Odin

Odin

(Othinn, Woden, Wotan)

Nordic high god, god of wisdom, battle, death, inspiration. Chief god of the Aesir and the husband of the goddess Frigg. He lived in the hall of Valhalla in Asgard with the Valkyries and a host of warriors chosen from among those slain in battle. Odin is something of a shamanic figure, having pierced himself with his own spear and hung himself from the world tree Yggdrasill in an effort to attain occult knowledge. He sacrificed one of his eyes, giving it to the god Mimir in return for permission to drink from the well of knowledge beneath Yggdrasill. Among the knowledge he thus obtained was a knowledge of occult rune reading. Another shamanic feature was his skill as a shape-shifter.

Despite his role as a god of battle, he was considered untrustworthy and there are many accounts of warriors berating Odin for failing to deliver victory. He was generally portrayed as a one- eyed warrior bearing a spear, or as a wanderer wearing a blue cloak and a large floppy hat. The raven and the wolf were sacred to him, and he was accompanied by two ravens: Hugin ("thought") and Munin ("memory"). His mount was the eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. According to Nordic myth, Odin was destined to be swallowed by the giant wolf Fenrir at Ragnarok (the end of the world). He gave his name to the third day of the week in Scandinavia and England: Wednesday, meaning "Woden's day" or "Odin's day".



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