Scandinavia is traditionally referred to as vast territories located in the north of Europe, and including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, as well as a number of islands closest to them. The historical features of their development gave rise to a peculiar culture, one of the facets of which was myth-making, the characters of which, in turn, were the original and inimitable gods of Scandinavia. Fearless and daring, they were somewhat akin to the Vikings themselves.
Where did they come from in our world?
The gods of Norse mythology, the list of which contains the names of characters less known than their ancient Egyptian and Greek counterparts, are part of the culture of the ancient Germanic tribes. Information about them has come down to our days mainly in the texts of two monuments of medieval literature. This is the "Elder Edda" - a collection of poetry containing Old Norse songs, as well as the "Younger Edda" - the creation of the 12th-century Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson.
In addition, a number of myths became known from the work of the medieval Danish chronicler Saxo Grammar, which he called "ActsDanes." It is curious that one of his stories formed the basis of Shakespeare's Hamlet, written four centuries later.
When referring to the plots of any myths, regardless of whether they were born in Scandinavia, Greece or Egypt, it should be noted that over the centuries they have been repeatedly edited, which today inevitably leads to many discrepancies and contradictions that have crept into them. Therefore, one should not be surprised when the same events, and even the gods of Scandinavia themselves, are described differently in different sources.
Scandinavian origin of the world
The picture of the birth of the world, presented in it, is colored with the unusual originality of Scandinavian mythology. According to the ancient epic, it all began with a huge black abyss, on one side of which was the kingdom of ice - Niflheim, and on the other side of fire - Muspellheim.
12 streams originated from the realm of ice, which immediately froze, but since they beat incessantly, the blocks of ice gradually approached the realm of fire. When these two elements became very close, from the sheaves of sparks mixed with ice chips, the giant Ymir and the same size cow named Audumla were born.
The following describes absolutely incredible events. According to the Elder Edda, once the giant Ymir sweated a lot, which is not surprising, because there was a kingdom of fire nearby, and two giants appeared from his sweat - a man and a woman. It doesn't matter where it goes, but then it says that one of his legs conceived from the other and gave birth to a son. Since it is difficult to imagine, let us takeon faith without going into details.
As for the cow Audumla, she also plays a very important role in Scandinavian myths. First, she fed Ymir and those who descended from him in such a miraculous way with her milk. She herself ate by licking s alt from stones. Secondly, from the warmth of her tongue, another giant was born, named Storm. Thus, its first inhabitants appeared on earth, from which the gods of Scandinavia were then born, and even later people.
Ases, Vanir and other mythical characters
It is known that all the Scandinavian gods and goddesses were divided into several groups, the main among which were aces, led by their leader named Odin. Their life was by no means easy and cloudless, because they constantly had to come into conflict with other representatives of the Old Norse pantheon.
Most of all, they were given the most trouble by the Vans - a group of fertility gods that claimed to own the world, but also got it from the giants-jotuns, as well as from the dwarfs-zwergs. And absolutely mercilessly spoiled the blood of the aces female deities - diss, norns and valkyries.
One of the main plots of Scandinavian mythology is the war between the Aesir and the Vanir. It began with the fact that the Vanir, offended by the fact that people in their songs glorified not them, but the Aesir, sent the evil sorceress Gulveig to them in the world (it was called Midgard). Since it was made of gold, then, according to the calculations of the Vanir, its appearance should have spoiled the morals of people, sowing greed and greed in their souls. The Æsir prevented this and killed the witch. From thisa war broke out in which the gods of Scandinavia tried to resolve the issue of primacy by force. Since neither side could prevail, a peace was eventually concluded between them, sealed by an exchange of hostages.
The Supreme God of the Aesir
The leader and father of the Ases was the supreme god Odin. In Scandinavian mythology, it corresponds to a number of characteristics. He is presented as a priest-king, a rune shaman, a sorcerer prince, and, in addition, a Scandinavian god of war and victory. God Odin was revered as the patron of the military aristocracy and the conqueror of the Valkyries (they will be discussed below). He is in charge of Valhalla - the heavenly chamber, where the fallen warrior heroes whiled away eternity in heavenly bliss.
Odin was depicted as a one-eyed, but full of vital energy old man. He once gave his missing eye to the giant Mimir so that he would allow him to drink water from the source of wisdom guarded by him. A commendable craving for knowledge, in general, was characteristic of Odin. For example, once, in order to comprehend the power contained in the ancient runes - ancient Germanic writings, he agreed to sacrifice himself and hang for 9 days, nailed to a tree with his own spear.
