Marijana Veljkovic

Creation of the world

Ancient Asgard was ruled by the senior god, the all-father. He was the

ruler of everything and the creator of heaven and earth; During a complex creation myth in which the cosmic cow licked Buri free from the ice, the sons of Buri's son, Bor, who were Odin, Vili and V, constructed the universe and put Midgard in it as a residence for the first human couple, Ask and Embla, whom they created from driftwood trees. The sons of Bor then constructed Asgard as a home for the Aseir, who were divinities. Odin is identified as the all-father. Asgard is conceived as being on the earth. A rainbow bridge, Bifrst, connects it to heaven. In Asgard also is a temple for the 12 gods, Gladsheim, and another for the 12 goddesses, Vinglf. The plain of Idavoll is the centre of Asgard; The gods hold court there every day at the Well of Urd, beneath an ash tree, Yggdrasil, debating the fates of men and gods.

 In the Viking world, there were two families of deities Aesir and

Vanir. They were at war for a very long time, but since neither family was able to win the war, they concluded a truce; Members of Aesir were : Odin, Thor, Baldur, Tyr and Loki. They lived in Asgard; Members of Vanir were: Njord, Frey, Freya, Frigg (or Hlin), Henir (Ve) and Lodur (Vili).

Asgard

Aesir

Vanir

Odin
Supreme god, father of everything;
His trademark was a spear with magical powers, Gungnir, which would

hit every target; His horse was Sleipnir, which had eight legs; He was also accompanied by two ravens, Huginn (Thought) and Munin (Memory), that flew around the world, and reported back everything they would see; He was also the supreme god of war; From his throne on the mountain Hildskjalf he watched over nine worlds;

Thor
The strongest among gods, protector of order, divine thunderer;
He was a fierce enemy of giants, and was honored as the protector of

Asgard and Midgard; He was a son of Odin and Jord, and he lived with his spouse Sif; His most valued possession was his hammer, Mjllnir. It would smash anything it hit, afterwards returning to Thors hands; He travelled in a chariot towed by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tasnngnjostr, which had the magical power of regeneration.

Loki
Loki was the master of mischief, vicious and cunning; He was able to shift his shape and gender; His descendants are followers of the forces of evil; His children with the female giant Angrboda were: Hel queen of the

dead, Snake of the World Jormunganda and voracious wolf Fenir.

Freya
She was the goddess of love, birth, death and fertility; She liked luxury and beautiful items; She was also regarded as embodiment of sexual desire, and was

worshipped for her passionate nature, wherefore Loki accused her of sleeping with all gods, even her brother; It was said that she wept golden tears, so she was also called Goddess beutiful in tears.

Other gods
Baldur- god of beauty, innocence, peace, and rebirth; Tyr- god of war and also the god of the skies; Njord- God of sea, wind, fish, and wealth; Frey or Freyr- God of fertility; Frigg- Goddess of marriage and motherhood; Henir- The silent god. Lofn - Goddess of forbidden loves; Eir- Goddess of healing; Vli- God of revenge.

Other creatures
Beside gods, there are many other fantasy creatures in Norse

mythology. Giants; Dwarves; Trolls; Elves; Valkyries; Snakes; Dragons; Fenrir.

Giants
Giants are mostly mentioned as the enemies of gods;
There are numerous stories of affairs between gods and giants, ie. even

Thor was born from Odins relationship with Jord, who was a female giant; In myths, they are generally displayed as slow and boring, awed mostly for their monstrous size, which was greater even than gods; Once in a while they even displayed a kind nature; They were creatures of cold and dark.

Dwarves
Dwarves were always considered great craftsmen, having built all of the

treasures and magical items gods possessed; They lived in mountain caves, beneath the ground, and, much like the giants, didnt like the sunlight; They were generally friendly to people.

Trolls
They were underground creatures as well, although later folk tales

mention that the mounds in which they lived had openable tops through which the sunlight came inside; They often worked as giants servants.

Elves
Their characteristics were very contradictory: elves of the light were

considered almost as beutiful as gods, but the elves of the dark were malformed and disgusting; House owners would, within the fertility ceremony, offer them sacrifices at the beginning of winter.

Valkyries
The Valkyries were beutiful girls Odin sent to the battlefield to choose

warriors that will die; They decided who would win the battle; They also served the warriors in Valhalla.

Snakes
The snakes had generally negative connotation, and because they lived

underground, they were also considered to be related to the dead; Even though they had no mythical role, snakes were often confused with dragons; The most terrifying of all the snakes was the Snake of the world, Jormungand.

Dragons
Although snakes aroused fear, dragons were far more dangerous and

dreadful. With their fire breath they could incinerate anything in their way; Their shells were impenetrable to swords and arrows; They lived in bronze-age tumuli, which were the size of small hills.. Due to their affiliation to the underground, they also came out only after sundown.

Fenrir
Fenrir was a gigantic and terrible monster who favoured the shape of

wolf greater in size than any man; He was the eldest child of the god Loki and the giantess Angerboda.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.