Norse Mythology - Gods and Goddesses
An Introduction to the
Gods
and
Goddesses of Norse Mythology
Norse Mythology has fascinated millions
of people throughout the centuries.
Stories of the Norse gods and goddesses have been passed down through many generations.
Naturally as many people share the stories we will find different variations of the myths.
The Prose Edda was written by Snorri Sturluson from Iceland around the year 1200.
It is also called the Younger Edda because the Poetic Edda is of an earlier date.
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems found in the Icelandic medieval manuscript Codex Regius. The author of the Poetic Edda is unknown.
The first poem in the Poetic Edda (the Elder Edda) is the “Völuspa”. This is the story of the creation of the world and the prophecy of the end of the world.
It starts out with the Völva asking the Sons of Heimdall to be quiet and then she asks Odin if he would like to hear her recite the ancient knowledge.
From the Poetic Edda:
1. "For silence I ask
all children,
great and small,
sons of Heimdall;
wilt thou, that I, Valfather!
Well recount
ancient history of men,
the first I remember? "
A Völva is a shamanic seeress.
Odin gives her all his attention.
So the story begins...
Go to the page called the Creation story and start your own journey.
Get to know the gods and goddesses of Norse Mythology.
Find out:
Why Odin only had one eye...
Why the queen goddess Frigg constantly cried tears of gold...
Why their son, the perfect god named Balder died...
Why Odin hung himself in Yggdrasil for nine days..
What the thunder god Thor had to do to get his magic hammer back...
Why the goddess Sif (married to Thor) had hair of gold...
What tree was sacred to Thor, the thunder god...
How the goddess Freyja got hold of the beautiful necklace named Brisingamen..
What happened when her twin brother Freyr fell madly in love...
Why their father, Njord the sea god married Skadi...
Why the golden apples were so important...
How the god Kvasir was created..
Who gave birth to Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse...
Who were the three Children of Loki and Angrboda....
What power did the three Norns who resided under Yggdrasil have?
The worlds in Scandinavian mythology are very crowded indeed.
Thank you for visiting my website. I am a school teacher from Norway. I have a major in history. My goal is to share my knowledge about Norse mythology in such a way that it is easy to comprehend. English is not my mother tongue and I do apologize for any grammar mistakes. When time permits, I will be adding more pages to this site.
The reference books I have used making this site are mostly in Norwegian; obviously the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda are main sources.
Please come back soon!
Have a great day!
Johanne H.
admin@norse-mythology.com
