Norse Mythology

## Major Gods

* Odin
	+ Is the ruler of the Aesir gods, and is god of wisdom, kings, runic writing, outlaws, magic, and many other things
	+ The Aesir are based in Asgard, but Odin was often found wondering outside of Asgard in his relentless pursuit of wisdom, which he gave his left eye for. He often wandered in the guise of a simple traveler
	+ His was known as Woden in many Germanic and Teutonic tribes, and its from the name Woden than Wednesday got it name (Woden's day)
	+ Was nicknamed the "All-father"
	+ Rode an eight-legged horse called Sleipner, and was often accompanied by ravens and wolves, he was also known as "Lord of Ravens"
	+ Early on Odin was primarily a war god, but over time developed into more a god who use cunning and magic to combat his foes
	+ He talked in riddles and poetry often, and could commune with beasts and transform into them as well. He could also commune with the dead and foresee the future.
	+ He is often depicted with a spear and staff. His spear was called Gungnir, which was crafted by the sons of Ivaldi
	+ Bestla was Odin's mother, she was a frost giant which made him part jotner
	+ His father was Borr, not much is known of him, but Borr's father Buri was the first god, who was licked free of salt rock by a cow
	+ Vili and Ve are his two brother, and the three were responsible for ending the rule of jotner when they slayed Ymir and many other giants
	+ Odin later married Frigg, and with her conceived Baldr, the fairest of Aesir gods
	+ Much of the geneology of Norse gods is unclear, but it is generally accepted that Thor was among his children, as well as Vidarr and Vali
	+ The earliest mentions of Odin are interestingly Roman, and they compared him to their own god Mercury
	+ In one creation story Odin, along with some other gods, imbued the lifeless husks of the first humans, Ask and Embla. Each offered different gifts, and Odin ultimately gave them their souls and enlightening spirits
	+ In the Aesir-Vanir War Odin played a large role. He lead the strong warrior-like Aesir against the magic-welding Vanir. The battle was ultimately a stalemate, but in the end Odin set himself up as king of the gods.
	+ Odin is unique in that he is both a warrior and a magician, making him a point of convergence for the Aesir and Vanir worlds
	+ It was prophesied that during Ragnarok, the wolf Fenrir would consume Odin
	+ Mimir the Wise was regularly in the company of Odin, but only his head, as it was severed during negotiations in the Aesir-Vanir War. Odin had reanimated his head, and Mimir would tell Odin many secrets about not only this life but the next
	+ Odin gave humanity the secrets of runes, which were not only used for typical writing but also had magical qualities as well.
	+ As part of the process of obtaining this power, Odin fasted for nine days, stuck himself with a spear, and hung himself from Yggdrasil, which helped him obtain knowledge of not just runes, but all magic in general
	+ Interestingly since the use of magic and seership was associated with women, many Norse found Odin to feminine for their tastes
* Thor
	+ Was god of lightning, thunder, and really of all masculine aspects of Norse life, which had him stand out in stark contrast to Odin and Loki, who utilized cunning and magic to achieve their goals
	+ Wielding Mjolnir as his weapon, he was considered the fiercest of Norse gods
	+ He was also very sexually active and impregnated many women, which had him associated with fertility to a degree
	+ Is one of the earliest gods mentioned in written records, with the Romans comparing him to Jupitar. He was also one of the most commonly mentioned, with his hammer Mjolnir being an extremely prevalent subject of many Norse carvings
	+ In Norse languages Thor meant "Thunder" and was the namesake for Thursday (Thor's day)
	+ He was often given the name "The terrible," "the one who rides alone," and "Braveheart."
	+ IN addition to Mjolnir, which translates to crusher, he also was associated with his magic belt, Megingjord, which increased his strength, and his magical gloves, Jarngreipr, which allowed him to weld his hammer
	+ He could resurrect the dead at times with Mjolnir, and often did this with the goats that pulled his chariot so he could have food when needed but still have means of transportation
	+ Had a house called the Bilskirnir in Asgard, which was said to have 540 rooms and was the largest structure ever built
	+ Swastikas were a fairly common occurrence in Norse art and carvings, and was likely a symbol of Mjolnir or Thor's lightning
	+ Thor's father is Odin,. and his mother the giantess Jord, who is a Norse personification of Earth, and thus can be compared to Gaia In Greek mythology, or Nut in Egyptian
	+ He had two sons, Magni and Modi
	+ He also had many half siblings though Odin's many relationships, with the most consistent half-brother of Thor through myths being Baldr
	+ Thor was usually depicted as having red hair and a large red beard
	+ Thor married Sif, a golden-haired goddess who was a goddess of faith, fertility', and the family
	+ Thor often battled with Jormungrandr, the world serpent, and it was prophesied that in Ragnarok he would kill the serpent, but die himself in the process
	+ Thor got Mjolnir through the antics of Loki. One day Loki cut off all of Sif's golden hair, and upon seeing Thor's fury and knowing he would die if he could not make amends promised he would get the dwarfs to craft her new hair. He went to Svartalfheim and had the sons of Ivaldi craft him new hair for Sif, as well as Gungnir for Odin. He then sought out Brokk and Sindri and taunted them a but, saying they could not craft anything better than what the Sons of Ivaldi had created. They then created many wonders, among them a golden-haird boar which was faster than any horse and could pass through any substance. But most important of these gifts was Mjolnir, which in addition to Sif's new hair Loki gifted to Thor, who was the only god strong enough to wield it.
