Norse myths?

Question

I havent read any before but since my knowledge of the, erm, extinct gods is very limited I wold like to widen my horizens.

Answer 1

I'm curious why you think gods are extinct.  Since christianity is based on mythology, does that mean the christian god is also extinct?  I don't think so and I'm those who follow Asatru and other Heathen religions don't believe that.

You may want to pick up a copy of Nordic Gods & Heroes by Colum.

Answer 2

All I know is Asgard is heaven and Valhalla is Warriors paradise where they train for the "final battle"

Thor is god of thunder and Odin is king of the gods.

thats all i know lol

Answer 3

In Norse myth, the universe is based around a tree called Yggdrasil, the world tree.  Its roots reach down into various underworlds and h***s while its branches reach up into various layers of heaven.  We, humans, live in Midgard (in English - Middle Earth, where Tolkien got the name for his world in Lord of the Rings) - this is exactly in the middle.  Above us are the the land of the elves, and above that the realms of the gods.  There are two families of gods, the lesser (Vanir) and Greater (Aesir).  While both are essentially good, that hasn't stopped them warring with each other.  Most of the gods you would have heard of - Odin, Thor, Baldur, Tyr, Freya etc - are of the Aesir, who live in the highest plane, Asgard.  Their leader is Odin.  As mighty as they are, they are still as fallible in character as mortals.  They are also dependent on enchanted golden apples for the source of their immortality.

Going the other way, down the tree, you first encounter the realm of the dark elves, and then other darker realms, such as Hel (which was a place where the dead hung out but was not the place of damnation and torture like the Christian h**l which took its name) and Niflheim, the realm of absolute cold.  

Among the monsters in Norse myth were giants, who were powerful beings that fought against the gods and didn't always lose, and dragons.  A giant sea serpent, Jormungand, was said to encircle the world, holding its tail in its mouth and holding everything within its coils.

A characteristic of the Norse myths was the sense of fatalism.  Good and evil were gearing up for a giant battle at the end of time.  This was called the Ragnarok.  During the battle a giant wolf, Fenris, would eat the sun and plunge the world into eternal night and winter, and the world would descend into bloody chaos.  The forces of good and evil would be so evenly matched that neither would win - instead they would destroy each other entirely, and everything else with them.  Even the world tree would be destroyed, but its trunk would shelter a couple of people (conveniently, a man and a woman) who would survive to repopulate the world when all the gods and monsters were dead.

Answer 4

they had a god Thor (god of thunder) and a god Loki. i dont remember but i think Loki was Thors son and he was a trouble maker so Thor banished him or something. idk i remember something like that and it might not even be true but i remember hearing something along those lines.

i also think Thor was their biggiest god. as in the leader of them all.in other words, Thor to the Norse was like Zuese to the Greeks.

I think.

Answer 5

Well, as a matter of fact I myself am a fan of "extinct gods".Anyways if you are interested about Norse gods you should definitely read "Myths of the Norsemen"by Robert Lancelyn Green.To cut a long no huge story short The Norsemen were called Aesir and were fathered by Odin and Frigga.The Aesir consisted of Baldur,Thor,Tyr,The Infamous Loki,and many more.Their most dangerous enimies were the Giants.The home of the gods were Asgard and the h**l was called Nifelheim.

Answer 6

Then you've chosen a branch of mythology that's also very limited. The Norse passed down the stories of their gods orally, through songs and stories. There is nowhere near the information on the Norse that is found on the Greeks or Romans, for instance. Much of what is passing for the actual mythology today is speculative, although medieval writings that have been found have yet to be fully translated  ( they're incomplete and very fragile). Even at that, the documents were most likely written "after the fact". Much of what we do know for certain comes from the Norse settlement of Iceland.

Answer 7

Try Encyclopedia Mythica.  They have a lot of information on Mythology.

http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/...