Curiosities Related to Norse Mythology

When I first came across Norse mythology in my early teens, I assumed it to be a variation on pre-Christian Greek and Roman religion. There were immediate similarities, including the human form of the gods, the fact that they live together in a palace, that Zeus and Thor strike their enemies with lightning, and that Venus and Freya are goddesses of beauty. There are other similarities too, but I soon saw that the two religions deviate on other points, and I've since come to the conclusion that they are quite different.

I know a lot more about Norse mythology than Greek mythology, so I can't say for sure that the two are as different as I believe them to be, but they are both different from Christian religion. That's for sure. So different in fact that it seems strange that anyone took these older religions seriously. However, closer scrutiny of Norse mythology reveals a world view that makes perfect sense, and that might even be of help in today's world.

Norse mythology focuses on order and chaos rather than good and evil. Furthermore, order isn't judged superior to chaos. It's merely seen as a better mode of operation, and something to strive for. This means that there are no demons, only forces of different strengths, all engaged in a perpetual struggle for dominance and survival.

This in turn, leads to a world view where facts and data are of little importance. What matters is integrity and perseverance. Reality doesn't care much about facts. Reality rewards the ones that do the right thing, and punish those who do the wrong thing. Facts are in this respect retrospective. We only know things for sure in hindsight, so facts cannot be tossed at others as some kind of weapon. Furthermore, most of our enemies are forces of chaos for whom facts don't matter. Facts can therefore only be used privately, and preferably in secret, for private purposes.

Another interesting feature of Norse mythology is the fact that the gods are mortals, which at first seems rather un-godlike. However, this is necessary in order to tie the activities of gods up to those of humans. One of our greatest challenges in life is how to deal with our mortality. It's therefore important to have the gods themselves grappling with this problem.

Greek mythology gets around this by their introduction of heroes who serve as examples for humans. Christians have Jesus. However, Norse mythology doesn't do any of this. There are no heroes and there are no Jesus figure. Norse gods frequently enter the realm of human affairs, but they don't produce heroes or similar godlike figures. Instead, they embody the problem of mortality by being mortals themselves.

Another feature of Norse mythology is the existence of nine realms. This sounds at first needlessly complex, and the fact that two of these realms are hardly ever mentioned indicate that this is so. However, once the realms are properly understood, we see that this too makes sense. Let's therefore look at them in their logical rather than alphabetic order.

1. Muspelheim - Realm of fire and home of the fire giant Sutr, the ultimate destroyer of all things.
2. Nilfheim - Realm of ice and mist. Home of frost giants.

These two realms are in perpetual conflict with each other. However, it's in the chaotic intersection between these two forces that everything comes into existence. All other realms are the product of this conflict.

3. Asgard - Heavenly realm of order where the gods reside in Valhalla together with the souls of the honourable dead.
4. Alfheim - Home of the Alfs. Heavenly realm of magic and natural chaos, ruled over by Freya's brother.
5. Vanaheim - Home of the Vanirs. Heavenly realm of magic and natural chaos.
6. Jotunheim - Home of the Jotuns. Realm of untamed natural forces and total chaos.

These four realms reflect a perpetual struggle among the gods themselves as well as a common struggle against total, rather than natural, chaos.

The current rulers among the gods are the Aesirs who hold court in Valhalla, together with Alfs and Vanirs. There is peace among the gods. However, there was a great battle between Asirs and Vanirs in the past. This battle was undecided, with Vanaheim destroyed but not conquered. The current arrangement is therefore a truce.

This past battle points forward to the next great battle, Ragnarok, which will also end in a truce, this time with Asgard destroyed. However, this future battle will not be fought among the gods. Rather, it will be fought against the Jotuns and their allies.

From this, we can draw the conclusion that time is seen as cyclical, without being strictly repetitive. We're seeing patterns repeat in endless combinations and variations.

7. Midgard - Orderly realm of human affairs, surrounded on all sides by a sea of chaos.
8. Hellheim - Realm of disgraceful dead.
9. Nidarvelle - Realm of technology and engineering, inhabited by dwarfs with god-like abilities to produce mindboggling technologies.

These realms relate to the visible universe and two types of underworlds, one being that of hell and the other being that of mining, engineering and technology. It's interesting to note that the dwarfs can produce things that the gods are incapable of making. The gods' greatest treasures, including Thor's hammer, all come from Nidarvelle.

While this is elaborate, it's not nonsensical. There's a purpose to each realm. They serve to illustrate several important points, among them the fact that Norse gods are both mortal and limited in their powers. There's no paradox related to evil like there is in Christian doctrine where God is almighty.

In Norse mythology, there's a huge battle looming, and there's nothing the gods can do except to push this as far into the future as possible. The overall story moves towards conflict. The gods find it increasingly difficult to keep the forces of chaos at bay. One monster after another is tied down and contained, but it's clear where everything is headed. The gods will lose control. The forces of chaos will break free, and they will home in on Asgard and Midgard for a battle that will end in total destruction.

It's easy to read into this that Norse mythology is some kind of warrior religion, and many claim that Valhalla is only welcoming warriors. However, Odin, the king of the gods, seems to be of a different opinion. Odin cares about ordinary people, and he frequently visits Midgard to take part in human affairs. His poem of wisdom, Hávamál, is all about practicalities related to ordinary life. That would not have been the case if Norse mythology was mainly about waging war.

Furthermore, the gods themselves are not too keen on war. Only Thor has a habit of going out to ambush Jotuns here and there. Everybody else are preoccupied with other things, and they make a point of having fun. There are jokes scattered throughout the entire complex of stories. The overarching theme of Norse religion is courage and a lust for life and adventure. As long as we have the courage to live life to the fullest within the confining limits of our environment, we'll secure ourselves a place in Valhalla.

To further drive in the point that Norse mythology is for everyone, the gods don't care whether we're rich or poor. There's also no obsession with purity. Women dn't have to be virgins in order to marry. Thor has a stepson. His wife Sif must therefore have had a prior relationship. Yet this doesn't bother Thor the least. Another god is married to a Jotun, and he's very happy about that. Never mind that he'll one day fight Jotuns in battle. His wife is both beautiful and wild in bed. Furthermore, his marriage to her is helping to push Ragnarok into the future, so it's all for the best.

All of this boils down to a pragmatic world view in which nothing is purely good or purely evil. Our task in life is to navigate this world to the best of our abilities. If that means that we'll ally ourselves with chaos for a while, so be it. We don't have to defend our every step. We don't have to explain anything. All that matters is that we live life courageously.

With tyranny very much on the rise these days, Norse mythology contains some useful advise. If we must choose, it's better to be strong and courageous than pure and good, because nobody cares if we're pure and good in the heat of battle.

Odin fighting Fenris

By Emil Doepler - Doepler, Emil. ca. 1905. Walhall, die Götterwelt der Germanen. Martin Oldenbourg, Berlin. Page 55. Photographed and cropped by User:Haukurth., Public Domain, Link