Norse Mythology – Ragnarok

Ragnarok, (meaning “Twilight of the Gods” in Old Norse) in Norse mythology, was the predestined death of the gods. A three-year winter (Fimbulvetr meaning “Extreme Winter”) led to a final battle, where the gods and the frost giants fought the epic final battle. Ragnarok marks the end of the old world, and the beginning of the new, current world.

Odin, who had previously attempted to prevent Ragnarok from occurring, led the gods. They were assisted by the heroic dead, those who had died in glorious battle and had been taken to live in Valhalla and await the final battle. The frost giants were led by the fire god Loki and assisted by the unworthy dead who came from Hel, and by other monsters.

The wolves Guilt and Hate catch the Sun and the Moon and swallow them. The stars disappear and the earth is dissolved in total darkness. The World Serpent who had been gnawing at the roots of the World Tree emerged from the waves, spewing poison all over the world, leading to a gigantic flood on earth. As the sea came to engulf the land, on it came a ship with Loki leading a group of giants. The ship was supposed to have been built out of uncut nails of dead men.

Odin knew that the end was near. During the massive battle, he gets swallowed by a giant wolf, which gets later gets killed by Odin’s son, as an act of revenge. Thor goes out to battle and manages to kill all, including the, but was overwhelmed by its deadly poison, which killed him ultimately. One by one all the gods and goddesses fell like nine pins and soon all gods and humans had perished after a pitched battle between the gods, giants, mortals and forces of nature.

 

Ragnarok is a scene of chaotic violence in which the fate of all races, all beings, is decided. The halls of the dead are emptied, as is the plain of Hel. All who have died, whether honorably or not, are brought back for a violent war. All creatures and races alive during that time are drawn to the field of battle and will fight, and die. All the gods and giants appear, and fight and the far majority of them die. Every human being except for two (which also means every single human in the culture who listened to this tale) die. Even those who were raised from Valhalla die again.

The picture of intense cold as a background for mounting fire and smoke rising to the stars, in conjunction with a tidal wave which engulfed the inhabited land, may have drawn much of its vigour and terror from such remembered catastrophe.

But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Amid the destruction, two humans were saved as they had taken refuge in the World Tree, who go on to start the world all over again.

The myth of destruction could have its influence from many Eastern myths, where a myth of destruction has been a common feature. This could have been used to depict the end of the Viking era, though one can’t deny the influence of the pre-Christian myths of destruction too.

Ragnarok is based on a famous poem Voluspa. Voluspa itself may have been inspired partly by the experience , either first hand or from vivid accounts from those who had witnessed it, of a major volcanic eruption in Iceland, such as we know took place at frequent intervals in historic times.

Norse Mythology – Chief Deities

Odin – was the chief god of the Nordic pantheon and was considered to be the father of all gods. He was the god of war and death, and also of wisdom. He was supposed to have hung on the Tree of Life for nine days pierced by his own spear. He was supposed to have even given one of his eyes for a drink from the well of knowledge and thus he is depicted as the one-eyed god. He is also depicted as wearing a cloak, being old, having a long grey beard, and wearing a wide brimmed hat down low over his face to conceal his one-eyed visage. Odin could make the dead speak to question the wisest amongst them.

Odin had a spear which never missed its mark and a bow which unleashed ten arrows with every pull. He also owned a magic ring which created nine of itself every night. Another one of Odin's prized possessions was his wonderful horse which had eight legs. It could travel to the underworld and through the air. Odin also had two wolves, and two ravens who were known as, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory). He sent his ravens out every day to gather knowledge for him.

Thor – was the god of thunder and son of Odin and was one of the most powerful of all the gods. He was usually depicted as a powerful man with red beard and eyes, which represented lightning. He was a popular god as he was considered to be the protector of both gods and mankind against all evil. His popularity could also be because of his worship did not require human sacrifices, as in the case of Odin.

During a thunderstorm Thor is believed to be riding through the heavens on his chariot which is pulled by two goats. Lightning flashes each time he throws his mighty hammer Mjollnir. He wears a belt which doubles his already amazing strength and wears a pair of iron gloves which are needed to hold his hammer. The fourth day of the week, Thursday is derived from his name.

