God Balder in Scandinavian mythology was also called Balder, which in translation meant "master". Agriculture was considered his sphere of patronage, however, like the whole plant world. The pagans worshiped the god Baldur as the deity of spring, the rebirth of nature after hibernation and all light in general.
Who is Balder?
Ancient legends claim that he was so pure in soul, thoughts and deeds that a golden radiance emanated from his body and face. His forehead, white as snow, was framed by curls the color of the sun. Eyelashes and eyebrows are also said to have been golden, which makes it possible to understand that this god was a natural blond, unlike his other brothers. In the entire divine pantheon, only Balder was loved by the gods unconditionally - all without exception (except perhaps the envious Loki), knowing how pure his soul was.
They say that the ancient Germanic name of the chamomile flower is translated as "Baldr's forehead". After all, this flower is just as bright and innocent. This god was well versed in the secret of the ancient runes that were inscribed with himon the tongue, as well as the art of healing with herbs and plants. The ability to use ancient runes revealed many secrets to Baldr, except for one: he could not know his future, which played a cruel joke on him.
According to some legends, it is the death of Balder that will be the beginning of Ragnarok - the death of all the gods after an all-out battle between the gods and the forces of nature, when the usual way of life is destroyed. At the same time, it is mentioned that after such a judgment day, Balder will nevertheless be reborn to life, which will be a sign of the beginning of a new world.
Pedigree
His parents were the highest gods from the Scandinavian epic: Frigg and Odin - the god of war. Baldr also had a twin brother Hed, but he was completely different from him. The complete opposite of his radiant brother, Head was blind from birth, silent and dark in face - apparently, that's why he began to command the forces of winter and darkness. In addition to the gloomy twin brother, the god of spring had six more brothers, the great Thor among them.
Family
The wife of the god Baldr in Scandinavian mythology was the beautiful Nanna, the goddess of warmth and fertility. Together with their bright husband, they brought happiness, prosperity and prosperity to everyone around.
This divine couple had a son, Forseti, the god of justice, who became famous for his wisdom not only among ordinary people, but also among the higher gods. Absolutely everyone listened to his opinion without exception. According to some sources, the couple also had a daughter, Nip, but historians do not yet have a unanimous opinion on this matter.
The most famous tale aboutBaldre
As the ancient mythology says, the god Balder was invulnerable: not a single object, material or type of influence could cause him physical wounds due to the fact that his mother - Frigga - took an oath promise from all existing things that no one dare not harm her sun-faced son.
Why did she do that? Because her son began to have strange dreams foreshadowing his death, but since he had no way to know how this would happen (after all, he could foresee anything but his future), Frigga had to resort to such an unusual method.
Balder's newfound invulnerability became a general entertainment among his brothers and other gods of Scandinavia, everyone stabbed him with different types of weapons, objects, set animals, crushed stones, but nothing could harm him. And only the envious and omnipresent Loki found a weak point: the goddess Fregg did not notice the newly sprouted mistletoe sprout, so he was not bound by a promise.
Filled with hatred for the favorite of the gods, he pulled out a sprout and went with Hedu, who, due to his blindness, did not participate in the mock battle. The cunning Loki began to incite the blind man by the fact that he did not even try, and, putting a mistletoe sprout in his hand, turned it towards the god of spring. The naive Head threw the sprout like a spear and pierced the heart of his brother, who immediately fell dead.
How did it all end?
The horror of all those present knew no bounds, since only death on the battlefield at the hands of the enemy made it possible for the warrior to enter magical Valhalla, wherehe would wait for Ragnarok. But the way the god Balder died, heralded that he would have to stay until rebirth in the underworld of the dead.
Of course, this state of affairs was unworthy of the fair-haired god and did not suit the entire divine pantheon, so a messenger was sent to the goddess of the underworld with a request to release the deceived god.
Long negotiations led to the fact that the only condition was set: absolutely the whole world must mourn Balder - then he will be released and returned home. Naturally, everyone's favorite moon-faced god was mourned by all people, higher and lower deities, but the insidious Loki took on the appearance of a disgusting giantess who did not shed a single tear. Because of this, the agreement was not fulfilled, and Baldur had to stay in the underworld.
In the end, the situation cleared up, it was found out whose hands this was, and a real hunt began for Loki. Of course, he was caught and chained to a rock, hanging over his face a poisonous snake, from whose mouth poison constantly flowed and caused unbearable suffering to the god of deceit. Such was his retribution for the villainy he had caused.
Analogues in other religions
Many researchers of mythology from different countries believe that the Scandinavian god Baldr is similar in appearance and some aspects of his biography to such personalities:
- Adonis from Greek myths was also the standard of beauty, who ruled the plant world and periodically died and was reborn, like all seasonal deities,symbolizing the change of seasons.
- The same analogue, but in Slavic paganism - this is the god of the sun Yarilo.
- Yudhishthira from the Indian epic "Mahabharata", who also died by accident from a blind relative, and in his story there are also many parallels with the myth of the Scandinavian gods Baldre, Heda and Loki.
Scandinavian chronicles contain many more stories related to the gods, their deeds and deceit, but the story of twin brothers trapped in a dishonorable act is a symbol of the fact that truth will always prevail and the guilty will be punished.
