Like the Greek gods, the Norse gods and goddesses have all the characteristics of larger-than-life human beings. Unlike the Greek gods, however, they seldom interact with human beings. The world of Norse mythology includes two groups of gods, the Aesir (pronounced AY-sur) and the Vanir (pronounced VAH-nir), as well as giants, trolls, elves, dwarves, and heroic human warriors.
The Aesir The Aesir were gods of war and of the sky. Chief among them was Odin (pronounced OH-din), god of battle, wisdom, and poetry.
The Vikings regarded him as the ruler of the deities and the creator of humans. The mighty Thor, warrior god of thunder, ranked as the second most important Norse deity. Tiwaz (pronounced TEE-wahz)—an early Germanic sky god who became Tyr (pronounced TEER) in Norse mythology—appears in some accounts as a son of Odin. Balder (pronounced BAWL-der), also Odin’s son, was a gentle, beloved god. After his murder, he descended to the underworld, or land of the dead, to await return after a new world had been created. Loki (pronounced LOH-kee), a cunning trickster, sometimes helped the other gods, but more often caused trouble because of his spiteful, destructive nature. The sky goddess Frigg (pronounced FRIG) was Odin’s wife and the goddess of marriage, children, and households.
The Vanir The Vanir were associated with the earth, fertility, and prosperity. In the beginning, the Aesir and Vanir waged war against each other, perhaps reflecting an actual historical conflict between two cultures, tribes, or belief systems. Realizing that neither side could win, the two groups of gods made peace and together fought their common enemy, the giants. To ensure a lasting peace, some of the Vanir came to Asgard, the home of the Aesir, as hostages. Among them was Njord (pronounced NYORD), the patron of the sea and seafaring. His twin children, Freyr (pronounced FRAY) and Freyja (pronounced FRAY-uh), were the most important Vanir and represented love, sexuality, and fertility. The giants’ desire to capture Freyja was one cause of strife between the gods and the giants.
Other Mythological and Legendary Beings The supernatural beings who inhabited the Norse mythic world included elves, creatures related to humans; and dwarves, skilled crafts workers who made many of the finest treasures of gods and humans. The most powerful and dreaded mythological beings were the giants, huge beings associated with ice, snow, and paralyzing cold. They were descended from Ymir (pronounced EE-mir), the frost giant, who was killed by Odin and his brothers. Although the giants were generally enemies of the gods, many marriages took place between deities and giants. Both the mother and the wife of Freyr, for example, were giantesses.
Although human beings appear rarely in Norse myths about the gods, Norse literature is filled with legends of heroic warriors, kings, and ancestors. The most important is the Volsunga Saga, written around
1300. The Norse version of the German epic known as the Nibelungenlied (pronounced NEE-buh-loong-uhn-leet), it tells the story of Sigurd (pronounced SI-gurd), a hero who slays a dragon, acquires a magical ring, and awakens a sleeping beauty named Brunhilde (pronounced BROON-hilt). Like Beowulf, another Germanic hero, Sigurd triumphs over the forces of evil by slaying a monster.
World History
