Biography on a Historical Person of the Ancient/Medieval World: Odin

Introduction

Odin is the ruler of Asgard and a major god in Norse mythology. Norse mythology is a collective myth of the Scandinavians (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland). The main sources for Norse mythology are the Icelandic Eddas. The shaping of Norse mythology itself took place in Germanic Europe, including those elements of the myths which were current in Scandinavia in the millennium before that. Norse mythology started during the Viking times about the years of 750 AD to 1050 AD. Viking means sudden raider, which was the way the Vikings acted. Bravery in the face of a cruel and ruthless fate is one of the main themes of Norse mythology. In Norse mythology, even the gods were ruled by an irreversible fate that doomed everything to eventual devastation. But they also believe that gods could be killed. The Norse people valued courage, bravery, honor and strength as traits for the Norse gods regarded as the only true life after death. From these myths, Odin became the most powerful of all the Norse gods and he also ruled Valhalla.

Odin Biography

The Aesir were gods of war and of the sky. Chief among them was Odin, god of wisdom, poetry and battle who was regarded by the Vikings as the ruler of the deities and the creator of humans. There were other gods of Norse mythology most were the sons of Odin and his wife Frigga. The most famous god was Thor the god of thunder. Balder, who was the eldest son of Odin, was the wise and merciful and the most beloved by all people. Tyr, Odin' son, was the good who gave victory in battle. Njord was the god of the sea. Frey was the god o harvest and fertility (Colum, pp. 2).

Odin was the son of giants Bor and Bestla. Odin had two other brothers' names Ve and Vili. The three brothers created the universe and then they created man and woman. Odin was popular with the noble class and warriors. It does seem that the working class and the peasants did not like Odin. The working class and the peasants thought that Odin was not trustworthy and would break his oaths at times. Odin liked to walk on Earth as a mortal man

Odin was known as the All-Father, or Chief Sky God. He is also known as the Chief of all gods and he ruled Asgard. Odin has the name as the god of battle, death, knowledge, poetry, and wisdom. Odin's name means fury and excitation. Because he hang once he was also called hanga. In Germany Odin was called Woden, from this name comes the word Wednesday.

Odin was married to Frigg and had many sons with her. “Frigg and Odin were thought of as the most perfect examples of Norse beauty and strength (Shepherd, pp.71). He had other sons with two other giant women. When he roamed as a mortal man had mortal sons. Many of these sons were set ...