Freyja – was the goddess of love and fertility. She was a paragon of beauty and sensuality and stood for all things associated with love. She loved music and poetry. It is said that when she mourned for her dead husband, her tears turned into gold! She is always shown wearing a precious necklace, which is also one of her key attributes. She could take the form of a falcon, which helped her to travel long distances. Her name is the origin of the fifth day of the week, Friday.

Loki – was a trickster, who though a god, was responsible for creating lot of trouble. He was both cunning and wicked and had the ability to change his appearance into anything that he wanted to.

Balder – was the god of purity, light and above all, reconciliation. He was loved by both the gods and mankind; He did not have too many powers, but his death plays an important role in the Nordic mythology.

Balder was troubled by dreams of his impending death which bothered his mother. She extracted an oath from all the living creatures that they would not harm him ever, thus making him sort of invincible. This left Balder in some peace. Loki was jealous of Balder’s popularity and through trickery learnt that his mother had not bothered to extract such an oath from mistletoe, a herb, thinking it was too small to be bothered. Once when everyone was playing dart, with Balder as the target (!), Loki tricked Balder’s twin brother, to try a dart made of mistletoe. As intended it pierced Balder’s heart and killed him instantly.

Later it was decided that Balder would be resurrected, only if everything in the world, living or dead would cry for him. All did, except Loki who wanted to see the end of Balder, and thus Balder remained in the underworld. This episode is considered to be an important act in the entire mythology of the Norse.

Norse Mythology – An Introduction

Norse Mythology refers to the mythology of the Scandinavians, i.e. the modern day Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and parts of Germany.

The Norse people lived from about A.D. 200 to 500 in northern Europe & Scandinavia. After A.D. 700, the Norse migrated in search of new lands, settling in parts of the British Isles, Iceland, Greenland and East into Russia. From this period on, the Norse are known as Vikings. Needless to say that one of the most famous Vikings known and loved the world over was the famous comic character, Hagar the Horrible!

Their mythology reflects the Nordic men’s love of battle and conflict. Death and violence are rarely far away, for that was the only life that he early warriors knew.

There isn’t too much of original writing now available except for some short runic inscriptions on wood, bone, stone or metal. However, majority of the stories and myths are based on the Christian writers. Majority of the myths are based on the poems and prose written by such writers. Amongst the prominent sources are:

1.     Saxo Grammaticus who wrote in heavy Latin style

2.     Snorri Sturluson wrote in native Icelandic, especially his Prose Edda

3.     Some precious manuscripts called the Codex Regius found in an Icelandic farmhouse, and better known as Elder or Poetic Edda.

Besides the above, there are references in Archaeology, architecture and art, which gives glimpses of the times and their heroes.

We also get an occasional glimpse of the life of Vikings and their religious customs thru the eyes of Latin or Arab travellers who visited their settlements and trading centres.

The Principal gods of the Norse were Odin, Thor, Freya, Balder, Freyr and Loki to name a few. In the centre of the world in the Tree of Life, Yggdrasill, around which everything in the universe revolves. The gods lived in Asgard and mankind lived in Midgard. Another interesting place in the Valhalla, which was the Hall of the Heroes who were all preparing for the final war, known as the Ragnarok.

Over the next few days, we will go through each one of them in more details.

Vasant Panchami

Vasant Panchami literally means the fifth day of the spring season (vasant ritu). This day is also considered as the day of Goddess Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning and wisdom. In earlier days, pre-school children were inducted to schools on this day, or were made to write from this day. In a country where education is a religion, this day has its own importance. In the Eastern parts of India, every household which has children in schools or colleges perform Saraswati Puja, besides the community ones held on this day.

Saraswati is the consort of Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe and the originator of all knowledge in the form of Vedas. In the eastern parts of India, Saraswati is considered to be the daughter of Shiva and Parvati. She is clad in white, symbolising purity. The vahana or the carrier of Saraswati is a white swan and this too has its own significance. The swan is supposed to have the ability to separate water from milk, signifying that learning and wisdom enables man to distinguish good from bad.

Mythologically, Saraswati is the sister of Goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth), but both are considered to be poles apart. Saraswati is permanent, where is Lakshmi is temporary (chanchala – fidgety, and thus does not stay anywhere forever). Worshipper of Saraswati is blessed for life, but the worshipper of Lakshmi is wealthy till the whims of the goddess.

Saraswati has her counterparts in other mythologies too.

Athena

According to Greek Mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and learning. She is the daughter of Zeus and is credited with inventing the flute, which symbolises her association with music and other fields of arts and craft.

