Wheel of Topics #18

It feels like I haven't done one in a long time, but it wasn't easy to
find good information about this topic. By request from another fleet
member, I will tell you a few thing about Odin, the father god of
Asgard.

Odin was, before anything else, the god of immortality and timelessness,
making him the most powerfull god in the norse mythology. He was also a
god of war, death, knowledge, seid magic, poetry and runes(an old
scripture system, believed to be able to create magical effect). But
even him couldn't go against destiny, only the three Nornes, the
guardians of destiny, could do this. And the Nornes never changed the
destiny of no one. He was the most powerfull, but he never was
all-powerfull, even he had limits.

As a god of war, he had his home in the Valhala, the last home for the
warriors dead on the battlefield. Dyinng on the battlefield was the
only way to die with honor for norse warriors. Because of that, many
great warriors who survived long enough to get old couldn't stand to let
old age slow them. Even if they knew that their body would fail them
before their enemies blade could fell them, they prefered to go fight
than to stay behind and wait for death. To thanks Odin for the
possibility to live with him in the afterlife, some warriors dedicated
their life to war. Those warrior where known as the berzerker, fearless
and immune to pain.

Even if he was the god of knowledge, he didn't knew everything. The
norse believed that every day, new knowledges was created. To make sure
that most knowledge would be known by him, Odin would send his two
divine crows, Hugin(thought) and Munin(memory), to search all the
realms. At the end of the day, the crows would tell him everything they
have seen and heard during their travel around the realms. He was the
god of knowledge not because he knew everything, but because he was
willing learn everything that was known.

I hope this was good enough for you all. I know it's incomplete, but
his legends are numerous and don't always agree with each other. I may
make another WoT about him one day.

Grim the pirate (I wish I had his two crows, it would be so easy for me to do this)

ODIN

Also known as GANGLERI, ODINN, OTHINN, VAK, VALTAM

ODIN: The Norse Biggy. ODIN is Father of the Gods, King of ASGARD, Ruler of the AESIR and the Lord of War, Death and Knowledge.

To travel the world without being recognised, he wears a huge
wide-brimmed hat. He also — thanks to LOKI — rides an eight-legged horse
named SLEIPNIR into battle. All he needs is a six-shooter and a
sheriff's badge to be able to stand in for John Wayne in True Grit. His
biggest fans include the Berserkers, which should give you some idea.

He's also very hot on Knowledge and Military Intelligence, having two
ravens, Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory), who fly around the world
every day bringing up-to-date reports.

ODIN himself has only one eye, having traded the other one for a sip
from MIMIR's Well of Wisdom during his visit to the great World Tree
YGGDRASIL. Consequently he's full of knowledge, while his missing eye is
hidden in an unknown location care of MIMIR the Talking Head. The eye
enabled MIMIR to focus on far-distant events, allowing ODIN the ability
to always see far ahead.

To become the Top Wise Guy, ODIN put himself through some incredibly
rigorous ordeals. The Well of Wisdom lies under the second root of
YGGDRASIL, which allows the Dew of Knowledge to seep into it. So ODIN
stabbed himself with his own spear and hung himself on the tree for nine
days and nights. He was then allowed a peep, and saw magic runes appear
on rocks beneath him.

With a superhuman effort he struggled to lift them, which must have been
quite an acrobatic feat. Running his eye over the mystic symbols, he
was instantly freed of all encumbrances; restored and rejuvenated with
everlasting vigour enabling him to drop lightly to the ground.

His ordeal accomplished, ODIN was at last able to take a well-deserved
swig from MIMIR's well, making him well-wise as well as wise. It was
even tastier than his usual tipple Kvas, the Mead of Inspiration, a
special brew made from the blood of KVASIR.

If you think a wise one-eyed Norse cowboy on an eight-legged horse would
be easy to recognise, this ain't necessarily so for ODIN is a
shape-changer, and his range of disguises make Sherlock Holmes look like
Miss Marple. He also travels incognito under a variety of false names.

Sharing primeval God status with brothers VE and VILI, the Great ODIN
helped bring the world as we know it into being, so we can forgive his
little foibles. The legend tells that in the ice-laden wastes of
NIFLHEIM, he got into a rather catastophic snowball fight with YMIR, the
king of the FROST-GIANTS. The Abominable Snowgiant was slashed into
pieces and ODIN made the world from all the bits. He even found a use
for the eyebrows.

ODIN's dad is BOR, son of BURI, son of an ice cube. Married to FRIGG
(with the occasional Freya fling and flirtation with RIND), the family
firm includes BALDUR, HOD, HERMOTH, THOR and VIDAR.

Mr-C

The Norse Creation Myth
abstracted from The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson

Muspell
The first world to exist was Muspell, a place of light and heat whose
flames are so hot that those who are not native to that land cannot
endure it.

Surt sits at Muspell's border, guarding the land with a flaming sword.
At the end of the world he will vanquish all the gods and burn the whole
world with fire.

Ginnungagap and Niflheim
Beyond Muspell lay the great and yawning void named Ginnungagap, and beyond Ginnungagap lay the dark, cold realm of Niflheim.

