The Vikings of Valhalla
... a bloody history
in which just before daybreak,
I thought I cleared Valhǫll,
for coming of slain men?
'What kind of a dream is it,
' said Óðinn...
wine to carry,
as for a king's coming,
here to me
I expect heroes'
coming from the world,
certain great ones,
..so glad is my heart!'
The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition.
Numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts such as the hammer-wielding, humanity-protecting god Thor, who unrelentingly pursues his foes; the one-eyed, raven-flanked god Odin, who craftily pursues knowledge throughout the worlds and bestowed among humanity the runic alphabet; the beautiful, seiðr-working, feathered cloak-clad goddess Freyja who rides to battle to choose among the slain; the vengeful, skiing goddess Skaði, who prefers the wolf howls of the winter mountains to the seashore; the powerful god Njörðr, who may calm both sea and fire and grant wealth and land; the god Freyr, whose weather and farming associations bring peace and pleasure to humanity; the goddess Iðunn, who keeps apples that grant eternal youthfulness; the mysterious god Heimdallr, who is born of nine mothers, can hear grass grow, has gold teeth, and possesses a resounding horn; the jötunn Loki, who brings tragedy to the gods by engineering the death of the goddess Frigg's beautiful son Baldr; and numerous other deities.
The cosmology of the worlds in which all beings inhabit—nine in total—centers around a cosmological tree, Yggdrasil.
The gods inhabit the heavenly realm of Asgard whereas humanity inhabits Midgard, a region in the center of the cosmos. Outside of the gods, humanity, and the jötnar, these Nine Worlds are inhabited by a variety beings, such as elves and dwarfs. Travel between the worlds is frequently recounted in the myths, where the gods and other beings may interact directly with humanity. Numerous creatures live on Yggdrasil, such as the insulting messenger squirrel Ratatoskr and the perching hawk Veðrfölnir. The tree itself has three major roots, and at the base of one of these roots live a trio of norns.Elements of the cosmos are personified, such as the Sun (Sól, a goddess), the Moon (Máni, a god), and Earth (Jörð, a goddess), as well as units of time, such as day (Dagr, a god) and night (Nótt, a jötunn).
The afterlife is a complex matter in Norse mythology. The dead may go to the murky realm of Hel—a realm ruled over by a female being of the same name, may be ferried away by valkyries to Odin's martial hall Valhalla, or may be chosen by the goddess Freyja to dwell in her field Fólkvangr.The goddess Rán may claim those that die at sea, and the goddess Gefjon is said to be attended by virgins upon their death.
THE 13th WARRIOR 1999
BEOWULF 2007
VALHALLA RISING 2009
CONAN THE BARBARIAN 2011
CONAN THE BARBARIAN 1982
CONAN THE DESTROYER 1984
THOR 2011
THOR THE DARK WORLD 2013
ODIN
FRIGG
THOR
LOKI
IGGDRASIL
valhalla
Mjolnir
*CLICK ON EACH GOD/SYMBOL/PICTURE FOR MORE INFO
(some of the most popular gods
in nordic mythology)