List of 7 Pagan Gods. Mythological Pagan Gods

The old pagan gods, those legendary figures from the Norse, Greek, Roman, and many other belief systems, are fascinating subjects. These gods had all the emotional fallibility of human beings, but all the power of the gods they were, and in their stories, they proved capable of appalling levels of pettiness, jealousy, and outright cruelty. However, they were also capable of being very kind, heroic, and just, which resulted in a truly interesting set of characters.

Image gallery of pagan gods

Pagan gods

The pagan gods who have survived the millennia with their names and stories intact are the ones we love the most; something about their personalities, their struggles, or their stories intrigues us. They are the most compelling of all, so let’s explore them by taking a look at 7 ancient pagan gods we still love today.

1.- Loki

Of all the gods worshipped by the Germanic peoples of the north, few would have expected the mischievous Loki to become the most popular pagan god of all time. But he has, and then some.

Loki is the trickster god of Norse mythology, and he differs from the other gods in several ways. For one thing, his lineage is not entirely divine; at least one of his parents was a giant, and giants were the enemies of the gods.

2. Zeus

No list of our favorite pagan gods would be complete without the one known as the father, the cloud gatherer, and the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus, Zeus. Zeus was a descendant of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Because Cronus had usurped control of the heavens from his own father, he feared that his children would do the same to him. To prevent this from happening, he decided to eat them all, including Zeus.

3. Hercules

While Hercules becomes a god in his own right after his death, he was technically a demigod in life. This is one of the big reasons why we still love his story.

Hercules is the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene, and he is famous for his superhuman strength and many adventures and heroic deeds. Unlike the gods, Hercules does not sit atop a divine mountain, but is down here with the rest of humanity, struggling through all the difficulties of mortal life. He is one of us, albeit a little tougher.

4.- Odin

Zeus may get most of the press, but when it comes to leaders of the gods, few are tougher than Odin. Hailing from Norse mythology, Odin is the leader of the Norse gods, wielder of the divine spear Gungnir, and husband of the goddess Frigga.

He has two ravens that he sends out at dawn to fly over the entire world, after which they return to tell him everything they saw. Odin is the one who rides the eight-legged flying steed, Sleipnir, and is said to have given the gift of life to the first two humans.

5.- Thor

If Loki is the most popular villain among the ancient pagan gods, then Thor is undoubtedly the shining prince of mythology, the hero par excellence. This is a case where the mythological figure almost matches his contemporary counterpart: the Thor we see in the Marvel movies is cheeky, stubborn, angry, honorable, and heroic, just like his mythological counterpart.

In Norse mythology, Thor is the god of thunder, lightning, storms, and strength who embarks on numerous adventures, often in conflict, and works alongside Loki.

6.- Shinigami

Shinigami is not one god, but many. Appearing in Japanese folklore, these are the gods who govern the transition from life to death. Interestingly, these gods did not exist in traditional Japanese folklore or religion; they only entered the Japanese collective consciousness after contact with Western cultures, as a result of the interaction between Christian ideas and traditional Shinto and Buddhist beliefs.

These beings are not like the Western Grim Reaper —they simply ensure that people die when their time comes, working in pairs to escort souls to the afterlife.

7.- Hel

Here is a goddess you may not have heard much about yet, but who is sure to explode in popularity soon. Hel is the daughter of Loki, and presides over a realm that shares her name, where she receives those who die outside of battle. She is a grim character, described as a half-blackened corpse, half-living flesh, indifferent to the concerns of the living.

When the beloved god Baldur died at the hands of Loki’s scheming, Hel welcomed him into her realm in the underworld. The gods begged her to return him, but she agreed to release him only if every creature in the world mourned Baldur’s loss sincerely. Of course, there was a Loki, disguised as a female giant, who refused to cry. Baldur was lost.

Conclusion

The fact that we continue to tell stories about these gods and goddesses thousands of years after their heyday is amazing, and these beings in particular have a special appeal that goes beyond the norm.

Perhaps it is because they are powerful. Or perhaps it is because we would like to be able to affect the world as they do. But most likely of all, their larger-than-life personalities and stories simply allow us to glimpse the extremes of life that few of us ever get to experience.