Ice, frost, wind, rain and heavy cold emanated from Niflheim, meeting in
Ginnungagap the soft air, heat, light, and soft air from Muspell.

Ymir
Where heat and cold met appeared thawing drops, and this running fluid grew into a giant frost ogre named Ymir.

Frost ogres
Ymir slept, falling into a sweat. Under his left arm there grew a man
and a woman. And one of his legs begot a son with the other. This was
the beginning of the frost ogres.

Audhumla
Thawing frost then became a cow called Audhumla. Four rivers of milk ran from her teats, and she fed Ymir.

Buri, Bor, and Bestla
The cow licked salty ice blocks. After one day of licking, she freed a
man's hair from the ice. After two days, his head appeared. On the third
day the whole man was there. His name was Buri, and he was tall,
strong, and handsome.

Buri begot a son named Bor, and Bor married Bestla, the daughter of a giant.

Odin, Vili, and Vé
Bor and Bestla had three sons: Odin was the first, Vili the second, and Vé the third.

It is believed that Odin, in association with his brothers, is the ruler
of heaven and earth. He is the greatest and most famous of all men.

The death of Ymir
Odin, Vili, and Vé killed the giant Ymir.

When Ymir fell, there issued from his wounds such a flood of blood, that
all the frost ogres were drowned, except for the giant Bergelmir who
escaped with his wife by climbing onto a lur [a hollowed-out tree trunk
that could serve either as a boat or a coffin]. From them spring the
families of frost ogres.

Earth, trees, and mountains
The sons of Bor then carried Ymir to the middle of Ginnungagap and made
the world from him. From his blood they made the sea and the lakes; from
his flesh the earth; from his hair the trees; and from his bones the
mountains. They made rocks and pebbles from his teeth and jaws and those
bones that were broken.

Dwarfs
Maggots appeared in Ymir's flesh and came to life. By the decree of the
gods they acquired human understanding and the appearance of men,
although they lived in the earth and in rocks.

Sky, clouds, and stars
From Ymir's skull the sons of Bor made the sky and set it over the earth
with its four sides. Under each corner they put a dwarf, whose names
are East, West, North, and South.

The sons of Bor flung Ymir's brains into the air, and they became the clouds.

Then they took the sparks and burning embers that were flying about
after they had been blown out of Muspell, and placed them in the midst
of Ginnungagap to give light to heaven above and earth beneath. To the
stars they gave appointed places and paths.

The earth was surrounded by a deep sea. The sons of Bor gave lands near the sea to the families of giants for their settlements.

Midgard
To protect themselves from the hostile giants, the sons of Bor built for
themselves an inland stonghold, using Ymir's eyebrows. This stonghold
they named Midgard.

Ask and Embla
While walking along the sea shore the sons of Bor found two trees, and from them they created a man and a woman.

Odin gave the man and the woman spirit and life. Vili gave them
understanding and the power of movement. Vé gave them clothing and
names. The man was named Ask [Ash] and the woman Embla [Elm?]. From Ask
and Embla have sprung the races of men who lived in Midgard.

Asgard
In the middle of the world the sons of Bor built for themselves a
stronghold named Asgard, called Troy by later generations. The gods and
their kindred lived in Asgard, and many memorable events have happened
there.

In Asgard was a great hall named Hlidskjálf. Odin sat there on a high
seat. From there he could look out over the whole world and see what
everyone was doing. He understood everything that he saw.

Odin, Frigg, and the Æsir
Odin married Frigg, the daughter of Fjörgvin. From this family has come
all the kindred that inhabited ancient Asgard and those kingdoms that
belonged to it. Members of this family are called the Æsir, and they are
all divinities. This must be the reason why Odin is called All-Father.
He is the father of all the gods and men and of everything that he and
his power created.

Thor
The earth was Odin's daughter and his wife as well. By her he had his
first son, Thor. Might and strength were Thor's characteristics. By
these he dominates every living creature.

Bifröst
As all informed people know, the gods built a bridge from earth to
heaven called Bifröst. Some call it the rainbow. It has three colors and
is very strong, made with more skill and cunning than other structures.
But strong as it is, it will break when the sons of Muspell ride out
over it. The gods are not to blame that this structure will then break.
Bifröst is a good bridge, but there is nothing in this world that can be
relied on when the sons of Muspell are on the warpath.

Yggdrasil
The chief sanctuary of the gods is by the ash tree Yggdrasil. There they
hold their daily court. Yggdrasil is the best and greatest of all
trees. Its branches spread out over the whole world and reach up over
heaven.

