07-11-2008, 01:45 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 835
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aklim
Odin was often portrayed as the grey-bearded old man with one eye, his face hidden by a hood or a broad brimmed hat, because he had cast an eye into Mimir's well in return for a drink of its "immense wisdom". Even after losing an eye, Odin's love of wisdom was so profound that he was prepared to sacrafice himself to plumb its depths. He gained insight by hanging himself for nine days from Yggdrasil, the cosmic tree (imagery: think of the movie Conan when he was tied to the Tree of Woe). This voluntary death, and his subsequent resurrection by means of magic gave Odin greater wisdom than anyone else. It is possible that the obvious parallel between this myth and the Crucifixion gave Christianity a head-start in northern Europe.
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I love this stuff. A lot of it can be seen as ways to illustrate the ideology of the culture from which it sprang.
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