Thoth

Besides the goddesses, the Egyptians had Thoth as the god of learning. Thoth was also associated with wisdom, writing, speech, etc. He was the chief counsellor to Ra, the King of all gods.



Odin



Odin was the god of wisdom in the Nordic mythology. He is supposed to have hung on the tree of knowledge pierced by his own spear to gain knowledge and wisdom. He is always depicted as one-eyed, as he is supposed to have traded his other eye for a drink from the Well of Wisdom, which enabled him to gain immense knowledge.

 Though there are many other mythologies which have gods and goddesses of wisdom, learning, poetry, arts, music, etc., the above are deities who are primarily associated with aspects of knowledge and wisdom.

We surely do live in times of dichotomy. Lakshmi or Saraswati? Wealth or Wisdom? To acquire wisdom, we need wealth, and the moment we acquire wisdom or learning, our objective turns to earn wealth. Somewhere, or the other, the pursuit of Saraswati seems to be to acquire Lakshmi. Serious worshippers of Saraswati have humble dwellings, and worshippers of Lakshmi live in palaces. Teachers travel in public transport while students come in chauffeur-driven cars. In the land of gurukuls and unflinching devotion to teachers, one needs to be a strong worshipper of Lakshmi to attain the blessings of Saraswati! Once the blessings of Saraswati are acquired, it’s time to appease Lakshmi again!

If this is not a serious dichotomy, then what is?

Self Sacrifice from Mythology to Modern Times

Part 2

Yesterday, we read about self-sacrifice and some examples from Indian Mythology. Today, we will read about the same in other mythologies –

Christian Mythology

According to the Christian mythology, god became incarnate in Jesus Christ and his death is considered to be the ultimate sacrifice. According to a view that has featured prominently in Western theology since early in the 2nd millennium, God's justice required atonement for sin from humanity if human beings were to be restored to their place in creation and saved from damnation. However, God knew limited human beings could not make sufficient atonement, for humanity's offense to God was infinite, so God sent his only Son to become the sacrifice of the everlasting covenant.

The concept of self-sacrifice is central to Christianity. Often found in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity is the idea of joining one's own sufferings to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

Greek Mythology

The Greek mythology includes several stories of persons greatly honoured because they offered themselves as sacrifice for principles of altruistic love, for conscience's sake or for the country's honour and freedom. Deaths as a heroic ideal, can be traced back to Greek mythology whose moral principles influenced Greek history and culture. The demi-god Prometheus was condemned to a form of crucifixion because his great philanthropy for humanity led him to disobey Zeus and bring fire and the arts to humanity.

Alkestis, for example, the wife of Admetos, the King of Thessaly, became legendary because of her self-sacrifice in order to save her husband's life. Her offer to die in her husband's place became a symbol or an ideal that can be realized when one offers oneself for sacrifice so that others may live. Alkestis was fully aware of the nobility of her sacrifice, which saved not only her husband but also her family and country.

There are many examples in classical Greek literature of persons who sacrificed themselves on behalf of honour and freedom of their homeland. The altruistic devotion to patriotic principles that led them to self-sacrifice became the subject of several dramas by Aeschylos, Sophocles and Euripides. Iphigeneia surrendered herself to be sacrificed for the unity of Hellenes and the successful expedition against Troy. Makaria, Hercules's daughter, sacrificed herself to save Athens; Menoikeus, the father of Creon, sacrificed himself to save Thebes; and Antigone preferred to die rather than violate the divine law and obey the rule of men.

Nordic Mythology

There isn’t any major reference of self-sacrifice in the Nordic Mythology, except for the self-sacrifice that Odin made to gain Knowledge. I will recount that in brief below.

The most impressive of the myths concerning Odin is that he hung for nine days and nights on the World Tree, even as his own victims used to hang, while he was pierced with a spear. He hung there as a sacrifice, ‘myself given to myself’ and fasted as he endured in agony, until at the end of the time he was able to bend down and lift up the magical runes which brought secret knowledge to men. This experience is described as if by Odin himself in the poem Havamal (Words of the High One). Thus Odin underwent something which closely resembles the visionary experience of death and resurrection endured by the shamans of Siberia and elsewhere as part of their initiation, and as a necessary preliminary to achieving powers of prophesy.

Tomorrow – we will see how the meaning of self-sacrifice has changed in the Modern times.