Among other qualities of Odin, the ability to reincarnate is especially emphasized in myths. He usually roams the earth in the form of an old man, dressed in a blue cloak and a felt hat. His constant companions are two wolves or crows. But sometimes Odin can turn into a poor wanderer or an ugly dwarf. In any case, woe to the one who, having violated the laws of hospitality,will close the doors of her house in front of him.
Sons of Odin
The son of Odin was the god Heimdall, who was considered the guardian of the world tree of life. He was usually depicted as a warrior blowing a golden horn. According to legend, this is how he will have to announce the approaching end of the world, and gather all the gods for the last battle with the forces of darkness. Heimdall lives in a fabulous house called Himinbjorg, which means "heavenly mountains". It is located near the bridge connecting heaven and earth.
Another son of Odin is also widely known - the one-armed god Tyr, who was the embodiment of military prowess. He lost his arm, however, not on the battlefield. The poor fellow got his mutilation while trying to chain a giant wolf named Fenrir with a magic chain. Once upon a time, this monster, still a harmless puppy, was taken by the Aesir to their country Asgard. Over time, the wolf cub grew up, turning into a strong and aggressive monster, terrifying others.
No matter how the gods tried to shackle him, every time he easily tore the shackles. Finally, the elves came to the rescue, forging a magic chain from the noise of cat steps, bird saliva, fish breath and mountain roots. It only remained to throw it on the wolf. To convince the beast of the absence of bad intentions, the god Tyr put his own hand into his mouth, which was bitten off as soon as Fenrir realized that he had fallen for a trick. Since then, the god of martial prowess has slain his enemies with only one remaining hand.
God tormented by bad dreams
It should be noted that the god of spring Balder the Beautiful - as everyone called him for his extraordinary beauty, was also the son ofOdin, who was born to him by the supreme goddess of the Ases Frigga. The legend tells that once he shared with his mother that he began to see bad dreams often. To protect her son, Frigga took an oath from water, fire, swearing metals, trees, stones, poisons, diseases, animals and birds that they would not harm him. As a result, the god of spring became invulnerable.
Knowing this, the other gods threw stones, spears and arrows at him for fun, which greatly annoyed Baldur. And then one day their evil jokes ended very badly. The god of cunning, Loki, deceived Frigga that she had not taken an oath from the mistletoe, a shrub that had barely emerged from the ground at that time.
Taking advantage of her slip, the insidious Loki plucked a branch of this plant, and, putting it into the hand of the god of fate Hyoda, blind by nature, forced him to throw it at Baldr, who was passing nearby. A sharp rod pierced the beautiful young man and he died, becoming the prey of the kingdom of the dead and its terrible ruler, the sorceress Hel.
Next to the supreme god of the Ases, another popular mythical character is often depicted - Hermod the Brave. He was Odin's envoy to the land of the dead, where he had to redeem his son, the god of spring, Balder, from its ruler. This good intention brought fame to Hermod, despite the fact that the mission itself failed as a result of the next intrigues of the same god of cunning and deceit Loki.
Competition at Utgard Castle
It should be noted that the tricks of this rogue and deceiver often discredit the name of his namesake - quite respectable and respectedace Utgard Loki, who became famous for the fact that very unusual competitions were once organized in his ancestral castle Utgard. The Younger Edda tells about them. It tells, in particular, how one of his guests, the god of thunder and storm Thor, in the heat of sports passion, fought with the evil old woman Ellie, who embodied old age, and his friend Loki, the same god-deceiver, competed in gluttony with fire itself..
The culmination of all was the attempt of the local peasant Tialfi to get ahead of the speed of running the thought of the owner of the castle. And although neither the god of thunder nor his friends achieved success, the holiday was a success. Many songs were written about him. The impression was not even spoiled by the fact that both the fire and the old woman Elli, and the owner of Utgard Loki himself pretty much cheated, thanks to which they won.
Female deities of the ancient Scandinavians
The most directly related to Odin are the Valkyries, whose master (and according to some sources, his father) he was. According to Scandinavian myths, these warrior maidens, sitting on flying horses, hovered invisibly over the battlefields. Sent by Odin, they picked up the dead warriors from the earth, and then carried them to the heavenly chamber of Valhalla. There they served them, spreading honey at the tables. Sometimes the Valkyries also received the right to decide the outcome of battles, and the warriors they liked the most (killed, of course) to make their beloved.
In addition to the Valkyries, the female part of the pantheon was also represented by the norns - three sorceresses endowed with the gift of clairvoyance. They were able to easilypredict the fate of not only people and gods, but the whole world as a whole. These sorceresses lived in the country of Midgard, inhabited by people. Their main duty was to water the world tree Yggdrasil, on the well-being of which the longevity of mankind depended.