	+ In one story Mjolnir was stolen by Thrym, king of the Jotner, who would only give it back if Freya married him. Heimdall then hatched a plan for Thor to cross-dress as Freya so as to infiltrate the giant's palace so he could get the hammer back.
	+ The plan worked, despite Thor's tremendous apatite almost giving him away, and when Thrym placed Mjolnir on Thor's lap to sanctify the marriage, Thor rose up and killed everyone at the wedding.
	+ Hunting trolls in the eastern lands was a favorite pastime of Thor's
	+ Other famous tales about Thor are his slayings of Hrunghir and Sleipnir, giants with him he had great battles.
	+ Many Scandinavian and Germanic cultures saw Thor as so important because they believed his lightning storms were the only thing keeping trolls and giants at bay.
* Loki
	+ Was a god of treachery, deception, and magic, who could shapeshift as well.
	+ He often got into disputes with other gods and got many into trouble, but often he would also get the gods out of many sticky situations with his clever plans
	+ Loki was one of the 4 primary Aesir gods, but was prophesied to side with the Jotnar come Ragnarok
	+ Loki really had no magic items of his own, but played a role in obtaining many of the other god's magical items such an Gungnir for Odin and Mjolnir for Thor
	+ His father was Farbauti, and giant, and his mother Laufey
	+ Loki was married to Sigyn, but through his mistress Angrboda begat Hel, Jormungrandr, and Fenrir.. With Sigyn he had a son named Nari.
	+ Loki also gave birth to Sleipner after he was impregnated by the stallion Svadilfari during distraction of his during an Aesir plot
	+ Loki was interestingly one of the later gods to appear in Norse mythology
	+ In one story all the gods were in the halls of Aegir, a sea god, and in the process of the drinking and festivities flyting occurred. During the flyting Loki insulted every god in attendance more of less, accusing them of being unfaithful, saying he himself was the cause of their unfaithfulness, and even called Thor a coward. But before they could unleash their wrath on him, he turned into a salmon and fled the palace.
	+ In the story of Sleipner, Loki played a pivotal role. In the story Sleipner told the gods he would build a mighty fortress for the gods if he could have Freya's hand, the sun, and the moon. The gods agreed, but only if he finished by the first day of summer. When that day came, Loki turned into a mare and distracted Sleipner's stallion Svadilfari (and accidentally got impregnated), which caused Sleipner not to meet the deadline and thus he could not obtain his reward. Sleipner flew into a rage because of this, but before he could do too much damage Thor showed up and killed him.
	+ In another story Freya had slept with large amount of dwarves in exchange for a beautiful necklace, the Brísingamen. Loki learned of this and upon telling Odin was commanded to obtain the necklace as proof. Loki did so in the form of a flea, biting Freya in her sleep to as to get her rolled over into a position where he could make off with it and present it to Odin.
	+ However Loki took his antics too far when he caused the death of Baldr. He had his death prophesied, so his mother Frigg made every living thing promise not to harm him, except the mistletoe as Frigg saw it pointless to ask such a thing from such a harmless plant. Thus Baldr was essentially indestructible, so all the gods had a fun time throwing different stuff at him and seeing it simply bounce off of him and leave him unscathed. Baldr however had a blind brother named Hodr, and during this game Loki gave him a spear made of Mistletoe. Hodr not knowing the harm it could do threw it at Baldr, which pierced his chest and killed him. As punishment Odin had a son named Vali, who gre up within a single day and killed Hodr everyday for his crime.
	+ For Loki's punishment he was bound to a rock with his own son Nari's entrails, and had a poisonous snake drip acidic venom all over his face and body. This was to occur until he was released for Ragnarok, and his bellowing cries were said to be the cause of earthquakes.