Mr-C

Fenrir (or Fenris) is a gigantic and terrible monster in the shape of a
wolf. He is the eldest child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. The gods
learned of a prophecy which stated that the wolf and his family would
one day be responsible for the destruction of the world. They caught the
wolf and locked him in a cage. Only the god of war, Tyr, dared to feed
and take care of the wolf. When he was still a pup they had nothing to
fear, but when the gods saw one day how he had grown, they decided to
render him harmless. However, none of the gods had enough courage to
face the gigantic wolf. Instead, they tried to trick him. They said the
wolf was weak and could never break free when he was chained. Fenrir
accepted the challenge and let the gods chain him. Unfortunately, he was
so immensely strong that he managed to break the strongest fetters as
if they were cobwebs. After that, the gods saw only one alternative
left: a magic chain. They ordered the dwarves to make something so
strong that it could hold the wolf. The result was a soft, thin ribbon:
Gleipnir. It was incredibly strong, despite what its size and appearance
might suggest. The ribbon was fashioned of six strange elements: the
footstep of a cat; the roots of a mountain; a woman's beard; the breath
of fishes; the sinews of a bear; and a bird's spittle. The gods tried to
trick the wolf again, only this time Fenrir was less eager to show his
strength. He saw how thin the chain was, and said that was no pride in
breaking such a weak chain. Eventually, though, he agreed, thinking that
otherwise his strength and courage would be doubted. Suspecting
treachery however, he in turn asked the gods for a token of good will:
one of them had to put a hand between his jaws. The gods were not overly
eager to do this, knowing what they could expect. Finally, only Tyr
agreed, and the gods chained the wolf with Gleipnir. No matter how hard
Fenrir struggled, he could not break free from this thin ribbon. In
revenge, he bit off Tyr's hand. Being very pleased with themselves, the
gods carried Fenrir off and chained him to a rock (called Gioll) a mile
down into the earth. They put a sword between his jaws to prevent him
from biting. On the day of Ragnarok, Fenrir will break his chains and
join the giants in their battle against the gods. He will seek out Odin
and devour him. Vidar, Odin's son, will avenge his father by killing the
wolf.

*The above is from the Encyclopedia Mythica: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/f/fenrir.html

Mr-C

Ragnarok
by Micha F. Lindemans

Ragnarok ("Doom of the Gods",
also called Gotterdammerung, means the end of the cosmos in Norse
mythology. It will be preceded by Fimbulvetr, the winter of winters.
Three such winters will follow each other with no summers in between.
Conflicts and feuds will break out, even between families, and all
morality will disappear. This is the beginning of the end.

The wolf Skoll will finally devour the sun, and his brother Hati will
eat the moon, plunging the earth [into] darkness. The stars will vanish
from the sky. The cock Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden
cock Gullinkambi will crow to the gods. A third cock will raise the
dead.

The earth will shudder with earthquakes, and every bond and fetter will
burst, freeing the terrible wolf Fenrir. The sea will rear up because
Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, is twisting and writhing in fury as he
makes his way toward the land. With every breath, Jormungand will stain
the soil and the sky with his poison. The waves caused by the serpent's
emerging will set free the ship Naglfar, and with the giant Hymir as
their commander, the giants will sail towards the battlefield. From the
realm of the dead a second ship will set sail, and this ship carries the
inhabitants of hell, with Loki as their helmsman. The fire giants, led
by the giant Surt, will leave Muspell in the south to join against the
gods. Surt, carrying a sword that blazes like the sun itself, will
scorch the earth.

Meanwhile, Heimdall will sound his horn, calling the sons of Odin and
the heroes to the battlefield. From all the corners of the world, gods,
giants, dwarves, demons and elves will ride towards the huge plain of
Vigrid ("battle shaker"
where the last battle will be fought. Odin will engage Fenrir in
battle, and Thor will attack Jormungand. Thor will victorious, but the
serpent's poison will gradually kill the god of thunder. Surt will seek
out the swordless Freyr, who will quickly succumb to the giant. The
one-handed Tyr will fight the monstrous hound Garm and they will kill
each other. Loki and Heimdall, age-old enemies, will meet for a final
time, and neither will survive their encounter. The fight between Odin
and Fenrir will rage for a long time, but finally Fenrir will seize Odin
and swallow him. Odin's son Vidar will at once leap towards the wolf
and kill him with his bare hands, ripping the wolf's jaws apart.

Then Surt will fling fire in every direction. The nine worlds will burn,
and friends and foes alike will perish. The earth will sink into the
sea.

After the destruction, a new and idyllic world will arise from the sea
and will be filled with abundant supplies. Some of the gods will
survive, others will be reborn. Wickedness and misery will no longer
exist and gods and men will live happily together. The descendants of
Lif and Lifthrasir will inhabit this earth.

Ragnarök does not mean "Twilight of the Gods"; that phrase is the result
of a famous mistranslation. "Ragnarökr" or "Ragnarøkr" means "doom of
the powers" or "destruction of the powers" (where "powers" means "gods".

Mr-C

"I find no comfort in the shade
Under the branch of the Great Ash.
I remember the mist
of our ancient past.
As I speak to you in the present,
My ancient eyes
see the terrible future.

"Do you not see what I see?
Do you not hear
death approaching?

"The mournful cry of Giallr-horn
shall shatter the peace
And shake the foundation of heaven.

"Raise up your banner
And gather your noble company
from your great hall,
Father of the Slains.
For you shall go to your destiny.

"No knowledge can save you,
And no magic will save you.
For you will end up in Fenrir's belly,
While heaven and earth will burn
in Surt's unholy fire."

— Doom of Odin,
from the Book of Heroes.

Mr-C