Description Of Several Major Characters In Norse (Scandanavian) Mythology, Including Woden And Thor, And A Brief Look At The Ragnarok (End Of The World)

1322 words - 5 pages

The religion of the ancient Scandanavians varied greatly between different areas. Many beliefs were totally different from one town to the next, but they do share several main deities. Though worship of these may have varied as well, the main idea behind these major gods remained somewhat constant through time and distance.

Odinn, or Woden, as he is more commonly known is the chief god in Norse mythology. His two ravens, Huginn and Muninn report to him all they see. He is also the god of poetry, of the dead, specifically the hanged, and the patron and protector of heroes. His weapon of choice is the spear and he spoke only in poetry. Odinn is also the creator god. He created the sky and earth, gave man his spirit as well as had a hand in man's creation. According to legend, Odinn, and his two brothers, Villi and Ve, were walking along the seashore and found two tree trunks. They carved one into a man and the other into a woman. From these two the human race descended (Turville-Petre 55).

Odinn has many names, some are just translations of Odinn into different languages, such as Woden. But others refer to his travels and deeds. Some of these names are Bolverk, which means evil doer, Hangaguo, god of the hanged, and Hangi, the hanged. The last two are derived from a legend about Odinn being hung and hanging for nine days. The number nine seems to have special significance in norse mythology, and especially to Odinn. One example of this is a story in which Odinn, traveling under the name Bolverk, and in disguise, came upon a field where nine thralls were working. He sharpens their scythes with his whetstone and when the thralls see how sharp their tools are they try to buy the whetstone. Odinn then tosses the whetstone among them and they all kill each other struggling for it. This story also shows Odinn's interest in promoting strife and inciting discord; hence Odinn is also a god of war and the recipient of human sacrifice. Though he is the chief god, he is regarded as somewhat evil and sinister as opposed to more traditionally noble gods (Turville-Petre 53).

Thor was to many Norsemen the most powerful and valiant god. He was the god of thunder and the defender of the world of men and the world of the gods. Thor's weapon was the hammer, and just the threat of it is enough to thwart just about whatever situation he faced. His hammer was called Mjollnir and was also used to hallow or consecrate, as well as in battle. Miniature hammers have been found in many graves, which were for protection, as Thor was also protector and hallower of the dead. His main enemies are Jormungand, a serpent coiled around the earth, and the giants and giantesses. Thor rode in a chariot drawn by goats, as...

What are happiness and success? A brief look at the definitions and relationship between happiness and success. Also goes into the factors of each.

668 words - 3 pages Happiness and success are goals that humans have worked at since our creation. Everything we do has something relates to our quest for happiness. Even things we don't enjoy, like work and school, are done in hopes of achieving financial success, which is supposed to contribute to our happiness. I firmly believe that we wouldn't do something, no matter if it's good or bad, if we didn't believe that it would have some kind of positive effect on...

'Whenever we look at texts from the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century what we see is masculinity in crisis'("portrait of the artist as a young man" James Joyce)

1625 words - 7 pages Masculinity and the male finding his place in society or the world play an important role in literature of this period. In A Portrait of the Artist as a...

A look at the affect names have on the characters of Fifth Business By Robertson Davies

951 words - 4 pages What's In A Name?"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." (Romeo and Juliet, Act II Scene ii) A person's name can shape a large part of who they will be. In the novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, the names of the characters seem to directly reflect some of the characteristics of that individual. The new names for those characters that were twice born better reflect who those characters...

A Brief Look at Obamacare: The Affordable Care Act

2042 words - 8 pages The Affordable Care Act (a.k.a Obamacare) has been an extremely controversial topic recently. It has sharply divided politicians and the public. Republicans and conservatives want to see it repealed, while Democrats and liberals enthusiastically defend and promote it. The opinion of the American people, however, has been more difficult to gauge. Recently, both politicians and the public have been outraged by the disastrous opening of...

A brief look at Georges Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Grang Jatte" and "Young Woman Powdering Herself."

557 words - 2 pages Much like the tiny dots of color that make up one of Georges Seurat's stunning successes, there are too, the influences of a variety of past masters inspiring these works that when viewed from further back, create a complete picture. Issues of impending modernity, industrialization and the segmentation of social class between worker and upper class inundated...

