A Comparison of Greek and Norse Mythology - Essay Example

Greek and Norse Mythology: A Comparison Some of the greatest questions of humanity have been how we got here and why we’re here. In most cultures, these questions were satisfied to some extent through the creation of myths that attempted to describe, in story form, the creation of the planet and the purpose of our lives. Virtually all early civilizations had an idea that their lives were being shaped by the effects of a number of gods whose moods and desires were manifested in the natural environment. Each of these gods was given his or her own specialty in nature which, to some extent, determined his or her personality and helped to explain how the god or goddess came into existence – the birth stories of the gods. As a result of these highly individualized attributes, individuals living in these societies could choose to dedicate their lives to one god or another depending upon their own attributes as citizens of their world. As more people dedicated themselves to a god or goddess, that deity took on greater significance in the community, revealing important information about how these people thought of themselves and what they considered to be important in their lives. Because of this, comparisons of creation myths can be very enlightening regarding their culture and society. Two major early cultures that shared a similar outlook regarding their creation myths were the Norse in the frozen tundra of the north and the Greeks in the temperate climate of the Mediterranean. Essentially, both the Norse and Greek creation myths tended to place emphasis on the same basic elements of life. In both groups, Fate played a strong role in their lives and was represented m each culture by three female deities that were considered only half-gods. The Norse referred to them as the Norns and gave each woman a unique name. These were Urd (fate), Verdandi (necessity) and Skuld (being) (Lindemans, 1998). Their primary task was to take care of the world tree Yggdrasil which provided a necessary connection between all the worlds, but they were also helpful during childbirth and played a role in determining the course of individual lives. The Greeks had the Fates who were individually named Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos (Saunders, 2009). Their jobs were much more involved with the lives of men. In Greek tradition, Clotho spun the thread of life and was thus closely associated with birth and beginnings. The length her yarn which measured the path of a man’s life was decided by Lachesis. Yet it was Atropos’ job to cut the thread and end the life. In each society, these demi-goddesses had a hand in everything to do with creation even though they were considered lesser goddesses. They play important roles in the stories of each culture such as in the Norse Voluspa where the Norns come to Earth to aid mankind and in Sophocles play Oedipus where the main character is unable to escape the Fate spun for him. Both the Norsemen and the Greeks had specific ideas regarding how the world was originally created that differ because of their environment. The Norse felt the world had been forged after supreme struggle with elemental forces. According to Norse legend, the world began in a clash in the center of a chasm flanked by a frozen state on one side and by fire on the other side. When the two elements met, the conflict created Ymir. Ymir was a frost giants rivaled by a creature considered his grandfather, Bur (Gill, 2009). Bur had a son named Borr and Borr had a son named Odin who was finally recognized as the ruler of the gods by the Norse. Odin killed Ymir, whose death also caused the deaths of most of Ymir’s frost giants. Odin then created the earth, or Midgard, out of Ymir’s dead body. Yggdrasil grew from this body and supported the universe and connected the three worlds. The Greeks had a gentler creation myth that starts with a lonely goddess named Eurynome. This goddess coupled with either Ophion, a large snake, or the North Wind to give birth to Eros, the god of love. The earth, Gaia, was born from Eurynome’s happiness, forming as she danced to separate land from water and sea from sky (Uranus) so she and her son would have a place to play (Elliott, 2004). Gaia and Uranus then brought forward the Titans. One of these giants, Chronos, fathered several children but swallowed them in an attempt to block his fate, which was that he would be overthrown by one of his own children. The only child he did not swallow was Zeus because Gaia hid him. Zeus eventually confronted Chronos, tricked his father into disgorging his other children and together they were able to overthrow Chronos. Although not the oldest, Zeus retained power over the other gods because he freed the others and he assigned each of his brothers and sisters over a different realm. Although the Greeks imagined a universe created out of love and joy and the Norsemen envisioned it as a thing of strife, there are similarities between these two myths. Both myths are grounded in the idea that the universe started from a point of nothingness and was populated by giants before the contemporary gods existed and both felt they owed the gods fealty and obedience in return for the battles won on their behalf. In both myths, it is the contemporary leader of the gods who bested a giant in order to win his position. In both societies, this fact gives this god and his wife greater power over the other gods. Although these other gods didn’t hold as much power as Odin or Zeus, they often serve as a check to the primary god’s power. These characteristics are revealed through the stories that these cultures have left behind such as those of Homer or Hesiod and the Gylfaginning. The different climates these people lived in strongly affected their myths. The Northern countries are still characterized by very cold temperatures. Tremendous drops in temperature and unpredictable weather patterns made it difficult to grow crops and survival was difficult. This often sent the people out in boats searching for new lands, particularly as the icecaps were advancing (Jones, 2001). The North Seas are characterized by sudden, severe storms that could quickly swamp a boat. In the summers, the Norsemen received too much sunlight and the oceans were difficult in different ways. As a result, the Norsemen had a grim outlook on life and their myths reflected their experience. By contrast, the Greeks lived in a pleasant climate characterized by warm sun and plentiful waters. They did not have ideal farming conditions either and were also forced to turn to the sea and trade for growth, but they had many peoples to trade with and calmer seas to navigate (Rymer, 2008). This fostered a more diplomatic approach to life and a more loving conception of the earth’s beginnings. Many of the Norse myths featuring the gods are centered upon wars between good and evil with a healthy amount of death thrown in. While the stories of the Greeks might also end with a lot of bloodshed, this fighting was usually brought about by concerns of love. While both the Greeks and the Norse show many similarities in their myths and legends, there are as many differences. The Norse were constantly struggling to survive in a harsh and unpredictable climate and developed a creation myth that reflected this. They placed a great deal of value on ideas of battle while removing the female from most of the important equations. The Greeks developed a group of gods who had more forgiveness and diplomacy thanks to their more forgiving environment. Women played much stronger roles. Parties and lovemaking were as important to the Greeks as fighting and warfare. Relationships between mortals and gods seemed to exist on more equal footing, enabling the human to bargain or talk his way out of trouble or gain the assistance of other gods to act on their behalf, all because of established precedent in their creation myth. While both groups had similar values and fundamental beliefs, they were undeniably influenced by their environment and social position in the greater world. Works Cited Elliott, Daphne. “Greek Creation Myths.” Encyclopedia Mythica. (2004). Gill, N.S. “Creation of the World – Norse Mythology on the Creation of the World.” About Ancient Classical History. (2009). Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Lindemans, Micha F. “Norns.” Encyclopedia Mythica. Pantheon. (1998). Rymer, Eric. “Greek Climate and Physical Geography.” History Link. (2008). Saunders, Chas & Peter A. “Fates.” Greek Mythology. Godchecker. (2009). Read More