Aesir

Information about Aesir

“Ansuz” redirects here. For the rune, see Ansuz rune.


In Old Norse, the Æsir (singular Ás, feminine Ásynja, feminine plural Ásynjur, Anglo-Saxon Ós, from Proto-Germanic *Ansuz) are the principal gods of the pantheon of Norse mythology. They include many of the major figures, such as Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. A second clan of gods, the Vanir, is also mentioned in the Norse mythos: 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 Frigg, 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.

For more information about the worship of the Æsir see the article on Norse paganism.

Etymology

The word áss, Proto-Germanic *ansuz is believed to be derived from Proto-Indo-European *ansu- 'breath, god' related to Sanskrit asura and Avestan ahura with the same meaning; though in Sanskrit asura came to mean 'demon'. The cognate Old English form to áss is os 'god, deity', as in the still-current surname Osgood, or the first names Oswin, Osbert, Oswald, Osborn, Osmund, and Oscar (Anglo-Saxon form of Ásgeir). As occurs in many Scandinavian names: Asbjørn, Asgeir (Asger, Asker), Asmund, Astrid, Åse etc.

Ása is the genitive form of Áss. The, form appears as a prefix to indicate membership in the Æsir in "Ása-Şórr".

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 Iğunn, although they could be slain, as it was predicted that nearly all will die at Ragnarök.

The a-rune

Main article: Ansuz rune
The a-rune , Younger Futhark ᚬ was probably named after the Æsir. The name in this sense survives only in the Icelandic rune poem as Óss, referring to Odin in particular, identified with Jupiter.

The name of a in the Gothic alphabet is ahsa. The common Germanic name of the rune may thus have either been ansuz "God, one of the Æsir", or ahsam "ear (of corn)".

List of Æsir and Vanir

All names in Old Norse form. Anglicized form in Parentheses.
  • Baldr — (Balder) god of radiance and rebirth
  • Bragi — (Brage) the bard (skald)
  • Forseti — god of justice
  • Freyja (a Vanir hostage) — (Freya) goddess of fertility, love, beauty, magic, and death
  • Freyr (a Vanir hostage) — (Frey) god of fertility and prosperity
  • Frigg — chief goddess
  • Heimdallr — (Heimdall) the watchman and guardian
  • Höğr — blind god of darkness
  • Hœnir — the indecisive god
  • Iğunn —(Idun) goddess of youth
  • Loki (a jotun) — the trickster, foster-brother of Odin
  • Meili — the mile-stepper
  • Nanna — wife of Baldr
  • Njörğr (a Vanir hostage) — (Njord) god of seamanship and sailing
  • Skaği (a giantess) - second wife of Njord, goddess of snow and winter
  • Óğinn — (Odin) chief god, of wisdom and war
  • Sif — golden-haired wife of Thor
  • Şórr — (Thor) god of thunder and battle
  • Tır — (Tyr) one-handed, self sacrificing god of law and justice.
  • Ullr — god of hunting, a tracker and archer
  • Váli — the avenger
  • Vé — brother of Odin, who gave men speech
  • Viğarr — (Vidar) god of silence, stealth, and revenge
  • Vili — brother of Odin, who gave men feeling and thought

Invasionist hypothesis

As the Edda portrays the conflict between Æsir and Vanir as resulting in the creation of the Germanic pantheon or people, some ethnologists and religious scholars such as Marija Gimbutas or Mircea Eliade have likened it to the Roman myth of The Rape of the Sabine Women and have speculated that the Æsir-Vanir conflict is in fact a mythologized portrayal of the Indo-Europeanization of ancient Europe with the Æsir taking the part of the conquering Indo-Europeans as according to the ethnological Kurgan hypothesis. According to this theory also backed up by linguistics on Indo-Germanic and Germanic languages as well as pertaining religious vocabulary relating to the Æsir as opposed to the Vanir, the Æsir were the Indo-European invaders that introduced Indo-Germanic languages to Europe, of which one cultural and linguistic branch later evolved into the Germanic languages and culture. See Indo-European religion for more aspects of the Æsir's relationship to this group.

Revivals

Ásatrú, meaning faithful to the Æsir, is a new religious movement of polytheistic reconstructionism based on Norse paganism. As of 2007, Ásatrú is a religion officially recognized by the governments of Iceland, Norway, Denmark[1] , and Sweden.

See also

 •  • [ e]
Norse mythology
List of Norse gods • sir • Vanir • Giants • Elves • Dwarves • Troll • Valkyries • Einherjar • Norns • Odin • Thor • Freyr • Freyja • Loki • Baldr • Tr • Yggdrasil • Ginnungagap • Ragnark
SourcesPoetic Edda • Prose Edda • The Sagas • Volsung Cycle• Tyrfing Cycle• Rune stones• Old Norse language• Orthography • Later influence
SocietyViking Age • Skald • Kenning • Blt • Seid • Numbers
People, places and things

External links

*Ansuz.

The shape of the rune is likely from Neo-Etruscan a (), like Latin A ultimately from Phoenician Aleph.

