Norse Mythology, main deities
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Norse Mythology is in many ways similar to Greek mythology. There is the same highly complicated family tree with the children born out of wedlock. There is the same slander and deceit that is generally only found in cheap soap-operas. The only real difference is the fact that Norse gods never actually interfered with the everyday lives of humans in the same way that the Greek ones did.
There are two sets of gods, the Aesir and the Vanir, and then there are the elves, dwarves, giants and (of course) humans.
The Aesir are the main gods, they were the gods of the sky and of power. Aesir lived in a land called Asgard. To get there you had to cross a rainbow bridge called Bifrost. In Asgard there was a huge hall called Vallhalla belongin to the cheif god Odin and all human warriors killed in battle would go there to feast and fight forever.
The Vanir were gods of the earth and often considered the more peaceful of the two. They lived in Vanaheim and were the gods of fertility, health, luck and wealth.
The Aesir refused to recognise the Vanir as true gods and this naturally made the Vanir rather angry.
The Aesir and Vanir waged war against each other for a long time. When they decided to make peace they exchanged hostages. The Aesir cheated the Vanir by sending them hostages that weren’t very valuable. The Vanir responded by cutting one of the hostages heads off and sending it by return post. Luckily the war didn’t start again.
Main deities
The leader of the the Aesir, is Odin1. He is one of the sons of the original men who first existed in the universe. In fact, it was Odin and his two brother, Villi and Ve that created the earth. Odin has a eight-legged horse called Sleipner.
Odin's son, Thor, is know as the thunder god. That is because he carried a hammer called Mjölnir that would always hit it’s mark. When it hit something thunder would roll and thereafter it would return to Thor's hand.
Other Aesir gods are:
Loki, the mischief maker and prankster
Frigg, the goddess of house, home and clouds. She is Odin’s wife.
Freja, goddess of fertility and her brother Frej2, god of horses, marriage and the weather necessary for good crops.
Tyr, god of warfare and justice. One of his hands has been bitten off by the giant wolf Fenrir3.
1Sometimes spelled Odhinn. He was also called All-father, the Hooded One and High One.2Strictly speaking he wasn’t born an Aesir but a Vanir though he lived in Asgard anyway3This btw is Loki’s son
