VIKING BELIEFS AND GODS BY MACKIE VIKING BELIEFS

VIKING BELIEFS AND GODS BY MACKIE

VIKING BELIEFS • The Vikings believed in gods before they became Christians. There were many different gods in the Viking religion. The most important gods were Odin, Thor and Freyr. Vikings thought the gods fought against powers of darkness and evil, much like themselves.

VIKING GODS • The Vikings believed the gods lived in a place called Asgard was a kingdom in the sky with palaces made of gold and silver, and the largest palace was Odin's home called Valhalla. • Each god was responsible for a different thing, like war, travel or home. The gods had human qualities like jealousy and greed.

ODIN • Odin was the ruler of the gods. He was the god of knowledge, wisdom, war and poetry, which earned him the name of ‘All father’. Odin was known to meddle with human affairs to sir up fighting. By doing this he would have more warriors in Valhalla to fight by his side. Odin rode on an eight legged horse called Sleipnir.

THOR • Thor was the god of thunder, storms and strength. Thor protected Asgard with his magical hammer named Mjölnir, that caused thunder and lightning.

FREYR • Freyr was god of love, sun, abundance, sexuality and harvest. He was the leader of elves and dwarves. He had a ship he could fit into his pocket and a sword that could go into battle on its own. Freyr also rode a chariot pulled by a golden pig.

FREYA • Freya was Freyr’s sister, she was the goddess of love, war and fertility. She was known for crying golden tears and rode a chariot pulled by to wild cats.

LOKI • Loki was the adopted son of Odin. He was technically not a god, he was the son of a fire giant who Odin took as his own child. He was known as a trickster, and was a shapeshifter who turned himself into an old woman, a fish, a fly and a horse in different myths.

OTHER GODS IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY • Baldur – God of light, joy, purity and the summer sun. Believed to be immortal but was killed with mistletoe by Hod • Frigg - Goddess of marriage and love (wife of Odin) • Heimdall - God of light and protection. Guardian of the Bifrost, a rainbow bridge connecting Midgard (middle Earth) and Asgard • Idunn - Goddess of beauty and youth • Njord – God of fertility (Father of Freyr and Freya) • Sif – Goddess of harvest (wife of Thor)

• Tyr - God of justice and war (son of Odin) • Hel - Goddess of death and ruler of the Norse underworld. • Vidar - God of vengeance (son of Odin) • Vale - son of Odin and avenged Baldur’s death by killing Hod, the god who killed him. • Hod – son of Odin (he was a blind god) • Mani – God of the moon

THE GODS TODAY • In modern times, the days of the week are named after the Norse gods: Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Suns day Sol - goddess of the sun Mani’s day Mani - god of the moon Tyr’s day Tyr - god of justice and war Woden’s day Odin (or Woden) - ruler of the gods Thor’s day Thor - god of thunder Frigg’s day Frigg - goddess of marriage and love (Saturday comes from the ancient Romans – Saturns day. )