Can anyone give me a summary or the important characters in Norse mythology ? it must be atleast 250 words. best answers will be marked brainliest........
Answers
Numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts such as the hammer-wielding, humanity-protecting thunder-god Thor, who relentlessly fights his foes; the one-eyed, raven-flankedgod 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.
Most of the surviving mythology centers on the plights of the gods and their interaction with various other beings, such as humanity and the jötnar, beings who may be friends, lovers, foes or family members of the gods. The cosmos in Norse mythology consists of Nine Worlds that flank a central cosmological tree, Yggdrasil. Units of time and elements of the cosmology are personified as deities or beings. Various forms of a creation myth are recounted, where the world is created from the flesh of the primordial being Ymir, and the first two humans are Ask and Embla. These worlds are foretold to be reborn after the events of Ragnarök, when an immense battle occurs between the gods and their enemies, and the world is enveloped in flames, only to be reborn anew. There the surviving gods will meet, and the land will be fertile and green, and two humans will repopulate the world.
Norse mythology has been the subject of scholarly discourse since the 17th century, when key texts were brought to the attention of the intellectual circles of Europe. By way of comparative mythology and historical linguistics, scholars have identified elements of Germanic mythology reaching as far back as Proto-Indo-European mythology. In the modern period, the Romanticist Viking revivalre-awoke an interest in the subject matter, and references to Norse mythology may now be found throughout modern popular culture. The myths have further been revived in a religious context among adherents of Germanic Neopaganism.
Summary
From the first Odin had a desire for knowledge and wisdom, and he consulted all living things to obtain them. He gained most from his uncle Mimir, who guarded the Well of Knowledge, but he had to sacrifice an eye to drink from the Well. Odin also went to great lengths to acquire the art off poetry, which was contained in a magic potion that was kept in a Giant's underground caldron. Having determined to obtain the potion, Odin put himself in bondage to a Giant, whom he persuaded to blast a hole to the underground dwelling where the substance was kept. Odin then entered the dwelling as a snake, changed back into human shape, made friends with Suttung the Giant, who owned the potion, seduced the Giant's daughter, and obtained the mixture from her. Then he flew back to Asgard as an eagle, destroying Suttung in the process, and dispensed the potion to human poets.
The gods were subject to aging, and they rejuvenated themselves by eating magic apples kept by the goddess Idun. However, Odin chose a different, harder way. He freely wounded himself with his own spear and hung himself for nine days from the cosmic tree Yggdrasil, which was shaken by winds. In this manner he renewed his youth, but he also became the master of the magic runes, inscriptions that could accomplish any mortal purpose, whether beneficial or baneful.
Through his powers of wisdom, poetry, and magic Odin was of much use to men. In warfare his mere presence could strike the enemy blind, deaf, and impotent. He valued courage above all other human traits, a quality which he himself possessed in abundance. Fully aware that he himself, his followers and comrades, and the universe itself were doomed, bravery was what mattered most to him in the face of certain defeat. Thus he collected a band of only the most courageous warriors to sit with him in Valhalla. These men would go down fighting with him at the crack of destruction. And Odin would be devoured by the wolf Fenrir.
The god of storm and thunder, Thor was a mighty fighter. He had iron gloves, a girdle that doubled his power, and an invincible flying hammer. Thor traveled in a chariot drawn by male goats. When he was hungry he killed and ate them, but he simply laid his hammer on their hides to revive them. One day Thor discovered that his hammer was missing, and Loki found that the Giant Thrym had stolen it. Thrym wanted to marry Freya in return for the hammer, but the goddess Freya loathed the idea. So it was decided that Thor would go to Thrym's hall disguised as Freya. Thor took Loki with him. Thrym was astonished at how much the bride ate and drank, but Loki told him "she" had not eaten or drunk for nine days in her anxiousness to join the Giants. Thrym then went to kiss his bride and was amazed that she had a red complexion and eyes that flashed fire. Again Loki explained she was feverish from lack of sleep in her joy at joining Thrym. In a hurry to get the marriage over with, Thrym ordered that the hammer be placed on the bride's knees according to custom. Thor laughted in his heart, and having regained his hammer he struck all the Giants in the hall dead.
Resolved to kill the Midgard Serpent that surrounded the earth, ate its own tail, and lived in the ocean, Thor accepted shelter from the Giant Hymir. When Thor said he wished to go fishing, Hymir treated him contemptuously. But Thor slew one of Hymir's bulls to use the head for bait, and he and Hymir sailed out into the ocean. Thor took the boat far past the point that Hymir felt was safe. Then he baited the hook and threw it in the sea. Before long the Midgard Serpent snatched the bait and was caught. Its thrashing banged up Thor's hands and wrists against the gunwale, and in the struggle the bottom of the boat fell through, so that Thor found himself standing on the ocean floor. With that added stability he drew the serpent up with an enormous heave. As he was about to slay the monster with his hammer the terrified Hymir cut the line, allowing the serpent to escape. Thor then felled and drowned the cowardly Hymir as he tried to escape. But he would not kill the Midgard Serpent till doomsday, or Ragnarok, when he would perish as well.