only took a few sips of the container gently, then turned into an eagle and left there with legs (well, wings). Also related to poetry, Odin also gained the knowledge of runes, which was attributed to self-sacrifice by Hawamar's poetry:

I know I'm hanging on a windy tree.

Nine long nights,

Wounded by a spear, dedicated to Odin,

I'm interested in myself,

On that tree, no one knows where its roots come from.

(Hawamar, 138)

His unremitting pursuit of knowledge is reflected in the benevolent King Asgard's efforts to untie runes (very intentionally-he sacrificed himself); Kuya fell from the branches of the world tree, and the gunshot wound brought him close to death. Only then did he see the rune.

At dusk, Odin's wisdom and strength were tested. Natural disasters, including the terrible winter, and Fenrir's swallowing of the sun all indicate the coming of the power of the underworld. Heimdahl sounded the alarm and asked Mí mir for advice. The gods crouched under the tree of the world and decided what to do. However, no matter how well prepared, once the battle broke out, Odin bravely faced Fenrir, but he was killed in the jaw of the creature and died with many of his fellow gods. They died from various enemies, but in the process, they also killed many people.

Odin worship

In the pre-Christian period, Odin's belief was so common in the whole Germanic region, and the similarity between Odin and the Indian god Varuna was so obvious that his origin could probably be traced back to the earliest period of the Indo-Germanic tradition. As early as the Bronze Age, Swedish rock carvings depicted statues holding spears. His imagination may have something to do with Odin. At least in 500 AD, he clearly appeared on a series of decorations with birds and soldiers. Stone reliefs from the Viking era continued this trend, depicting him riding a horse to Varhala and other things.

However, considering his later position in Nordic mythology, the actual tangible evidence of Odin's worship is very rare. The places named after Odin-a good indicator of cult customs and popularity-did not exist in Iceland at all and were very rare in southern Norway, although they appeared in southern Sweden and Denmark. In contrast, Thor stole the limelight and stood out more than his father in the cult background. Fortunately, Rudolf Simek has a way to ease our confusion:

In fact, from their own point of view, literary sources seem to think that he has such a high status, because there is no doubt that Odin is the god of poetry (and poets), and our source, either directly or indirectly-through the systematic snor ri-spounders, has not surprisingly shown a special preference for his own craft god from pagan times. (243)

Therefore, Odin is not so much the benevolent king of Asgard in Nordic and Germanic mythology, but rather respected in a specific environment and specific individuals, mainly poets, warriors, chiefs and kings. For example, terrible human sacrifices are often offered to Odin. Otherwise, in Viking belief, he was just a member of a gang. The ancient pagan temple in Uppsala, Sweden also clearly illustrates this point. In A.D. 1070, Adam of Bremen wrote down the record of his visit here. In the center of the hall, a statue of Thor stands conspicuously, next to Odin and Frey, who sacrificed to Thor during the famine and held wedding-related activities with Fulcher during the war.