Scandinavian Mythology
In the Scandinavian mythology Ymir the personification of Chaos or first created being, was produced by the antagonism of heat and cold, nourished by the four milky streams from the cow Audhumla. While he slept a man and woman grew out of his left arm, and sons from his feet, from whom was formed the race of Frost Giants.
Odin and his two brothers slew Ymir and threw the carcase into the Ginnungagap, or abyss of abysses. The blood formed the waters of the Earth; the bones the Mountains, the skull the Heavens; the teeth, Rocks; the brains, Clouds; the hair, plants of every kind; and the eyebrows, a wall of defence against the Giants.
As in the Greek and Roman mythology, the Celestials or Æsir of the Scandinavians were twelve in number, the chief being Odin. Each god dwelt in his mansion in Asgard (God’s Ward), situated on the heavenly hills between the Earth and the Rainbow.
The other gods or Asa were:
| Thor. | God of Thunder and War. |
| Tyr. | God of Wisdom. |
| Baldur. | God of Sun. |
| Bragi. | God of Eloquence. |
| Vidar. | God of Silence. |
| Hodar. | The Blind. |
| Harnod. | The Messenger (divine intelligence) |
| Odur. | |
| Loki. | God of Mischief. |
All these were sons of Odin—the youngest being Vale. The mansion of Odin was Gladsheim—that of Frigga, his wife Fensalir. Baldur’s was Broadblink or “Vast Splendour.”
The Refectory, or Hall of the Æsir, was Valhalla, in which the spirits of warriors were entertained by the twelve Valkyries (armed and mounted nymphs), who in battle selected those destined for death.
Supreme were the “Mysterious Three” called Har the Mighty, the Like Mighty and the third person, who sat on the throne above the Rainbow.
The Scandinavian Fates or Nornir, representing the Past, Present and Future, sat spinning the web of events of human life beneath the ash tree Yggdrasil, whose roots ran in three directions, one to Asgard, one to the Frost Giants, and the third to the underworld. Beneath each was a fountain of wonderful virtue.