3 ms·
I always did wonder how it came to be that the "Thunder God" was king in basically all the Indo-European pantheons except the Norse one. I suspected it might ha
by naravara 8y ago
I always did wonder how it came to be that the "Thunder God" was king in basically all the Indo-European pantheons except the Norse one. I suspected it might have something to do with urbanization and reliance on agriculture, but your explanation makes way more sense.
Out of curiosity, what are the arguments that Thor was considered the highest of Gods originally? IIRC many of the ceremonial items they found on the boats were dedicated to Odin weren't they? (Though I suppose that being an analog to Mercury, he would make a lot of sense for voyagers to adopt as a patron).
- btilly 8y agoA mixture of things. Historical accounts such as Adam of Bremen describing Thor as the main god at Uppsala, the frequency of Thor's Hammer versus other religious symbols, the many references to Thor in Icelandic sagas. However Tacitus did describe Mercury at the chief Germanic god. So maybe Odin was the chief god after all. The popularity of Odin could also be a reflection of their social roles. Consider the Lay of Harbard: https://thenorsegods.com/the-lay-of-harbard/ https://thenorsegods.com/the-lay-of-harbard/. Elsewhere in the myths, Odin gives Harbard as one of his names, and it is believed that Harbard in this lay is actually Odin. Reading that, you'll see why the average peasant would be more interested in asking for Thor's help than Odin's. Conversely you'll see how a war leader would be more interested in Odin's help than Thor's.