ODIN - Odin was Norse God of war, poetry, wisdom, death and he was chief divinity of the Norse pantheon, and the first of the Aesir. Sometimes he was called "Alfadir", which translated means the "all father". He was son of Bor and Bestla.

Odin has many sons and daughters - with his wife goddess Frigg he is the father to Hod, Balder and Hermod; with the goddess Jord he is the father of Thor and
with the giantess Grid he is the father of Vidar.

Odin can make the dead speak to reveal their wisdom. News is brought to Odin by Huginn and Muninn, Odin's Ravens. Odin has a spear called Gungnir that never misses, his eight-footed horse Sleipnir carries him into battle. Two wolves Freki and Geri accompany Odin.

As he was God of war and battle Odin was very popular with the Vikings when they began raiding out of Scandinavia, to his great fortress hall Valhalla he gathered those slain in battle. Called the einherjar (glorious dead) , these warriors were preserved by Odin to supplement the gods in their final battle against the giants at Ragnarok. Odin was not a warrior himself , but inspired warriors into going berserk in battle , feeling and fearing nothing. Sacrificial hangings were part of worship of Odin , and suicide by hanging was thought to be a shortcut to Valhalla.

Odin gained his wisdom by throwing one of his eyes into Mimir's well in trade for a drink of wisdom. He also hung himself from the cosmic tree, Yggdrasil, to learn the knowledge of the dead, and then was revived by magic.

Odin was to be killed during Ragnarok by Fenrir , the wolf spawned by Loki.

Posted in: Norse Mythology and Norse God Odin.

FRIGG - Frigg is one of the goddesses at the forefront of Norse mythology. She was the wife of Odin. She was the patron of marriage and motherhood, and the goddess of love and fertility.

Posted in: Norse Mythology and Norse Goddess Frigg.

TROLLS - Trolls are mythical creatures from Norse mythology. They were ugly giants who eat meat (including humans) so they were enemies of humans and Gods.

In some legends trolls were kind of elves long time ago but they got cursed, turned into these ugly creatures and were banished from elves realms. Also it's said that trolls can only move in night, caves, shadows or underground because if only one Sun beam touches them they get turned into stone.

Posted in: Mythical Creatures, Trolls and Norse Mythology.

THOR - Norse God Thor was one of the most famous and most powerful Gods in Norse mythology. Thor was the God of Lightning and was usually portrayed as God with long red beard, eyes of lightning and a helmet with horns. Thor was son of Odin and Jord, he was father of Magni, Modi and Thrud with giantess Jarnsaxa. Thor was married to Norse fertility Goddess Sif.

Thor was protector of human and Gods. He had powerful mythical hammer called Mjollnir, belt Megingjard which doubles his strength and chariot pulled by two goats Tanngrisni and Tanngnost.

Thor was killed by Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent. At the day of Ragnarok, Thor managed to kill Jormungand but died from its poison.

Posted in: Norse Mythology and Norse God Thor.

GOLEMS - In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter. The name appears to derive from the word golem, which means raw material.

Having a golem servant was seen as the ultimate symbol of wisdom and holiness, and there are many tales of golems connected to prominent rabbis throughout the Middle Ages.

In Norse mythology, Mokkurkalfi was a clay giant, built to help the troll Hrungnir in a battle with Thor.

Posted in: Mythical Creatures, Golems, Norse Mythology and Jewish Mythology.