Today we're going to try to do justice to the Norse pantheon--a very scary wolf, an

amazing tree, a rainbow bridge, some frost giants, and way more than what I learned from reading Thor comics.

No, not you, Thoth. Your th is a plosive.

We're talking voiceless dental fricative here. THOR.

You know, this joke might work better in print.

[Theme Music]

We met some of the Norse gods when we looked at one of their creation stories.

The source for that myth, and many other stories from Norse mythology, is the Prose Edda, an

Icelandic compendium written by the amazingly-named Snorri Sturluson around 1220 CE.

This means that one of our main sources for the tales of Germanic and Scandinavian gods

and goddesses comes from the far edge of their world.

It's also important because the Prose Edda is relatively NEW.

So one rainbow bridge we're going to have to cross here is the way that later Christian

ideas influence the existing version of these myths.

Partly because of Snorri, there's a tendency to think of Norse mythology as belonging to

Scandinavia, but that's not quite right.

The Norse Pantheon has roots in the religion and mythology of Germanic people who migrated

into Europe.

The Romans, especially our pal Tacitus, recorded what they understood of the Germanic tribes'

beliefs, but they translated Germanic gods into their own terms.

So Wotan, or Wodan, who we're calling Odin, became associated with Mercury.

Tyr, or Tiwaz, a warrior god, became associated with the Roman god of war, Mars.

And Thor was Jupiter or Jove.

In their own terms, there are two sets of Norse deities: first, the Vanir, associated

with the earth and fertility.

They're the older set of gods.

And second, the Aesir, associated with the sky.

The Vanir were led by Freyr and Freya, brother and sister and also king and queen.

They were the children of Njord.

Who also has a terrific name.

According to Sturluson: “Freyr is an exceedingly famous god; he decides when the sun shall

shine and when the rain come down, and along with that the fruitfulness of the earth,

and he is good to invoke for peace and plenty.

He also brings about the prosperity of men.”

So he is definitely the god you want to honor if you're having a picnic.

(Well, him and Amateratsu, Japanese sun goddess.

And while we're at it, why not also Aphrodite, because EVERYONE HAS A THING FOR.. ok you

get it) The Vanir and the Aesir warred, but eventually

reconciled and the Vanir came to live in Asgard, one of the nine mythical Norse worlds.

Although they also have their own realm, Vanaheim.

Not to be confused with Anaheim, the realm of Walt Disney, Oranges, and Online Video

conferences.

If you want the Euhumerist opinion, or, where we take mythology as an explanation of historical

fact, this war may reflect a time where there were two competing religions among the tribal

people of the north, which eventually teamed up.

Vanir and Aesir, stronger together!

Like Voltron!

But GODS.

Another Norse god is Heimdall, also called the White God.

He's associated with the sea because nine waves birthed him... must have been a chaotic

day in the maternity ward.

Heimdall was the sentry of the gods and the archenemy of Loki, who you might know from

his role as Tom Hiddleston.

According to Sturluson, “[Heimdall] needs less sleep than a bird and can see a hundred

leagues in front of him as well by night as by day.

He can hear the grass growing on the earth and the wool on the sheep and everything that

makes noise.”

Boy, poor Heimdall.

Imagine going to a dinner party and listening to everyone chew.

Some traditions place Heimdall in the Aesir, some in the Vanir.

The Vanir are also associated with a golden boar said to travel above and below the earth

like the sun.

Gullinbursti, as it was called, appeared on warriors' crests and helmets, especially

in Uppsala.

Just like in Greece and Egypt, different gods in the Norse pantheon were worshipped in different

regions.

Thor is probably the most famous of the Aesir.

Probably the second most famous is Odin, Thor's dad.

Odin is the father god, who was associated with war, especially with the raw, almost

ecstatic warrior rage of berserkers.

He was also a wizard who swayed battles through magic.

Imagine, like, Gandalf, but with one eye, lots of muscles, an unhealthy desire for arcane

wisdom and a bit of a mean streak.

Odin inherited his warrior-god nature from his Germanic predecessors, Wodan and Tiwaz.

As Kevin Crossley-Holland remarked: “A culture finds the gods it needs and the Norse world

needed a god to justify the violence that [was] one of its hallmarks.”

Basically, if you're a warlike society, a war god is pretty convenient.

