Meet the 10 most famous Norse gods. Discover the myths and legends surrounding them, learn about their most representative feats, and how they have endured.
Most important Norse gods
Of some of the best-known mythologies in history, the Norse gods probably have one of the most vague origins, with their primary knowledge taken from a mosaic of oral traditions and local tales that were conceived in both ancient pre-Christian Germania and early medieval Scandinavia.
One of the best examples of this medieval influence on Norse mythology relates to the narrative of the Æsir-Vanir War, in which two different pantheons (representing the Æsir and Vanir tribes of Norse gods) merge into a single literary realm. So without further ado, let’s take a look at 12 Norse gods and goddesses you should know about.
1.- Ymir
He is the god who created the seas and lakes with his blood. As in most mythologies, including Mesopotamian and Egyptian, the Norse pantheon had its primitive entity in the form of Ymir, the ancestor of all jötnar (mythical entities ranging from giants to other fantastic creatures).
After his own genesis, Ymir, with his hermaphroditic body, was responsible for giving birth to men, women, and other mythical beings, who in turn would give birth to future generations. His blood represented the seas and oceans, while his bones formed the rocks and mountains. Furthermore, his hair was used for trees, his skull was transformed into the sky and the heavens, and his brain became clouds. Finally, his eyebrows became Midgard—the “middle realm” of humanity.
2.- Odin
Odin, possibly the most revered and enigmatic of all the Norse gods, was considered the king of the Æsir tribe of gods. Historically, Odin has always been prominent in the pantheon of Germanic mythology, as is evident in Tacitus’ late 1st-century AD work Germania (where Odin is seen as the equivalent of the Roman god Mercury).
And given his mythical eminence within the cultural framework of the Germanic people, Odin was associated with various (and often antithetical) aspects, ranging from wisdom, healing, and royalty to death, sorcery, and even frenzy.
3.- Frigga
Possibly the most important of all the Norse goddesses when it came to their pantheon, Frigga was considered the Queen of the Æsir and the goddess of the sky. In addition, she had the special status of being Odin’s wife.
The deity, with her power of foresight, was also frequently associated with fertility, home, motherhood, marriage, and even domestic affairs. In essence, of all the Norse gods, it was Frigga’s mythical aspects that were most closely associated with the perceived happiness of family life.
4.- Thor
Arguably the most famous of the Norse gods, Thor ( Þórr in Old Norse), the god of thunder, with his strong power and boisterous ways, personified the formidable warrior who was granted high status in ancient Germanic society and the early Middle Ages.
His physical appearance is represented by his beard and red eyes, and he was hailed as the loyal and faithful defender of the fortress of Asgard of the Æsir, thus suggesting his symbolic role as the protector of the ordered cosmos.
5.- Balder
Considered the god of light and purity, Balder, or Baldur (Baldr in Old Norse), the youngest son of Odin and Frigg, and half-brother of Thor, personified the splendid summer sun. He was also hailed as a beautiful, wise, and graceful divine being, whose beauty even humbled the elegant flowers before him.
He is so beautiful of face and bright that a splendor radiates from him, and there is a flower so white that it resembles Balder’s forehead; it is the whitest of all flowers. From this one can deduce how beautiful his body is and how bright his hair is. He is the wisest of the gods, and the sweetest, and the most merciful, but it is his characteristic that once he has pronounced a judgment, it can never be altered.
6.- Tyr
The deity of war and heroic glory. Tyr was considered the bravest of the Norse gods by the Germanic people. And despite his association with wars—more specifically with the formalities of conflict, including treaties—his origins are quite enigmatic, possibly making him one of the oldest and most important deities in the ancient Germanic pantheon.
He was associated with formalities, and the god was also hailed as the deity of justice and oaths. Often depicted as the one-handed god, as his limb was bitten off by the monstrous wolf Fenrir when the god tried to catch the creature (and Fenrir was thus successfully bound until Ragnarök thanks to Tyr’s sacrifice).
7.- Bragi
Bragi (roughly translated as “poet” in Old Norse), often considered the Skaldic god of poetry in Norse mythology, belongs to a unique mythical character who may have shared traits with the historical 9th-century bard.
He was hailed as the skilled god-poet who sang and delighted the hordes of Einherjar (warriors who died in battle and were taken to Odin’s majestic hall by the Valkyries). Snorri Sturluson wrote (in Gylfaginning)
He was known for his wisdom and, above all, for his fluency of speech and skill with words. He knows most of the mastery, and after him it is called bravura, and by his name he is called bravura or woman, who possesses an eloquence superior to that of others, of women or of men.
8.- Loki
Loki is considered the trickster among the Norse gods, who, as a jötunn, son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess (or goddess) Laufey, also possesses the power to change shape. Essentially, he is portrayed as an entity who is not entirely evil in his capricious purposes, yet particularly intriguing in his cruel actions—many of which lead to misfortune and even tragedy (such as the accidental death of Balder).
9.- Hel
Descriptions of Hel, the being, have been found in numerous Viking sagas and poems, and most of them portray her as partially decomposed with the face and body of a living woman (albeit with a grim and dejected appearance), but with the thighs and legs of a corpse.
Even so, among the Norse goddesses, she was said to be the most powerful, even more so than Odin himself, within her own realm, Hel. The tragic episode of Balder’s death confirms this association with power, as it is ultimately up to Hel to decide the fate of the soul of a god considered the wisest and purest of all the Norse gods of Æsir.
10.- Heimdall
Often described as the ever-vigilant guardian god of Asgard, the stronghold of the Norse Æsir gods, Heimdall (or Heimdallr in Old Norse) was hailed as the descendant of the giant Fornjót and the grandson of the sea jötunn (singular of jötnar) Ægir.
Conclusion
Norse mythology is the collection of myths of the Germanic peoples of the north, which originate from Norse paganism and continue after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and in modern Scandinavian folklore.
Remember that the northernmost extension of Germanic mythology, Norse mythology, consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk traditions.
