Aside from gaining their knowledge and wisdom, he desires to have the best warriors with him when he faces Fenrir during Ragnarok. There are various reasons why Odin has a close association with the dead. The use of the spear or noose was symbolic of how Odin sacrificed himself to acquire the knowledge of the runes. This was achieved when one would use a spear or noose or both, to kill an enemy while shouting “Odin owns ye all”. Due to his association to death, he often received human sacrifices, as a way of people winning his favor in battle. Odin is also known for his mastery in the magical art of communicating with the dead as well as raising them. He rules over Valhalla, a prestigious place for the dead, who Odin picked himself after every battle. Some believe that Odin’s name roots from the mead of poetry, known by its old Norse name as Odroerir meaning the stirrer of Odr (ecstasy, inspiration, and fury).Īnother aspect associated with Odin was death, which was seen as more significant than his association with death. A gift he stole from the giants when he stole the Mead of poetry, and one he shares only with those he deems worthy. He did not care for the taunts he got for his unmanly practice of Seidr.Īdditionally, Odin is known to have the ability to write beautiful poetry. Also, to become one of the greatest practitioners of the most powerful kind of magic, Seidr, Odin sacrificed his masculinity. He did this to perceive the magically charged runes that held the secrets of existence. At some point, he sacrificed himself by hanging on the world tree Yggdrasil for nine days and nights without any food or drink. A great example of his sacrifices is the time he sacrificed one of his eyes for wisdom. He made many sacrifices to acquire all these things without caring about the kind of reputation it brought him or what he lost in the end. For this reason, Odin was relentless and ruthless in his search for more magical powers, knowledge, and wisdom. Odin also believed that any kind of limitation should be overcome, regardless of the means. Either way, those favored by Odin were intelligent, poetic, creative, or competent in the proverbial “war of all against all”. Aside from being favored among kings, Odin was also favored among outlaws like Egill Skallagrimsson and Grettir Asmundarson. As ruler Odin is devious, mysterious, and inspired, using cunningness and magic to rule. He is said to be the founder of many royal lines and many kings claim him as their beneficiary. When it comes to sovereignty, Odin is seen as the divine archetype of a ruler. He only associated himself with warriors he deemed worthy and showered his blessings on great heroes like the Volsung family and Starkadr. As a god of war, Odin was more concerned with the uncontrolled excitement of battles rather than the reason or result of it. According to ancient Norse, unlike honest warlords like Tyr, Odin was known to incite peaceful people to war with sinister glee. In terms of war, Odin is nothing like the noble and honorable ruler he is popularly known as. His embodiment as the master of ecstasy is the unifying factor of all contradicting traits associated with him, that is, wisdom, war, poetry, sovereignty, the dead, shamanism, and magic. At the same time, he is seen as the patron of outlaws and is cursed for being a trickster. He is considered a divine patron of rulers and is worshipped by people seeking nobility and prestige. He is considered a god of war, but also a god of poetry with prominent feminine qualities that would be considered shameful in a warrior. Odin is an embodiment of very many contradicting qualities. He wanders the cosmos in search of things that will make him wiser or greater. Many times, he discretely ventures far from his kingdom Asgard on solitary missions motivated by self-interest. He is also described as having no regard for values like honor, justice, convention, fairness, and the law. He is known to be a relentless seeker and giver of wisdom. He is the son of Borr and Bestia, and king of the Aesir race of deities. The name Odinn according to Old Norse can be broken into “Odr” (fury, inspiration, ecstasy) and suffix “-inn” (master of).Īs one of the characters of the Norse Mythologies, Odin is the most complex and enigmatic character there is. In any case, his name translates to “Master of ecstasy”. The Old High German referred to him as Wuotan or Wotan while the Proto-Germanic called him Wodanaz. In Old English and Old Saxon, he is referred to as Woden.
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