Its name survives only in the Icelandic rune poem as Óss, however, referring to Odin, identified with Jupiter:


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Old Norse}}} 
Writing system: Runic, later Latin alphabet.
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: non
ISO 639-3: non

Old Norse
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Old English/Anglo-Saxon}}}
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: ang
ISO 639-3: ang Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon[1], Englisc
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Proto-Germanic}}} 
Writing system: Elder Futhark
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: gem
ISO 639-3: —

Proto-Germanic (or Common Germanic
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Gylfaginning (20-34)
  • Óğinn
  • Şórr god of thunder
  • Baldr
  • Njörğr
  • Freyr
  • Tır
  • Bragi
  • Heimdall
  • Höğr
  • Víğar
  • Áli or Váli
  • Ullr
  • Forseti
  • Loki
Skáldskaparmál (1)
  • Óğinn
  • Şórr
  • Njörğr

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Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled.
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Odin series
Origins
  • Wōdanaz
Regional traditions
  • Odin
  • Woden
Other
  • Odin's names
  • Odin's sons

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Frigg (Eddas) or Frigga (Gesta Danorum) was said to be "foremost among the goddesses,"[1] the wife of Odin, queen of the Æsir, and goddess of the sky.
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  • THOR (Tracing Habitability, Organics, and Resources) is a proposal by researchers at Arizona State University to drop a copper ball from orbit onto the surface of Mars in order to study the composition of the first few meters of the surface. http://www.newscientistspace.

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Baldr (modern Icelandic and Faroese Baldur, Balder is the name in modern Norwegian, Swedish and Danish and sometimes an anglicized form) is, in Norse Mythology, the god of innocence, beauty, joy, purity, and peace, and is Odin's second son.
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Tyr (Old Norse: Tır[1], ) is the god of single combat and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as a one-handed man. In the late Icelandic Eddas, he is portrayed, alternately, as the son of Odin (Prose Edda) or of Hymir (Poetic Edda), while the origins of
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Njord or Njordr (Old Norse Njörğr) is one of the Vanir and the god of wind, fertile land along the seacoast, as well as seamanship, sailing and fishing. The prose Edda says he has the power to calm the sea or fire.
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Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey)[1] is one of the most important deities in Norse paganism and Norse mythology. Worshipped as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals".
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Freyja (sometimes anglicized as Freya) is a major goddess, sister of the fertility god Freyr and daughter of the sea god Njörğr. She is described as the fairest of all goddesses,[1] and often seen as a Norse fertility goddess.
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Edda (Plural: Eddas or Icelandic plural: Eddur) applies to the Old Norse Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, both of which were written down in Iceland during the 13th century, although some of the poems included in them may be centuries older.
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Skírnismál (Sayings of Skírnir) is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda. It is preserved in the 13th century manuscripts Codex Regius and AM 748 I 4to but may have been originally composed in heathen times.
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Prose Edda, also known also as the Younger Edda or Snorri's Edda (Icelandic: Snorra Edda) is an Icelandic collection of poems containing many stories from Norse mythology.
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Odin series
Origins
  • Wōdanaz
Regional traditions
  • Odin
  • Woden
Other
  • Odin's names
  • Odin's sons

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Ve was one of the Æsir and a son of Bestla and Borr in Norse mythology. His brothers were Vili and Odin. He was known for having given humanity the powers of speech and their external senses. According to Loki, in Lokasenna, he had an affair with Odin's wife, Frigg.
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Vili was one of the Æsir and a son of Bestla and Borr in Norse mythology. His brothers were Vé and Odin, who he helped in killing the first giant, Ymir. He was known for having given humanity emotion and intelligence.
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Heimdall (Old Norse Heimdallr, the prefix Heim- means home, the affix -dallr is of uncertain origin) is one of the Æsir (gods) in Norse mythology.
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Ullr[1] is a son of Sif and a stepson of Thor. While extant sources are scant he appears to have been a major god in prehistoric times, or even an aspect of the head of the Proto-Germanic pantheon, mentioned on the 3rd century Thorsberg chape.
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In cryptography, LOKI89 and LOKI91 are block ciphers designed as possible replacements for the Data Encryption Standard (DES). The ciphers were developed based on a body of work analysing DES, and are very similar to DES in structure.
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Njord or Njordr (Old Norse Njörğr) is one of the Vanir and the god of wind, fertile land along the seacoast, as well as seamanship, sailing and fishing. The prose Edda says he has the power to calm the sea or fire.
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Frigg (Eddas) or Frigga (Gesta Danorum) was said to be "foremost among the goddesses,"[1] the wife of Odin, queen of the Æsir, and goddess of the sky.
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Gefjun, Gefjon, or Gefion (possibly from Old Norse geğ fiá meaning "chaste"[1]) is one of the Asynjur in Norse mythology.[1] She appears only a few times in surviving sources, and medieval sources talk of her mainly as a goddess of
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Sif ("relative") is, in Norse mythology, a goddess of the Æsir, wife of Thor (Şórr) and mother of Thrud (Şrúğr), Ullr (Ull) and Modi (Móği). Thor is not the father of Ullr. Sif was not the mother of Magni; this was Thor's son with Járnsaxa.
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Iğunn was one of the goddesses in Norse mythology. According to the Prose Edda, she was the custodian of apples that allowed the Æsir to maintain their eternal youthfulness. She was the wife of Bragi, god of poetry.
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Nanna may refer to:
  • Nanna (Sumerian deity) (Suen), god of the moon in Sumerian mythology
  • Nanna (Telugu) Father, Dad
  • Nanna (Tamil deity), god of the moon in Tamil Nadu mythology
  • Nanna (Norse deity), the wife of Baldr (Balder) in Norse mythology

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