Every society needs a reason for existence. Every society needs to be able to believe that they are special and there is a reason why we were placed here. The world is so big and complex that people can not have all the answers. The Vikings even though they are considered primitive and violent need to believe this too. Their mythology explains my things about them as a society. Their creation story and explanation of their cosmos is like the Greeks in some areas, but in others it is solely Norwegian. The Viking mythology is complex and difficult to understand in an overall. The names are long and difficult; characters bounce between various worlds on the world tree; and the stories are sometimes difficult to follow.

In the Beginning:

There was no heaven, nor earth below, just nothingness with a deep, deep pit. At the bottom of this pit, was a fountain that pushed water as high as possible. The further from the source, the colder the water became causing the water to melt. Closer to the source, the mist from the fountain made their own world. South of this world was another region, the world of light. The light eventually melted the ice causing vapors. These vapors made clouds, from these clouds a frost giant was formed going by the name of Ymir. Ymir had a friend from the mists, a huge cow.

The cow licked the ice and in time a human hair was found. The cow continued to lick the ice and the next new item to materialize was a human head. By the third day a full human body was licked out of the ice. This full human was a woman. Ymir and this woman were married and they had three children. Their names were Odin, Villi, and Ve.

Ymir was not a good god, but not fully evil. The three children killed Ymir and used his body to create parts of what is called Midgard. Midgard is earth, the realm of the humans. The specifically used body parts were:

Odin was in charge of the seasons, night, and day. Odin placed the sun, moon, and stars in the sky. All three brothers were involved in the creation of mankind. Man was created out of an Ash tree and woman is made out of alder. Their names are Aske and Embla. The three brothers each gave man and woman specific gifts. Odin gave them a life and soul; Villi gave them reason and motion; and Ve, senses, features, and speech.

The tree in the chest of the body of Ymir supported the entire universe. This tree had three roots: One went to Asgard (the dwelling of the gods), Jotunheim (the dwelling of the giants), and Niffleheim (the regions of cold and darkness).

Asgard is cared for by three goddesses; Urdur (past), Verdandi (present), and Skuld (future). They are the three sisters of fate of the Vikings. Greece has similar women. The only way to get to Asgard is by a rainbow bridge which is guarded.

The palaces of Asgard are beautiful and huge. The largest of these is Valhalla, Odins palace. The only way to enter Valhalla is to die in battle. No exceptions. The reasons why Odin only lets in warriors is because he is preparing for the end of the world. This will be discussed later. These fallen warriors are the best of the best. It is truly a man's paradise. Everyday these warriors eat as much as they want, drink as much as they want, and fight as much as they want. The greatest thing is that the very next day they are not fat, they are not hung over, and if they lost a limb it is back.

The Valkyrie who were the choosers of the slain were three women that would bring the slain warriors to Valhalla. When the northern lights were seen, it meant that the Valerie were finding and bringing another warrior to Valhalla.

There are two types of families in Norse mythology: the Vanir and Aesir. The Vanir are the ancient group of fertility, peace, and plenty. The two most important were Frey and his sister Freya. The other Aesir are the gods that do everything else. Basically, they are the muscle.

The End of the World: Ragnarok

The end of the world is not going to be nice, but really in every society it is not a party time. It is when all things crumble. The Viking version is no different. The Norse describe this time as a time of darkness and cold; brothers and sisters will fight each other, awful crimes will be committed, disease will run wild, disloyalty, famine, the seas will swallow the land, and the gods will fight the giants. The god Heimdall, who is the watcher of Asgard will sound an enormous horn notifying Odin of the coming of the giants. This horn will be heard all over the world.

Meet the Gods:

The gods; Odin, Thor, and Frey were worshipped more than any other gods.

Odin:

The god of war and death. He is always looking for wisdom so he knows when the end of the world will occur. The depths of his desire for knowledge are immeasurable. Odin hung from the world tree while being pierced by his own spear. Why would someone want to hang from their tree while being poked?? Pain comes with a price. Another price he paid was one of his eyes. The price to drink at the well of wisdom was one of his eyes.

Odin had three major possessions that he could be identified with. He owned a spear that would never miss its target. He possessed a ring that would grow every ninth night. Lastly, he owned an eight legged horse named Sleipnir.

Odin had two sets of animals that wo uld do his bidding. Two ravens named Hugin and Memnon. They are known as thought and memory. It is said that these two ravens would leave Valhalla every day listening and seeing everything in the world. They would then report to Odin every night. Odin also had two wolves that would protect him. However in the end, he is killed on judgment day by Fenrir.

Fenrir is the child of Loki. It was predicted that this animal would kill Odin on judgment day. The other gods would try ways of imprisoning Fenrir. The consensus was to bind his muzzle. Everything they tried he broke. He then made a magical string that was paper thin. Fenrir knew they were up to something and only agreed to let them try if someone would place their hand in his mouth. If it was a trick, he would bit their arm off. It was a trick and the god Tyre lost his arm.

Thor:

The god of thunder, son of Odin. He is a large powerful man, he is the largest enemy of the giants, and the hero to the humans and the gods. Unlike his father Odin, Thor does not need sacrifices, just prayer. Just like Odin, Thor had three possessions that were only his. He had a hammer that always comes back. A belt that will double his strength. He also has iron gloves that are needed to throw his hammer. On judgment day he will kill the evil snake Jormundagand who in turn kills him.

Loki:

Truly evil by nature. He is crafty and cruel. He becomes more evil as he gets older. So, at one time he was capable of good deeds, but this was in the past long, long ago. He is now an enemy of the gods, but is under their spell from earlier in his life. On judgment day he will break his chains and start the chain of events. How is it that he is imprisoned?

Balder the god of light, joy, beauty, innocence, and reconciliation. He is not a fighter, and is friend of humans and gods alike. He is most famous for his death. For a long time he was dreaming about his death. He feared he would meet a horrible end. He tells his mother Frigg about this, and as a good mother, she tries to help her son.

Frigg went to all living creatures and had them promise never to harm her son Balder. Loki saw this as a challenge and disguised himself as an old woman and started talking to Frigg. Frigg accidentally confessed that she overlooked one living creature, the mistletoe. Loki then went to the mistletoe and retrieved a thorn from the mistletoe.

As entertainment in Valhalla the gods would throw things at one of the lesser gods Balder. It was a challenge because he was shifty and he wouldt die. To really entertain themselves, the gods would let Hod his brother throw things at him. Hod was blind, and this meant hours of drunken fun. Loki snuck into Valhalla and gave Hod a dart with a mistletoe tip. Once Balder was hit, he died.

All of the gods were upset, and Odin explained that Balder could live again if everyone in the world agreed he should live. Everyone did but one person, Loki. Because Balder was not allowed to live again, and Loki could not be killed, he was imprisoned in the center of the earth wrapped up by a snake that bites him and causes him great pain.