Norse vs. Greek Mythology - Essay Example

 Norse vs. Greek Mythology From the beginning of time, people have struggled to understand how we got here and for what purpose. For most civilizations, these answers were discovered through the development of myths or established theology beginning with explanations of the origins of the planet. Many early civilizations felt the forces shaping their lives were the effects of the whims of a number of gods. Each god had his or her own personality and specialty which were also each shaped by the way in which they came into existence. As a result, some gods were considered forgiving while others might be particularly helpful in one area and useless in another, all strongly related to their individual creation and environment. A comparison of creation myths can be very enlightening regarding the values and needs of the people who hold it. Two major cultures that had a great deal in common regarding their creation myths despite great differences in climate were the Greeks and the Norse. Overall, the creation myths and deity structure of the Greeks and the Norse served to place importance on the same basic elements of life. Both societies held a strong belief in the idea of fate. This concept was represented in both cultures by three female deities. In Norse mythology, these women were called the Norns and were considered demi-goddesses. They also had individual names including Urd (fate), Verdandi (necessity) and Skuld (being) (Lindemans, 1998). Together, they had the primary duty of caring for Yggdrasil, the world tree, which connected all the worlds together, but they also assisted with childbirth and helped determine the course of a person’s life path. The Greeks called their corresponding demi-goddesses the Fates and these women were more directly linked with the lives of men. Their individual names were Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos (Saunders, 2009). Clotho spun the thread of life, so she was associated with birth and beginnings. The length of the yarn Clotho spun was decided by Lachesis and thus measured the path of a man’s life. However, it was up to Atropos to make the final cut that ended that life. Although the Norns and the Fates are considered lesser goddesses in both cultures, they are each given power over everything that exists and thus are considered a part of the grand scheme of creation. This importance can be seen in the myths of these cultures such as in the Voluspa in which the Norns come to Earth for the betterment of mankind and in the plays produced in Greece as characters such as Oedipus find it impossible to escape their Fate. Thus, it can be deduced that both of these cultures had tremendous respect for the concept of fate, both felt these female goddesses existed in an almost separate realm from the world of humans and yet both considered their lives inextricably twined to these women. Both the Vikings and the Greeks had specific ideas regarding how the world was originally created that reveal the degree to which their cultures and lifestyles differed from each other. The Vikings thought the world as they knew it had been forged for them after supreme struggle with elemental forces. According to Norse legend, the world began in a clash in the center of a chasm flanked on one side by a frozen state and by fire on the other side. When the two elements met, the conflict created Ymir. Ymir was father of the frost giants and was 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. Also from Ymir’s body sprouted the tree of life, Yggdrasil, which supported the universe and connected the three worlds, making the Norns necessary to keep the world’s alive. All of this is related in the Poetic Edda. The Greeks had a gentler creation myth that starts with a lonely goddess named Eurynome coupled with either Ophion, a large snake, or the North Wind and then gave 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, whom Gaia preserved in secret. 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 had been the force to set them free and he set each over a different realm within the new world he was creating. Although the Greeks imagined a universe created out of love and joy and the Vikings considered it as something struggling from its beginning, there are many similarities between these two myths. One important difference is the complete absence of a female gender in the early creation myth of the Vikings as compared to her central role in the myth of the Greeks, illustrating the realities that women held a slightly more respected position in Greece. However, both myths are grounded in the idea that the universe started from a point of nothingness, was first populated by giants before their contemporary gods 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 (Odin for the Norse and Zeus for the Greeks) 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 are often seen to be a check to the primary god’s power. This is more evident in Greek mythology such as in the myth of Perseus as gods banded together to question Zeus’ decisions and behavior. These characteristics are revealed through the stories that these cultures have left behind such as those of Homer or Hesiod and the Gylfaginning. These differences of understanding may be due to the very different climates these people lived in. The Northern countries of the Vikings were characterized by very cold temperatures that made it difficult to survive. Tremendous drops in temperature and unpredictable weather patterns made it difficult to grow crops in the thin soil above the permafrost. This often sent the Vikings out in boats searching for new lands, particularly as the icecaps were advancing (Jones, 2001). The North Seas are also notorious for sudden, severe storms that would quickly and easily swamp a boat. In the summers, the Norsemen received too much sunlight and the oceans were difficult in different ways. As a result of this very harsh and unpredictable climate, the Vikings naturally had a darker outlook on life and their myths reflected their experience. By contrast, the Greeks lived in a pleasant climate characterized by warm sun and bountiful waters. They also did not have ideal farming conditions and were 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. These differences in social outlooks are reflected in the stories. Many of the Norse myths featuring the gods are centered upon wars between good and evil with a healthy amount of death thrown in. These ideas are found in stories such as the saga of Beowulf. 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 Vikings 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. 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). April 7, 2010 Gill, N.S. “Creation of the World – Norse Mythology on the Creation of the World.” About Ancient Classical History. (2009). April 7, 2010 Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Lindemans, Micha F. “Norns.” Encyclopedia Mythica. Pantheon. (1998). April 7, 2010 Rymer, Eric. “Greek Climate and Physical Geography.” History Link. (2008). April 7, 2010 Saunders, Chas & Peter A. “Fates.” Greek Mythology. Godchecker. (2009). April 7, 2010 Read More