Mythology is “a popular belief or assumption that has grown up around someone or something” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (“Mythology”). Myths are passed down from generation to generation and hold a great deal of significance for believers by giving meaning to the things that happen in life. Two groups that have deep roots in their own mythology are the Greeks and the Nordics. Both sets of mythologies share a lot of similarities in the types of gods they contain. King of the gods, queen of the gods, and god of war all appear in the two culture’s beliefs. While there are distinct differences that characterize the deities in both sets of myths, the similarities are profound. In approximately 1500 B.C.E., the development of Greek
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and 1000 C.E: the Viking Era. This religion was practiced by people of Scandinavia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and other surrounding countries; these were also known as the Germanic people (McCoy, “Who were the Vikings?”). Tradition is what the Germanic people called their religion, for it had no other name. When Christianity started to enter the Norse culture, people began to call the ones who still followed the beliefs of Norse mythology “heathens” (McCoy “What is Norse Mythology”). Myths dealing with the creation of the universe; the lives of many different gods, goddess, giants, and various other creatures; and the battle that was “the doom of the gods,” Ragnorak, are all vividly and meticulously laid out within Norse mythology (McCoy …show more content…
Throughout the Nordic texts, Odin is shown with his most prominent and notable trait being his wisdom (Lindow 248). As a god “Odin uses his wisdom to order himself atop the hierarchy of all creatures” (Lindow 250). He is known as the King of the Aesir gods and governs over them from Asgard: one of the nine realms. (McCoy, “Odin”). In The Poetic Edda, Odin is sometimes known as “Alfather”: “the father of all” (Hollander 63). Zeus, in the Greek’s mythological world, is the King of the Olympian gods. He is “the symbol of ultimate authority” and “oversees human life and actions” in the Greek culture (Roman 521). In lines 565 to 567 of the Iliad, written by Homer, it says, “And Zeus went to his home. The gods all/ rose from their seats at their father’s entrance. Not one/ dared watch him enter without standing to greet him” (Puchner 243). This statement shows the respect and honor that is given to Zeus as the king. Both Odin and Zeus are accredited for having a hand in the beginning of ordered life in their particular culture’s tales. In the Nordic myth about the creation of the cosmos, Voluspa, Odin, with the help of his two brothers Vili and Ve, are said to have “slew Ymir”, a frost giant, “and set about constructing the world from his corpse” (Hollander 2; McCoy, “Odin”). Although Zeus was not the one to actually create the universe in Greek mythology, he
and 1000 C.E: the Viking Era. This religion was practiced by people of Scandinavia, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and other surrounding countries; these were also known as the Germanic people (McCoy, “Who were the Vikings?”). Tradition is what the Germanic people called their religion, for it had no other name. When Christianity started to enter the Norse culture, people began to call the ones who still followed the beliefs of Norse mythology “heathens” (McCoy “What is Norse Mythology”). Myths dealing with the creation of the universe; the lives of many different gods, goddess, giants, and various other creatures; and the battle that was “the doom of the gods,” Ragnorak, are all vividly and meticulously laid out within Norse mythology (McCoy …show more content…
Throughout the Nordic texts, Odin is shown with his most prominent and notable trait being his wisdom (Lindow 248). As a god “Odin uses his wisdom to order himself atop the hierarchy of all creatures” (Lindow 250). He is known as the King of the Aesir gods and governs over them from Asgard: one of the nine realms. (McCoy, “Odin”). In The Poetic Edda, Odin is sometimes known as “Alfather”: “the father of all” (Hollander 63). Zeus, in the Greek’s mythological world, is the King of the Olympian gods. He is “the symbol of ultimate authority” and “oversees human life and actions” in the Greek culture (Roman 521). In lines 565 to 567 of the Iliad, written by Homer, it says, “And Zeus went to his home. The gods all/ rose from their seats at their father’s entrance. Not one/ dared watch him enter without standing to greet him” (Puchner 243). This statement shows the respect and honor that is given to Zeus as the king. Both Odin and Zeus are accredited for having a hand in the beginning of ordered life in their particular culture’s tales. In the Nordic myth about the creation of the cosmos, Voluspa, Odin, with the help of his two brothers Vili and Ve, are said to have “slew Ymir”, a frost giant, “and set about constructing the world from his corpse” (Hollander 2; McCoy, “Odin”). Although Zeus was not the one to actually create the universe in Greek mythology, he