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The Legendary Settlement of Iceland
It is said that the early Norse settlers of Iceland in the Viking Age (c. 790-1100 CE) believed it was the home of the gods because of the tale of the creation of the world in Norse religion. In the time before time, the story goes, there...
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Zarathustra
Zarathustra (also given as Zoroaster, Zartosht, Zarathustra Spitama, l. c. 1500-1000 BCE) was the Persian priest-turned-prophet who founded the religion of Zoroastrianism (also given as Mazdayasna “devotion to Mazda”), the first monotheistic...
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The Norse Origins of Christmas Traditions
Scandinavia has a rich cultural heritage and Norse Mythology, which was once simply their religious belief system, has continually fascinated and influenced others for centuries. The Norse beliefs and traditions also influenced many of the...
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Sif
Sif is a fertility goddess in Norse mythology, wife of the thunder god Thor, best known for the story in which the trickster god Loki cuts her hair as a prank and is forced to replace it with a magical headpiece, leading to the creation of...
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Edda
Edda is a term used to describe two Icelandic manuscripts that were copied down and compiled in the 13th century CE. Together they are the main sources of Norse mythology and skaldic poetry that relate the religion, cosmogony, and history...
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Religious Developments in Ancient India
For well over 1,000 years, sacred stories and heroic epics have made up the mythology of Hinduism. Nothing in these complex yet colourful legends is fixed and firm. Pulsing with creation, destruction, love, and war, it shifts and changes...
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Hel, Norse Ruler of the Dead
Hel, queen of the underworld in Norse mythology, artwork by Mkasahara, 2019. Hel was a female character in Norse mythology who ruled the realm of the dead of the same name. Her kingdom was said to be a hopeless, gloomy, and dark place, located...
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Hel - Norse Queen of the Underworld
Hel, the Norse Queen of the Underworld, as portrayed by the Australia-based artist Tara Ryzebol in 2006. Hel was a female character in Norse mythology who ruled the realm of the dead of the same name. Her kingdom was said to be a gloomy and...
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Odin
Odin (Old Norse: Óðinn) is the main god in Norse mythology. Described as an immensely wise, one-eyed old man, Odin has by far the most varied characteristics of any of the gods and is not only the deity to call upon when war was being prepared...
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Hel
Hel is the queen of the afterlife realm of Hel in Norse mythology. She is the daughter of the god Loki and giantess Angrboda and sister of Fenrir the wolf and Jörmungandr the World Serpent. Although often referenced as a goddess, Hel is more...