Compairing the two books, "Dispatches" by Herr and "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by" Miller. Focuses on an indepth look at the main characters and how they are seen in the eye's of the reader.

1348 words - 5 pages What is the importance of a human life? Can one place a value equal to that of a living human? Is the death of one human worth saving a thousand animals? These are questions that remain controversial to this day. Should human beings abuse the autonomy allowed to them through such things as technology, or should all beings be treated equal? Although everyone has there own way of classifying individual beings through observations such as race,...

A Brief look at Managerial Accounting

3430 words - 14 pages A day doesn't go by without Managerial Accounting in our capitalistic world we call, America. Whether we recognize it or not it's in our lives everywhere we turn. It can be seen in the company you work at to the fast-food chain you buy breakfast. Managerial Accounting is the process of identifying, measuring, analyzing,...

A brief look at Islam as a religion and what it is all about.

1972 words - 8 pages History of IslamIslam is a religion that was founded on the revelation brought to humanity by Prophet Mohammad. (570 C.E - 632 C.E) Islam was taught as the latest version in the ongoing religion of God which can be tracked back through Jesus to Moses and Abraham. Thus, Islam accepts Christianity and Judaism as the true religions that were sent to human-beings by God. Although this is the situation, teaching of Islam claims to supersede...

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway - A Look At The Characters' Lives

3154 words - 13 pages Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on July 21, 1899.Indeed, it might be said that for some portion of the 20th century, Ernest Hemingway was the most famous person on Earth.To some extent his stature in the public imagination has only increased since his death, a suicide interpreted as the culmination of his belief in taking...

A Comparison of Greek and Norse Mythology

1748 words - 7 pages Hundreds of years ago people did not have the technology to explain different forces of nature. They created gods, each with separate powers, to rule their domains. Some of the gods were merciful, some were wicked, and others were merely servants of more powerful gods. Looking at the gods, it is easy to tell what the civilization most valued. I am going to look at the Greek and the Norse gods to compare what was most important to their...

An essay looking at Time - Space Distinction and Television. Through taking a closer look at Giddens' Theory on globalisation. Including Bibliography.

1433 words - 6 pages Giddens theory on globalisation indicates the key characteristics of the phenomenon to which we refer to as globalisation. His theory states that globalisation "tears away space from place' in that it allows, indeed 'fosters,' relations at distance - between people who are not united in the face-to-face presence of the locale". When we take this theory and explain it in simpler terms, it simply says that globalisation simply unites the world....

Norse Vs. Christian Mythology: The Beginning And The End

1911 words - 8 pages It is human nature to question our surroundings. Even dating back to the earliest days of mankind, the “caveman,” there are records suggesting our ancestors believed in something bigger than themselves—a life beyond what they could see. This belief carried thousands of years, in many forms, including polytheism and monotheism. Two of these belief systems are those of the Norsemen and those of Christians. Set over a thousand years apart from...

A Character Analysis Of Several Of The Characters From Flowers For Algernon By Daniel Keyes Including Charlie, Alice, Professor Nemur, And Rose

3264 words - 13 pages Charlie Gorden:Charlie had many actions throughout the book. There were many different things that motivated his actions. The things that motivated his actions are very dependant on what time in the novel they occurred. First of all, when Charlie was in Ms. Kinnian's class, wanting and wishing to be smart, that is exactly what motivated him to be...

A Brief Look At The Life And Times Of William Shakespeare

2689 words - 11 pages William Shakespeare lived a fascinating life during which he built up a good influential reputation. Most of his life was focused on his playwriting and acting career and his writings continue to be prominent even in today's culture. People wonder about his journey to becoming a playwright and what inspired him. It intrigues people how a man with only a simple grammar school education was able to write beautiful pieces. He wrote various plays and...

An End To Bullying: A Look At Some Of The Causes Of Bullying And Possible Ways To Correct Them

1257 words - 5 pages Recently, the topic of bullying amongst pre-teens and teenagers has gained national recognition. Devastating stories of student suicides due to bullying have brought the issue to the forefront of American attention. A number of television news channels have aired specials about the issue, including Anderson Cooper’s in-depth coverage on his CNN program. President Barack Obama has addressed the topic of bullying, most notably when he held a...