Aesir
Alternative Names:
Æsir, 아사신족
In Old Norse, áss (or ǫ́ss, ás, plural æsir, feminine ásynja, feminine plural ásynjur) is the term denoting one of the principal gods of the pantheon of Norse paganism. They include many of the major figures, such as Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr.
The cognate term in Old English is ós, denoting a god in Anglo-Saxon paganism. The latinised Gothic term used by Jordanes is anses. They continue a Proto-Germanic *ansuz. The a-rune ᚫ was named after the æsir. Unlike Old English god (and Old Norse goð), the term ós (áss) was never adopted into Christian use.
Norse mythology
The interaction between the Æsir and the Vanir is an interesting aspect of Norse mythology. While other cultures have had "elder" and "younger" families of gods, as with the Titans versus the Olympians of ancient Greece, the Æsir and Vanir were portrayed as contemporary. The two clans of gods fought battles, concluded treaties, and exchanged hostages (Freyr and Freyja are mentioned as such hostages).
An áss like Ullr is almost unknown in the myths, but his name is seen in a lot of geographical names, especially in Sweden, and may also appear on the 3rd century Thorsberg chape, suggesting that his cult was widespread in prehistoric times.
The Æsir stayed forever young by eating the apples of Iðunn, although they could be slain, as it was predicted that nearly all will die at Ragnarök.
Æsir and Vanir
A second clan of gods, the Vanir, is also mentioned in Norse mythology: the god Njord and his children, Freyr and Freyja, are the most prominent Vanir gods who join the Æsir as hostages after a war between Æsir and Vanir. The Vanir appear to have mainly been connected with cultivation and fertility and the Æsir were connected with power and war.
In the Eddas, however, the word Æsir is used to call gods in general, while Asynjur is used to call the goddesses in general. For example, in the poem Skírnismál, Freyr was called "Prince of the Æsir". In the Prose Edda, Njord was introduced as "the third among the Æsir", and among the Asynjur, Freyja is always listed second only to Frigg.
In surviving tales, origin of many of the Æsir are doubtful and unexplained. Originally, there are just three: Odin and his brothers Ve, and Vili. Odin's sons with giantesses are naturally counted as Æsir. Heimdall and Ullr's connection with the Æsir is not clearly mentioned. Loki is a giant with no evidences of being worshipped, and Njord is a Vanir hostage, but they are often ranked among the Æsir. The Æsir goddesses like Gefjon, Sif, Idun, Nanna do not have any background, and some of them do not even have a function. They are maybe just giantesses like Skadi and Gerd and ranked among the Æsir clan simply because they either married the Æsir or served them.
Given the difference between their roles/emphases, some scholars have speculated that the interactions between the Aesir and the Vanir reflect the types of interaction the were occurring between social classes (or clans) within Norse society at the time. According to another theory, the Vanir (and the fertility cult associated with them) may be more archaic than that of the more warlike Aesir, such that the mythical war may mirror a half-remembered religious conflict. Another historical perspective is that the inter-pantheon interaction may be an apotheosization of the conflict between the Romans and the Sabines. Finally, the noted comparative religion scholar Mircea Eliade speculated this conflict is actually a later version of an Indo-European myth concerning the conflict between and eventual integration of a pantheon of sky/warrior/ruler gods and a pantheon of earth/economics/fertility gods, with no strict historical antecedents.
List of Æsir and Vanir
All names in Old Norse form. Anglicized form in Parentheses.
gods:
Óðinn — (Odin) chief god, of wisdom and war
Þórr — (Thor) god of thunder and battle
Loki (a jotun) — the trickster, foster-brother of Odin
Freyr (a Vanir hostage) — (Frey) god of fertility and prosperity
Týr — (Tyr) one-handed, self sacrificing god of law and justice.
Heimdallr — (Heimdall) the watchman and guardian
Baldr — (Balder) god of radiance and rebirth
Ullr — god of hunting, a tracker and archer
Bragi — (Brage) the skald
Váli — the avenger
Vili and Vé — brothers of Odin, gave men thought and speech
Njörðr (a Vanir hostage) — (Njord) god of seamanship and sailing
Viðarr — (Vidar) god of silence, stealth, and revenge
Forseti — god of justice
Hermóðr - (Hermod) messenger of Odin
Höðr — blind god of darkness
Hœnir — the indecisive god
Meili — the mile-stepper
goddesses:
Frigg — chief goddess
Freyja (a Vanir hostage) — (Freya) goddess of fertility, love, beauty, magic, and death
Sif — golden-haired wife of Thor
Hel - the underworld goddess
Iðunn —(Idun) goddess of youth
Nanna — wife of Baldr
Skaði (a giantess) - second wife of Njord, goddess of snow and winter
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