Another group of supernatural inhabitants of the ancient world was the Dises. Obeying the changeability of female nature, they were either guardians of people, or forces hostile to them. Among the monuments of ancient German culture, of which, as mentioned above, Scandinavian mythology is a part, there are texts of spells in which the power to restrain the onslaught of enemy troops and decide the outcome of battles is attributed to the dises.
Golden-haired goddess
In addition to the representatives of the female part of the pantheon, which was discussed above, the goddess Sif, who was the wife of the god of storms and thunder Thor, also deserves attention. As the patroness of fertility, this lady, second in beauty only to the goddess of love Freya, gained fame for her extraordinary golden hair, the history of which deserves special attention.
Sif's beauty once made Loki, the god of deceit, jealous of her husband Thor. Having seized the moment when he was not at home, Loki crept into the bedchamber to his sleeping wife and …, no, no, don't think anything - he just cut her head off. However, the despair of the poor thing had no end, and the enraged husband was ready to kill the wretch, but he vowed to rectify the situation.
For this purpose, Loki went to the blacksmiths-gnomes who lived in a fairy-tale land, and told them about what had happened. Those with joyvolunteered to help by demonstrating their skills. The dwarves forged Sif's hair from pure gold, making it unusually long, thin and fluffy, with the ability to immediately grow to the head and look like real ones. So the goddess Sif became the owner of golden hair.
Gods - Lords of the Seas
Another prominent representative of the Scandinavian pantheon is the lord of the seas Aegir. It is generally accepted that Aegir personifies, first of all, a calm and serene sea, as evidenced by its character. He is a hospitable host, willingly hosting guests, and then visiting them at home. The Lord of the Seas is always peaceful, and never participates in disputes, and even more so in wars. However, the ancient expression “to fall into the teeth of Aegir”, which means to drown, suggests that moments of anger are sometimes characteristic of him.
It should be noted that a number of sources name another Scandinavian god, Njord, as the ruler of the seas, and he is credited with a quiet and friendly disposition, while Aegir is depicted as a disturber of the sea and the creator of storms, to subdue which, and save those in distress the ships belong to Njord. You should not be surprised, as this is just one example of the discrepancies that have arisen in the Scandinavian epic over the past centuries.
The blacksmith who made the wings
The Scandinavian pantheon also had its own blacksmith god named Velund. This hard worker is a character in the epic of almost all German peoples. His fate was difficult and dramatic in its own way. Being one ofthree sons of the Finnish king (supreme ruler), he, nevertheless, lived by the labor of his own hands. In family life, the guy was clearly unlucky. Beloved wife Herver - a maiden, sometimes taking the form of a swan, left him, leaving behind only a wedding ring. In separation anxiety, Wayland forged 700 duplicates of him.
But his misadventures did not end there. Once, during a dream, the blacksmith god was captured by the Swedish king Nidud. The villain not only deprived the master of freedom, but also crippled him, leaving him lame for life. Imprisoning Velund in a dungeon, the king forced him to work day and night, forging weapons for himself, and precious jewelry for his wife and daughter. It was only by chance and his own cunning that the prisoner managed to regain his freedom.
The legend tells that once in the dungeon the sons of Nidud came to Velund, who, like their father, wanted to have swords made by him. Taking advantage of the moment, the blacksmith killed them, then made goblets from the skulls, which he sent to their father, and jewels from the eyes for the queen, and brooches for the princess from the teeth. To top it off, he lured an unsuspecting girl to him, raped her. Having thus avenged himself, quite pleased with himself, the blacksmith god flew away on wings of his own making.
New times - new characters
With the spread of Christianity in the Scandinavian countries, all the former mythical deities underwent a certain transformation, taking on the appearance of saints, or, in general, disappeared. Changed beyond recognition and Velund, turning from a divine character into a demonic one. Relatedit is, first of all, with his profession. It is known that in ancient times blacksmiths were treated with a certain amount of suspicion, attributing to them a connection with evil spirits.
It is not surprising after that that Goethe, having somewhat changed this name, gave it to his hero Mephistopheles in one of the scenes of the tragedy "Faust", who introduced himself as Woland. Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov borrowed the find from the brilliant German, immortalizing it in The Master and Margarita, and giving the former Velund a new life in the guise of a professor of black magic Woland.
A small list of Scandinavian gods that were not included in our review:
- Braga is the son of Odin.
- Vidar is the deity of war.
- Khenir is Odin's brother.
- Forseti is the son of Baldr.
- Fulla - the goddess of abundance.
- Eir is the goddess of healing.
- Lovn is the goddess of mercy.
- Ver is the goddess of knowledge.
- Jord is the goddess of the earth.
- Skadi is the patroness of hunting.
- Ull is the god of hunting.
