Odin facts for kids
Odin (Old Norse: Óðinn) is the god of wisdom, poetry, death, divination, and magic in Norse mythology. Son of Bor and the giantess (jötunn) Bestla, Odin is the chief of the Æsir and king of Asgard. He is married to the goddess Frigg, and is father to the gods Thor, Baldr, Höðr, Víðarr, [[Váli (son of Odin)|Váli] and Princess Alexandra
Known as the All-Father, Odin is often accompanied by two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, along with the wolves Geri and Freki; the god rides into battle atop an eight-legged steed, Sleipnir, and wields the mighty spear Gungnir, which was fashioned for him by the dwarves known as the Sons of Ivaldi and is said to never miss its target.
A defining feature of Odin is his being one-eyed, a result of him having sacrificed an eye to drink from the Well of Urðr, which granted him an incomprehensible amount of knowledge of the universe.
Half of the souls of those slain in battle will be guided by the Valkyries, battle maidens, to Valhalla, Odin's enormous and majestic hall: the other half go to Fólkvangr, Freyja's realm.
The modern English weekday name Wednesday bears the god’s name. (from Old English Wōdnesdæg, “Wōden’s day”).
Family
Odin is the son of Borr and the jötunn Bestla. He is married to the goddess Frigg, by whom he is the father of the twin gods Baldr and Höðr. With the giantesses Gríðr and Rindr, Odin has two other sons named Víðarr and Váli. His eldest son is Thor, god of thunder, born to him by Jörð, the personification of the Earth.
Archaeological record
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References to or depictions of Odin appear on numerous objects. Migration Period (5th and 6th century CE) gold bracteates (types A, B, and C) feature a depiction of a human figure above a horse, holding a spear and flanked by one or two birds. The presence of the birds has led to the iconographic identification of the human figure as the god Odin, flanked by Huginn and Muninn. Like the Prose Edda description of the ravens, a bird is sometimes depicted at the ear of the human, or at the ear of the horse. Bracteates have been found in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and, in smaller numbers, England and areas south of Denmark. Austrian Germanist Rudolf Simek states that these bracteates may depict Odin and his ravens healing a horse and may indicate that the birds were originally not simply his battlefield companions but also "Odin's helpers in his veterinary function."
Vendel Period helmet plates (from the 6th or 7th century) found in a grave in Sweden depict a helmeted figure holding a spear and a shield while riding a horse, flanked by two birds. The plate has been interpreted as Odin accompanied by two birds; his ravens.
Two of the 8th century picture stones from the island of Gotland, Sweden depict eight-legged horses, which are thought by most scholars to depict Sleipnir: the Tjängvide image stone and the Ardre VIII image stone. Both stones feature a rider sitting atop an eight-legged horse, which some scholars view as Odin. Above the rider on the Tjängvide image stone is a horizontal figure holding a spear, which may be a valkyrie, and a female figure greets the rider with a cup. The scene has been interpreted as a rider arriving at the world of the dead. The mid-7th century Eggja stone bearing the Odinic name haras (Old Norse 'army god') may be interpreted as depicting Sleipnir.
A pair of identical Germanic Iron Age bird-shaped brooches from Bejsebakke in northern Denmark may be depictions of Huginn and Muninn. The back of each bird features a mask-motif, and the feet of the birds are shaped like the heads of animals. The feathers of the birds are also composed of animal-heads. Together, the animal-heads on the feathers form a mask on the back of the bird. The birds have powerful beaks and fan-shaped tails, indicating that they are ravens. The brooches were intended to be worn on each shoulder, after Germanic Iron Age fashion. Archaeologist Peter Vang Petersen comments that while the symbolism of the brooches is open to debate, the shape of the beaks and tail feathers confirms the brooch depictions are ravens. Petersen notes that "raven-shaped ornaments worn as a pair, after the fashion of the day, one on each shoulder, makes one's thoughts turn towards Odin's ravens and the cult of Odin in the Germanic Iron Age." Petersen says that Odin is associated with disguise, and that the masks on the ravens may be portraits of Odin.