	+ In Ragnarok it was said Loki would side with the Jotnar and in the form of a seal battle Heimdall, a battle which would cause both to die
* Heimdall
	+ Also known as Heimdallr, his name means "shy cliffs"
	+ He is one of the Aesir gods, and is the guardian of the Bifrost and as a result Asgard itself
	+ Utilizes his horn, the Gjalarhorn, to infrom Asgardians of approaching danger
	+ Can see hundreds of miles, day or night, and has such a keen sense of hearing that he can even hear grass growing
	+ During Ragnarok he will face Loki, who will be in the form of a giant seal, and the two will mortally wound one another
	+ He is known as the "shining god" as he has the whitest skin of all gods
	+ He is said to have been born of Nine Mothers, and his father is generally stated to have been Odin though this is unclear to a degree
	+ He has a horse named Gulltopp (the horse with the golden mane)
	+ Is said to be the father of mankind, and that is was he who established the hierarchical system among humanity
* Freyja
	+ Was associated with love/sex, beauty, fertility, and precious processions such as jewelry and gold
	+ Is a wife of Odin, and essentially identical with Frigg. Odin was frequently absent in his searches for knowledge, and this would frequently send Freyja on quests to find him, where she would weep bitterly and cry crimson tears
	+ Was originally a Vanir, but following the war with the Aesir became an honorary Aesir after marrying Odin
	+ Is also heavily associated with seidr (magic) as most Vanir were, and it was she who first taught the art to humanity
	+ Was a rather unfaithful wife to Odin, and in one tale slept with a cave full of dwarves just to get a necklace. the Brísingamen.
	+ Ruled over Folkvangr, a realm of the dead for warriors, She took half of the warriors who died in battle, while Odin took the other half to Valhalla
	+ The sea god/giant Njord is said to be her father, and she has a twin brother named Freyr
	+ Rides around in a cat drawn carriage
* Forseti
	+ Translates to chairman, he settles disputes in his hall of gold and silver, known as Giltnir (glitter in Norse) and acted as a model lawspeaker for Norse men, which was the equivalent of a judge more or less
	+ Was a god of justice and reconciliation
	+ Is said to be a son of Baldr, but is only mentioned twice in Norse literature, so much remains unclear about him
* Skadi
	+ Wife of the giant Njord, and was hirself of Jottan
	+ Her father, the giant Thiazi, was killed by the Aesir so she took up arms to avenge his death
	+ The gods sought to appease her by allowing her to choose a husband among the Aesir, but only by their legs could she choose. She chose Njord, thinking her was Baldr. Their marriage did not work out, as Njord liked the sea and Skadi liked the mountains where her father's home was.
	+ She was a goddess of snowshoes, bowhunting, the winter, and mountains
	+ It is said that after her seperation from Njord, she married Odin
* Bragi
	+ A god of poetry and in conjunction skalds
	+ Bragi translates to poetry in Old Norse
	+ Sang and played the lyre in Odin's hall in Valhalla, entertaining the Einherjar and welcoming new ones into their midst
	+ Was not really worshipped, just known to be a skald in Valhalla
* Njord
	+ Was a sea Vanir god, but joined the Aesir along with Freyja and Freyr, he twin children
	+ Was also god over fishing, wind, and crop fertility to a degree
	+ Lived in Noatun and was once married to Skadi
	+ Due to the importance of sea-faring and fishing among the Norse, he was very widely worshipped
* Baldr
	+ Was said to be a son of Odin and Freyja, and was a god of purity, summer, and beauty
	+ Was killed by the treachery of Loki and by the unintentionally by the hand of his brother Hodr
	+ Is prophesied to rssurrect along with his brother Hodr after Ragnarok
	+ In other sources is depicted as a warlike god as well, but more representative of honorable battle
* Tyr
	+ Is a god of war and bravery
	+ Lost his hand to Fenrir after putting his right hand in his mouth to display his bravery and to show goodwill the Fenrir so the gods could trick and bind him
	+ Is the namesake of Tuesday (Tyr's day) and often associated with Mars in Roman mythology
	+ Is also a god of justice and the law, and was widely worshipped among the Norse in the early ages of the Norse
	+ The monstrous god Garmr will consume him during Ragnarok
* Hel
	+ Is a daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, and sister of Jogurmandr and Fenrir
	+ She had a monstrous pet dog named Garmr
	+ The name Hel translates to hidden
	+ Ruled over Helheim, which received those who died without accomplishing anything significant in their lives
	+ Is often depicted being a woman who is half decayed and half healthy
	+ Was more of a literary personification than a worshipped goddess
	+ Was depicted as being cold and indifferent to the concerns of others