Odin

Odin (/ˈoʊdɪn/; from Old Norse: Óðinn) is a widely revered god within Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he prominently appears in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Empire's partial occupation of Germania (c. 2 BCE), the Migration Period (4th–6th centuries CE) and the Viking Age (8th–11th centuries CE). Consequently, Odin has hundreds of names and titles. Several of these stem from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic theonym Wōðanaz, meaning "lord of frenzy" or "leader of the possessed", which may relate to the god's strong association with poetry.

Most mythological stories about Odin survive from 13th-century Christian historian Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda and an earlier collection of Old Norse poems, the Poetic Edda. Sturluson depicts Odin as the head of the pantheon, sometimes called the Æsir,^[a] and bearing a spear and a ring. Wider sources depict Odin as the son of Bestla and Borr; brother to Vili and Vé; and husband to the goddess Frigg, with whom he fathered Baldr. Odin has many other sons, including Thor with the earth-goddess Jörð. He is sometimes accompanied by animal familiars, like the ravens Huginn and Muninn and the wolves Geri and Freki. Sturluson's also describes Odin and his brothers' creation of the world through slaying the primordial being Ymir, and his giving of life to the first humans. Odin is traditionally depicted as old man with a long beard and only one eye, having sacrificed the other for wisdom.

Odin is widely regarded as a god of the dead and warfare. In this role, he receives slain warriors—the einherjar—at Valhöll ("Carrion-hall" or "Hall of the Slain") in the realm of Asgard. The Poetic Edda associates him with valkyries, perhaps as their leader. In the mythic future, Odin leads the einherjar at Ragnarök, where he is killed by the monstrous wolf Fenrir. Accounts by early travellers to Northern Europe describe human sacrifices being made to Odin. In Old English texts, Odin is euhemerized as an ancestral figure for royalty and is frequently depicted as a founding figure for various Germanic peoples, such as the Langobards. In some later folklore, he is a leader of the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession of the dead.

Odin has an attested history spanning over a thousand years. He has influenced, inspired and featured in every medium. He is an important subject of interest to Germanic scholars. Some scholars consider on the god's relations to other figures—like the etymological similarity to Freyja's husband Óðr. Others discuss his historical lineage, exploring whether he derives from Proto-Indo-European mythology or developed later in Germanic society. In modern times, most forms of the new religious movement Heathenry venerate him; in some, he is the central deity. The god regularly features across all forms of media, especially genre fiction, and—alongside others in the Norse pantheon—lent his name to a day of the week in many languages, Wednesday.
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