By Julia Bauer

Intro to Norse Mythology

• Norse mythology is the myths and legends of the Vikings, and of the people who lived in what is now Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, and many other parts of Northern Europe.

• Later on in their history, the Norse people converted to Christianity. The conversion was likely eased along by the fact that many of their myths and beliefs bear a striking resemblance to Christianity, as well as the myths of other cultures that we have studied.

Intro to Norse Mythology

Odin

• Leader of Aesir tribe of gods

• Often leaves the god kingdom of Asgard on solo quests

• Contradictory:– War God and Poetry God– Tribal Leader, yet solo,

uninterested in community affairs

Loki

• Trickster, God of Mischief

• Father of Hel, the goddess of graves, and Jormungand

• Represented as shallow, concerned with self-preservation, but familial ties with gods, not the giants that represent evil

Thor

• God of Thunder• Traditional

Warrior/Hero• Defender of Asgard and

Midgard• Enemy of Jorgmund, a

sea serpent that surrounds Midgard and bring misfortune

Similarities to Other MythologiesNorns and Fates

• Norse and Greek mythology have two very similar concepts of three wise old women who sit under a tree and weave the destiny of everyone and everything. In Norse they are known as the Norns, or magic-practicers, and in Greek mythology they are known as the Fates.

Similarities to Other Mythologies

• Norse has a creation of humanity story similar to the biblical story of Adam and Eve

• The Norse Aesir gods created one man, called Ask, represented by an Ash tree, and one woman, called Embla, represented by a water pot.

• They were given the human world from the gods, called Midgard

Similarities to Other Mythologies:Mythical Creatures and Beings

• Like many other cultures, the Norse culture had legends of supernatural creatures.

Elves Dwarves Valkyries

Similarities to Other Mythologies:Creation Myths

• As we learn in “ The Story of the Beginning” the Norse creation myth is very like Egyptian creation myths.

• Both believe before the world, there was nothing but darkness, and things came into being one by one. In Norse mythologies, there was Niflheim, a cold expanse of ice, and Muspelheim, an expanse of fire, that met in the middle to create fog, and life. This is like the Egyptian Nun, a dark great ocean, from which land and the sky and the gods came.

• As in Egyptian beliefs, in Norse there was one first god, called Ymir. Ymir was like the Egyptian God Ra, as both gods were the first to exist, and created all the other gods asexually.

Similarities to Other Mythologies:Creation Myths Continued

Mythology in Pop Culture• Myths inspire modern retellings of old stories,

like the Thor movie and comic series, the sequel of which comes out later this week. Being a fan of these comics and other like it, however, unfortunately comes with certain stipulations.

Mythology in Pop Culture Continued• The new Thor trailer does stay on par with

original Norse mythology in several ways. First of the character Thor remains the same. He is the most well known and widely involved of all Norse gods, He is the god of thunder, and can be seen carrying his hammer known as Mjollnir, which means lightning. As in the myths, Thor is concerned with protecting Asgard, the city and stronghold of the gods, shown briefly in the trailer as a glittering fantasy city. However, Thor also cares about Midgard, the realm of humans, as he has long been known as the defender of humanity. Loki is also in character as the mischievous trickster god, who reluctantly comes to the side of the gods, as he does in the myths.

Listen To This – “Pointing At The Moon”This song by Faded Paper Figures references mythology in its lyrics “No mythologies to guide you”. It makes an interesting point throughout the song, that stories and beliefs like the myths we read guide us by showing us what other people and think and expect. Without this source of new ideas, we are stuck in the same old patterns we are used to, “pointing fingers at the moon”.To read the lyrics, click on the lyrics tab, scroll down to number 9

Mythology in Pop Culture Continued

• Rayworth, Melissa. "Comic Book Heroes Are Hot. Comic Books Are Not. And That's OK with Their Fans." Windsor Star. The Canadian Press, 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. <http://www.windsorstar.com/life/Comic book heroes Comic books thats with their fans/8982032/story.html>.

• McCoy, Dan. "Norse Mythology." Norse Mythology. N.p., 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://norse-mythology.org/>.

• "Norse Mythology." Infoplease. Infoplease, 2012. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0197623.html>.

Bibliography