The Oseberg tapestry fragments, discovered within the Viking Age Oseberg ship burial in Norway, features a scene containing two black birds hovering over a horse, possibly originally leading a wagon (as a part of a procession of horse-led wagons on the tapestry). In her examination of the tapestry, scholar Anne Stine Ingstad interprets these birds as Huginn and Muninn flying over a covered cart containing an image of Odin, drawing comparison to the images of Nerthus attested by Tacitus in 1 CE.
Excavations in Ribe, Denmark have recovered a Viking Age lead metal-caster's mould and 11 identical casting-moulds. These objects depict a moustached man wearing a helmet that features two head-ornaments. Archaeologist Stig Jensen proposes these head-ornaments should be interpreted as Huginn and Muninn, and the wearer as Odin. He notes that "similar depictions occur everywhere the Vikings went—from eastern England to Russia and naturally also in the rest of Scandinavia."
A portion of Thorwald's Cross (a partly surviving runestone erected at Kirk Andreas on the Isle of Man) depicts a bearded human holding a spear downward at a wolf, his right foot in its mouth, and a large bird on his shoulder. Andy Orchard comments that this bird may be either Huginn or Muninn. Rundata dates the cross to 940, while Pluskowski dates it to the 11th century. This depiction has been interpreted as Odin, with a raven or eagle at his shoulder, being consumed by the monstrous wolf Fenrir during the events of Ragnarök.
The 11th century Ledberg stone in Sweden, similarly to Thorwald's Cross, features a figure with his foot at the mouth of a four-legged beast, and this may also be a depiction of Odin being devoured by Fenrir at Ragnarök. Below the beast and the man is a depiction of a legless, helmeted man, with his arms in a prostrate position. The Younger Futhark inscription on the stone bears a commonly seen memorial dedication, but is followed by an encoded runic sequence that has been described as "mysterious," and "an interesting magic formula which is known from all over the ancient Norse world."
In November 2009, the Roskilde Museum announced the discovery and subsequent display of a niello-inlaid silver figurine found in Lejre, which they dubbed Odin from Lejre. The silver object depicts a person sitting on a throne. The throne features the heads of animals and is flanked by two birds. The Roskilde Museum identifies the figure as Odin sitting on his throne Hliðskjálf, flanked by the ravens Huginn and Muninn.
Various interpretations have been offered for a symbol that appears on various archaeological finds known modernly as the valknut. Due to the context of its placement on some objects, some scholars have interpreted this symbol as referring to Odin. For example, Hilda Ellis Davidson theorises a connection between the valknut, the god Odin and "mental binds":
For instance, beside the figure of Odin on his horse shown on several memorial stones there is a kind of knot depicted, called the valknut, related to the triskele. This is thought to symbolize the power of the god to bind and unbind, mentioned in the poems and elsewhere. Odin had the power to lay bonds upon the mind, so that men became helpless in battle, and he could also loosen the tensions of fear and strain by his gifts of battle-madness, [...] and inspiration.
Davidson says that similar symbols are found beside figures of wolves and ravens on "certain cremation urns" from Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in East Anglia.
Related pages
- Saturn - Roman mythology equivalent to Odin
- Kronos - Greek equivalent to Odin
- Shiva - Hindu equivalent to Odin
Images for kids
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Odin, in his guise as a wanderer, by Georg von Rosen (1886)
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One of the Torslunda plates. The figure to the left was cast with both eyes, but afterwards the right eye was removed.
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Wodan and Frea look down from their window in the heavens to the Winnili women in an illustration by Emil Doepler, 1905
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Winnili women with their hair tied as beards look up at Godan and Frea in an illustration by Emil Doepler, 1905
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Wodan Heals Balder's Horse by Emil Doepler, 1905
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A 16th-century depiction of Norse gods by Olaus Magnus: from left to right, Frigg, Odin, and Thor
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Odin sits atop his steed Sleipnir, his ravens Huginn and Muninn and wolves Geri and Freki nearby (1895) by Lorenz Frølich
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Odin's hunt (August Malmström)
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Wotan takes leave of Brunhild (1892) by Konrad Dielitz
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See also
In Spanish: Odín para niños
