Norse Myhtology

At the beginning of time,

nothing existed except for
a vast void. The first world
to come into existence was
Musphelheim, which was a
land of flame and heat. Out
of the void the foggy and
frozen land known as
Niflheim was also created.
When rivers of poison
flowing from Musphliem
reached the edge of
Niflheim they were covered
in a thick layer of frost.
From this frozen venom
came the first life, the Frost
Giant Ymir. Also form the
ice came the great cow
Aduhumla who nourished
Ymir with her milk. As Ymir
slept he sweated; and from
the sweat of his left armpit
two Frost Giants were
formed, making Ymir the
father of all Frost Giants.
Meanwhile, Aduhumla was
busy licking a block of ice;
and when it eventually
thawed the first god known
as Buri appeared. Buriʼs
son Bor, who would later
marry Ymirʼs daughter
Bestla, would eventually
become the father of Odin,
Vili, and Ve. These three
young gods immediately
began rebelling against the
Giants, who were evil and
wild due to the venom that
ran in their veins. The trio
killed Ymir, and the copious
amount of blood that
flowed from his body was
enough to drown all the
other Frost Giants except
for two, who would live on
to continue the race.
Taking Ymirʼs body, the
three gods decided to
fashion a world from it.
From his flesh they shaped
the Earth; from his blood
they made the seas, from
his bones they made the
mountains and rocks, and
from his hair they made the
forests. From his skull, they
made the sky, which
arched over the Earth and
was help in place by a
dwarf in each of its four
corners. Dwarves came
into existence when the
gods humanized maggots
in Ymirʼs Flesh. To create
the sun and other celestial
bodies the three took the
sparks that blew from
Musphelheim and cast
them into the sky. They
gave a portion of their
earth to the Frost Giants;
but by using Ymirʼs
eyebrows to form a ridge,
they separated the Giants
form the other beings. The
first humans were created
from two trees; an ash tree
yielded the first man known
as Ask, and an elm gave the
first woman, Embla. The
gods gave these two life,
knowledge, and movement,
and gave them Midgard
(middle earth) where the
humans would come to live.
For themselves, they
created Asgard, which was
the home of the Aesir
Gods. Asgard was
connected to Midgard by
the Bifrost, a quivering
roadway that humans see
as a rainbow. With Asgard
built, the gods ceased their
creation and began their
lives in the new world.

The Norse destruction

myth is not typical for a
destruction myth, because
the gods do not survive.
The end of the world is
known as Ragnarok, and
the first sign of it's coming
will be the death of Odin's
son Balder. Loki will be
blamed for Balder's death,
and consequently
imprisoned in a cave. Over
the next three years the
world will essentially fall
into chaos, mankind will
resort to evil, and in the
end the world will lie in
ruins. Another three years
will pass, but they will all be
an entire year of winter.
Hati and Skoll will finally
catch the sun and moon,
and the giant Sturt will tear
apart the earth and sky.
This will release Loki along
with Fenir and the World
Serpent , who will join the
Frost Giants in an army of
evil. This army will face the
Gods, and an army of
ghosts who were the
greatest warriors of
history. This will officially
begin Ragnarok. Odin will
fight against Fenir; and he
will be swallowed by the
wolf. Vidar, Odin's son will
kill Fenir in anger. Thor will
pit himself against the
World Serpent, and
succeed in slaying it, but
will later die from
poisoning. Heimdall, the
protector of Asgard, will
fight Loki and both will
parish. The giant Sturt will
then slaughter Frey, which
will end the reign of the
gods. Sturt will then set fire
to the earth, and the
remaining humans will join
Hel in Niflheim. Odin's sons
Vidar and Vali shall survive
to rebuild Asgard; along
with their nephews Modi
and Magni. Balder shall
return from Niflheim to lead
the remaining gods. The
world shall be born anew;
and the two surviving
humans, Lif and Lifthrasir
shall claim it. Out of the
fire, a new world shall be
created free of evil.

Frigg
Because of how far North
the area is located climate
plays a huge role in Norse
mythology. Because days
tend to be shorter and
nights longer a tale of the
sun and the moon forever
running from wolves was
developed. The gods and
goddesses known as
fertility gods were amongst
the most worshiped, as
they were vital to a good
crop. The royalty of these
countries were also active
participants in these
religious beliefs. The Pagan
beliefs lasted until about
1000 C.E., during which
time Christianity spread
through the North. The
former gods and
goddesses were at first
viewed as "evil spirits" and
then just completely
forgotten altogether. Little
of the former myths were
written down and as such
many have been lost to us
today.

Frey
Creation Myth
Son of Odin and second
most important god. He
owns three powerful items:
The legendary hammer
Mjollnir; his belt which
gives him the strength to
wield it, and his iron gloves.
With all three items, Thor
becomes the strongest
force in the universe.
Lightning was thought to
be caused by swinging
Mjollnir.

Creation Myth Cont.

Son of Njord, Frey is a
fertility god like his father.
Third important in the
hierarchy of the gods, Frey
decides the weather and is
responsible for the fertility
of the land. Even though
Frey is a Vanir god (a god
supposedly from another
world) he is very important
to Farmers. Frey will
eventually be killed by the
giant Sturt.

