Many Beliefs Influence Our Lives Today

Thor, Odin, and Loki, all good marvel characters, but they didn’t originate in the minds of Stan Lee. In fact they originated nearly 1300 years earlier, in the Viking age. In that time Norse mythology was born in its entirety. The way it was shaped was an effect of the Viking way, and the Viking way was affected by their mythology. Norse mythology didn’t stay inclusive to their own gods because of their raids and trading they learned different religions. Norse mythology integrated another mythology into theirs. This in turn cause wars between those said gods, specific to this essay the Aesir-Vanir War. This affected how Vikings saw the use of Seidr and this event was directly related to them raiding and trading with other lands.

Since the beginning of time the people of the world have their share of beliefs. Greek mythology is the arguably the most popular region of study. In Ancient Greece every citizen had a patron that would protect them and pantheism was commonplace. The Romans admired the Greeks in their art and culture and even took different aspects of their gods. Polytheism was widely accepted in all cultures so the seed of mythology bloomed. The time line of the creations of gods to the end of their reign is an important factor in Greek Mythology.

The next comparison between two stories is that of Norse mythology and Greek mythology. Both stories have very similar ideas and ways of telling their stories of how their world came into being. Norse has their giants, who gave birth to the original three gods that created Midgard. The Greeks have the Titans who bore the Greek gods who overthrew them as well to control the Earth. Both myths contain the presence of creatures in their stories, beasts who helped shape their respective worlds to move the culture’s creation stories further along. Creatures within these worlds would be the dwarves, the serpent Nidhogg, and demons of Norse myth and the Cyclopes, the furies, and Typhon of Greek origin Furthermore, the children of some of these creatures were divines, who ended up overthrowing their elders to lead the creation of their own worlds, to rule over their own creations as well. And speaking of the world, both myths have multiple layers to their

Thor is one of the most famous of the gods in Norse mythology, well known due to his popularity. Thor is described as having a quick and hot temper, and a love for food. The enemies of the gods, the giants, were on the receiving end of

Norse Mythology’s creation started with a giant named Ymir. He emerged from the ground and grew very large from cow’s milk. In time, the god Buri and his wife appeared and gave birth to Bor and Bor’s son was named Odin. Ymir, was evil, and the gods didn’t like it, so they killed him, making his huge body form the earth. His blood became the sea, his flesh became land, his bones became mountains, his hair became the trees, and his

According to the Norse Mythology for Smart People in the article, “THOR,” Thor is the thunder god, who protects Asgard from the giants, “Thor, the brawny thunder god, is the archetype of a loyal and honorable warrior, the ideal toward which the average human warrior aspired. He’s the indefatigable defender of […] Asgard from the encroachments of the giants […].” Thor is described as having similar characteristic of Finn: Loyal and honorable. Thor is also strong and courageous: “His courage and sense of duty are unshakeable, and his physical strength is virtually unmatched,” (THOR).

In mutiple times in the movie, there was reference to the Norse Gods, Odin and Thor. Stoick the Vast, leader of the village spoke it in an expression of happiness, “OH, THOR ALMIGHTY!” At another scene, Gobber, a viking warrior missing his hand and

Greek Mythology originated around 775 B.C.E. It all started with Homer’s Iliad and continued on with Hesiod’s Theogany. These were the first two myths to be recorded in Greek Mythology. Both of these myths reveal to us about their understanding of the universe, and about their culture. Not only do they talk about their various gods, and heroes, but they also talk about how they viewed the universe in general (Rosenberg 79). Greek Mythology evolved from two early civilizations, the Mycenaean’s and the Minoans. It was the combining of these different Greek cities and Kingdoms during 10th century B.C. that created Greek Mythology. Its Geographic isolation gave it a place for mythologies to evolve (Gale Virtual Reference Library: Greek

There are several myths that revolve around Odin and his endless quest for wisdom and how he is able to use that to his advantage (Holland,186). In myth 15 he learns wisdom from a giant named Vafthrudnir, in the story he challenges the giant to a contest by asking each other questions and the wager is their heads. After asking multiple questions to see who is wiser, Odin defeats the giant. In myth 28, Odin goes about reaching ultimate knowledge in a different way. In the myth he raises seeresses from the dead to gain knowledge and even sacrifices himself to win the occult wisdom possessed only by the dead; and came back to life to use that knowledge in the world of living (Holland, 187).

The four mythologies that have influenced European culture are Greek and Roman mythology, involving the gods of Mount Olympus, Mesopotamian mythology, from the Middle East, Egyptian mythology, in which the sun plays a central role, and Norse mythology from Scandinavia.

Origin myths deliver stories explaining how the world, humans or objects came to existence. Describing where the nation comes from, they are very important to the culture of given region. Therefore, each nation developed its own stories and beliefs; however, there are many similarities between myths of various religions and cultures. A good example would be Native American stories about origin and their resemblance to Greek mythology or to the Bible. Similarities can be seen in different spheres such as creation of humankind or even in the story about flood.

Other signs showing Tolkien's influence in Norse mythology can be noted through the various similarities between Odin and Gandalf. Agreeably they are both known to possess supernatural strengths such as magic and the

In Norse mythology, Thor is known as the God of Thunder. The Vikings believed that the sound of thunder was caused by Thor. In the Norse myth, Thor and his mighty hammer, Miolnir, take on the destructive giants. It is said that every crack of thunder is Thor dropping his hammer down. (The Encyclopedia of Ancient Myths and Culture 449-455)

Loki is the embodiment of, “Of course it was Loki. It 's always Loki.” Loki is unquestionably the biggest question mark within Norse mythology. He is portrayed as a scheming, mischievous deity who has no real loyalties, his role is shrouded in mystery; what was his purpose in the ancient stories. Loki’s character arises questions about his role; was he a plot device, a foil for the Aesir, or maybe he was meant to be used as a warning to child? Within the pantheon of Norse gods, he was an anomaly; his fellow gods are mostly one dimensional and Loki is anything but. Loki is the antithesis to the culture the Norse gods represented; honor, courage, fidelity, truth, discipline, hospitality, industriousness, self reliance, perseverance. Loki is

Most of the comparisons will be examining the similarities between major Greek and Norse gods, as well as creatures, stories and specific symbols which are featured in the mythologies. Some of the gods do not have direct counterparts (Thor, Athena and Loki). However, I will provide possible similarities within the respective mythologies.