Scandinavian god One

Ambiguous figure Odin occupies one of the key places in Scandinavian mythology. A number of researchers argue that one way or another God participates not only in every epochal event, but also in most small domestic episodes of the epic of the ancient Vikings: One adjusts events, participates in them, or directly or indirectly helps heroes, and often inflicts obstacles on them .

The image of Odin is bright and colorful. The ancients gave him the features of an elder, but this does not give him impotence and wretchedness, but on the contrary - emphasizes his wisdom. On the wisdom of Odin, as they say, made legends. Even a characteristic external feature of his - one-eyed - he is obliged to desire to receive secret knowledge: by sacrificing himself with his left eye, the Scandinavian god One could drink from the magical source of Mimir's knowledge. No less expressive feature is a wide-brimmed pointed hat or hood, a semi-shadowed face that gives mystery to the whole appearance. Odin is escorted by sacral satellites: two crows-scouts, two guard dogs and a faithful seven-legged horse Sleipnir.

However, Odin, with all his appearance as a priest, is the patron of the warrior. It is curious that this function was vested relatively late, and originally the Viking warriors were solely headed by Thor. But with the growth of Odin's popularity, the number of his admirers wishing to see the wise god as their patron grew.
The ancient warriors believed that God personally watched every battle and personally escorted the heroically fallen to Valhalla - a special place in the Scandinavian paradise, where the brave men always feast with gods and ancestors. However, this belief is not unique, having parallels in many other pagan religions of the world of those warlike times. For example, in Peru this function was given to Perun, and Perunitsa helped him to collect the souls of fallen soldiers for sending to Irius.

God One also had a weapon - the spearheaded Gungnir, capable of smashing the enemy without a miss. But, despite the honorary title of the patron of the troops, the presence of his own artifact weapons and a magical snow-white horse, Odin does not take part in battles, does not lead the troops behind him. He acts as the inspirer, the keeper of military success, the conductor of the lost souls. But always in the first place he follows his own interests: in the Scandinavian epoch there are many examples of how One does not save the hero, but leads to certain death. This is explained simply - waiting for the day Ragnarok, when the gods and heroes have to clash in a fierce battle with cruel giants, the wise One gathers under his wing the best of the best, so that they enter his heavenly army. This belief fits perfectly with the philosophy of the Viking warriors of that time that military success is impermanent, that death is not a tragedy, but one of the stages of the Path leading to the next life.

Helps Odin with the duties of Frigga, his wife. Judging by ancient legends, Odin's family is rather big: apart from Frigg, he has other, younger, wives and numerous children.

One, god of the mythology of the ancient Scandinavians, has not only a lot of names under which he was known to other European cultures of his time, but also many "twin brothers" in the cults of many other peoples. The Germans called him Vodan or Votan. In the mythology of the ancient Slavs Odin does not have a unique double, but you can draw parallels between him and Veles, Svarog, Perun. A number of researchers find some similarities between him and the Indian Shivva.