Thor
Odin
The Home Of the Gods
The Nine Worlds
Smorgasbord- literally
means sandwich table in
swedish. Refers to a large
amount of food.

Berserk- literally translated

means "bear-shirt."
Drawings have been found
of warriors with the upper
half of a bear. Berserkers
were swedish warriors who
fought with great anger
and passion.

Freckle- comes from the

old Norse word frecknur
possibly mixed with the
German word sprekel (to
sprinkle)

Ransack-rannasaka- to
search thoroughly

Heathen- comes from the

similar Norse word for wild.
Often used to describe the
non christian ideas of the
Norse people.

Gun- can be traced to the

female name Gunnhildr,
often shortened to Gunna.
Gunn- war, Hildr- battle

Geyser-Icelandicc geiser or
old Norsee geysa- to gush

Anger- from the word angr

which is a trouble or an
affliction

Mire- traceable to to Norse

word for bog, which was
myrr

Bark- comes from the word

borkr

Important Gods
Family Tree
"Lo, There do I see my
Father, and

Lo, there do I see my

Mother, and
Lo, There do I see my
Brothers and my Sisters
and

Lo, There do I see my

people back to the
beginning, and

Lo they do call to me, and

bid me take my place

among them in the halls of
Valhalla,

Where the brave will live

forever. "

Dated around 110 A.D. A

prayer often said by
warriors before battle who
were hoping that if they
died they would go to
Valhalla.
The Nine World's is a
source of much debate
when it comes to Norse
mythology. So far, we have
discussed Niflheim,
Musphelheim, Midgard,
and Asgard the four main
sections of Norse
mythology. Because most
of the mythology that is
still around to day is in the
form of poetry, different
interpretations of whether
or not there are other
worlds exist. For example:
the god Njord and his
children Frey and Freya are
said to come from
Vanaheim. Vanaheim is
mentioned just a handful of
times in a few poems from
sweeden. Because of
problems with translation
and interpretation, the
word Vanaheim has
multiple meanings. It may
mean; the "Home of the
Wise", or the "The World of
the Wise." In many of the
poems that serve as the
basis for Norse Mythology
it is easy to find repetition
of the word nine when
talking about the realms.
Although the existence of
the other five realms is
debated, the main four are
always agreed upon. They
are held together by the
great tree Yggdrasil, which
has a root in each.

As already mentioned, the

Gods live together in
Asgard, created by Odin
and his brothers. The
higher status gods lived in
larger palaces, with Odin
and Frigg's obviously being
the largest. The most
spectacular piece of
Asgard however was
Valhalla (hall of the slain).
This giant building was
made of pure gold and was
decorated with weapons
and shields. It was home to
the warriors who had been
chosen by the Valkyries
(possibly Odin's daughters)
to live on until the day of
Ragnarok in which they
would face the armies of
Fenir and Loki.

Places of Worship
Idun
Although the term
"Northern Europe" is often
used to describe
essentially any country
above Spain or Italy,
Northern Europe is actually
composed of the countries
that border the Baltic sea.
The most well known
Myths are Sweedish in
origin.
This project contains colors
for important notes. Blue-
names, Red- descriptions,
Green-places.
Worship could be
preformed nearly
anywhere, and was most
often practiced at home.
Sacred Groves were
common places for mass
worship and sacrifices, and
often cult type behaviors
were observable in such
places. Temples were
rarely constructed as they
were viewed as
unnecessary, but some did
exist. The Temple at
Uppsala was told to be a
large, highly adorned,
golden temple in Sweden. It
is important to note that no
physical evidence has ever
been found supporting the
existence of the Temple of
Uppsala. Many written
sources state its existence
however.

Idun is married to Bragi,

one of Odin and Frigg's
sevens sons. Idun is the
keeper of the most
important items to the
gods, her golden apples. It
is these golden apples that
Idun brings them weekly
that keep the Gods forever
youthful.

Vocab
Balder
By: Derek Mikos and Iliana
Sanchez
Cultural Background
Sacrifice and Prayer
Known as the father of the
gods, born to Bor and
Bestla along with his
brothers; Vili, Ve, and
Hoenir. He is known to be
very wise and is the most
important god in Northern
Europe. He keeps two
ravens, Hugin and Munin
(thought and memory)
which survey the actions of
the world every day. He is
married to Frigg and is the
father of seven sons. Odin
gave up his eye to drink
from the spring of Mimir, a
spring that can grant
incredible wisdom.

Another son of Odin, Balder

was considered to be the
kindest of all the gods. He
was very wise and helpful;
and therefore beloved by
both humans and the gods
alike. Balder is so highly
regarded, that even Odin
will seek his advice in times
of trouble. His death will
signify the end of the
world, yet he will be the
only god to return to life.

Destruction Myth
Human sacrifice was
practiced, but not nearly as
often as in other parts of
the world. Higher gods
such as Odin demanded
human sacrifice from those
that worshiped them. The
typical sacrifice included
the use of inanimate
objects to appease the
gods, along with food.
When sacrifices did involve
humans it was usually at a
festival, and was almost
always a hanging.
Introduction
Frigg is Odin's wife and as
such is known as the
mother of all gods. She is
the most important
goddess and is often seen
as all knowing. Frigg knows
the ultimate fates of the
gods but she is never
allowed to reveal them to
anyone.