Odin inspired victory and foresaw defeat with his shamanistic precognition . He was also

the god of poetry who travelled to the land of the Giants, Jotunheim, to drink the mead

of poetry and bring it back to the Aesir and Vanir.

MMMM… poetry mead.

Another part of Odin's story is his sacrifice and re-birth as a wiser god.

According to one version he hung himself from the world tree so he could drink the mead

of wisdom.

Guess Odin couldn't stop at just one mead, huh?

This was when he sacrificed his eye, too.

Odin was married to Frigg, a goddess who could also see the future.

Odin's children were Thor, whose mother was the Earth itself, Baldr, the most beautiful

of the gods who was killed by Hodr his blind brother, and Tyr, although one source has

Tyr's father as the giant Hymir.

In some stories Baldr is a human warrior favored by Odin.

Baldr is “the wisest of the gods, and the sweetest-spoken, and the most merciful, but

it is a characteristic of his that once he has pronounced a judgment it can never be

altered.”

Odin has another son, Hermod the bold, who was sent to retrieve Baldr from a city in

the underworld, Nifelheim, ruled by the goddess Hel, yup, that's Hel with a single hockey

stick.

And she was said to be a daughter of Loki, who also helped kill Baldr.

Loki is confusing.

It's never clear whether he's a god or a giant, or even whether he's good or evil.

He has been called the son of two giants, but also the foster-brother of Odin.

He's a trickster, so maybe his uncertain pedigree makes some sense?

He's also a thief, but also also sometimes helps the Aesir.

He's the father of several monsters including the World Serpent, Jormungand, the wolf, Fenrir,

and Hel.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Loki is.

the.

worst.

as we'll see in our episode on … Ragnarok!

The mythical event.

Not the comic book event.

Not the movie event.

Not even the Gwar record.

Just the literal end of the world.

Tyr is identified with war and justice.

In some traditions, he's also a son of Odin, but as you've probably noticed, it's not

exactly easy to pin down parentage in the Norse world.

Blame those nine waves.

Tyr's position as a god of both war and justice is interesting, given what we learned

about Vikings in Crashcourse World History.

While known for their fearsome raiding, Vikings also had a strict legal code with certain

elements of democratic governance.

And they were really into skiing.

There are other gods in the Norse pantheon, but they don't really feature much.

Bragi, a son of Odin, was another god of poetry, while Ull was concerned mainly with archery

and hitting the slopes, brah.

Yup.

There's a god of skiing.

There's Vali, Odin's son who avenged Baldr's death.

And Vidar, son of Odin and the giantess Grid, avenged Odin's death.

I need an infographic.

Oh, great.

The Norse goddesses are relatively minor figures in the myths.

Freya is the only one who seems to have personality.

She's a goddess of love.

Faithfulness to her husband, Freyr, is not her strong suit.

Her strong suit is definitely her amazing feather jacket.

She also has A CAT DRAWN CHARIOT.

That is not a joke.

And like Freya, goddess Geifon is one of the Vanir and she is associated with ploughing

and fertility.

Eir is a goddess of healing, Sjofn and Lofn are also goddesses of love.

Var punishes those who betray their marriage oaths and nothing can be hidden from her.

Syn, with a Y, is a goddess associated with justice.

And who couldn't love a goddess named Snotra, who is associated with wisdom and self-discipline.

And also head colds.

THANKS I'LL BE HERE ALL WEEK!

Snortra stands in contrast with Saga, goddess of poetry, whose main role seems to be Odin's

drinking companion.

Skål!

Frigg is Odin's wife and the mother of multiple gods, but we don't know much about her.

She is a maternal goddess who mourns the loss of her son Baldr, and was invoked by women

in labor.

Like Odin, she seemed to be able to know the future.

Now!

On to a myth.

I'm going to be honest: Norse myths are like the frat party of mythology.

There's a lot of fighting and drinking and laughing, though no beer pong.

First, some quick backstory.

Odin championed warriors, picking his favorites and sending Valkyries to bring them to Valhalla,

which seems like a nifty way to travel.

Thor was the god of farmers, and there were a lot of farmers in Scandinavia.

But he was also a mighty warrior, huge with a giant red beard.

Not so bright, but who needs smarts when you're the god of thunder and lightning?

He protected the Aesir and Vanir from the giants, and in a stunning bit of surely coincidental

wordplay...

Mjollnir