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Culturalmyth

The document summarizes the Norse creation myth, in which the world is formed from the corpse of the giant Ymir. According to the myth, Odin and his brothers used parts of Ymir's body to create the world - his flesh became land, his blood the seas, his bones the mountains, and his skull the sky. They then populated the world by creating dwarves, elves, humans, and other beings. The myth explains the Vikings' view of how the world began and influences modern works that incorporate Norse mythology, like Lord of the Rings and Marvel comics. It teaches lessons about removing evil influences to establish order, as the gods eliminated the troublesome Ymir.

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89 views4 pages

Culturalmyth

The document summarizes the Norse creation myth, in which the world is formed from the corpse of the giant Ymir. According to the myth, Odin and his brothers used parts of Ymir's body to create the world - his flesh became land, his blood the seas, his bones the mountains, and his skull the sky. They then populated the world by creating dwarves, elves, humans, and other beings. The myth explains the Vikings' view of how the world began and influences modern works that incorporate Norse mythology, like Lord of the Rings and Marvel comics. It teaches lessons about removing evil influences to establish order, as the gods eliminated the troublesome Ymir.

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api-341508206
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Anusha Goswami

Period 7

English 9H

5/25/17

Norse Mythology

Every culture has their own idea as to how the universe was made. These creation myths

have been passed down for centuries, each telling their own very different tale. Their stories

attempt to explain many of the unnatural phenomenons that are near impossible to comprehend.

The Vikings lived in the world of sea, and depended on the stars to navigate their way through

the ocean. Their Norse myths explained the origin of the world that was allowing them to

survive. Many of their myths are used in modern day stories as well, teaching the same lessons

as the ones originally told. From eight-legged horses, to a giant sweating out more giants, Norse

mythology consists of many tales that all began from one creation myth.

The story begins with the death of the troublesome giant, Ymir. Odin and his brothers,

Vili and V, Aesir gods, created Middle-Earth or Midgard, the world of humans, from the dead

body of Ymir. Using the flesh and bones, they made land and mountains. From his blood, they

made water. His teeth became rocks and boulders, and his brain made the clouds. The maggots

growing inside of Ymirs dead body formed the race of the dwarves, creatures that lie in caves

supplying gods with iron, silver, and gold. They placed Ymirs skull cap on the top of the Earth,

and four dwarfs named North, East, South, West, on each of Earths four corners. Ymirs

eyebrows were used as a barrier to prevent the giants from entering. The separated Midgard from
the fire-world of Muspelheim, created sparks. These sparks formed the stars, sun, and moon.

Soon the dark, yet beautiful, daughter of a giant, Night, has a son with one of the Aesir god,

Delling, and gave birth to Day. Day and Night were to ride their chariots and horses, Sun and

Moon, and place them in the sky. A witch living on the East of Middle-Earth gives birth to two

giants in the shapes of wolves, Skoll and Hati. Skoll chased Sun, while Hati chased Moon,

creating the cycle of day and night. Odin and his brothers finally created other races, such as the

light-elves, who live above Midgard in Alfheim, sprites and spirits, and animals and fish. The

first two human beings appeared, Ask and Embla, man and woman, made by Odin from two

trees. Another tree, the Yggdrasil, was rooted in Niflheim and its branches spread above Asgard.

This tree was considered the tree of life and was the center of the world. It connected all nine

worlds in Norse cosmology. The legend soon continues to depict many wars between gods, and

the creation of more creatures, such as an eight-legged horse. Through the death of the giant, the

Earth, or Midgard as it was known, was created.

The Norse creation myth follows a system of regulations. The myth begins with the death

of Ymir, a giant the gods deemed as troublesome and deserved to be punished. His death

symbolizes how the world must be removed of sins before being created. This set of regulation is

seen in the world today. People are forced to push aside all selfish, rude, and hurtful thoughts for

the greater good. If these selfish deeds are acted upon, punishment, such as death, is carried out

depending on how drastic the deed was. Society punishes those who have done wrong in order to

try and create a more peaceful place to live in. This idea of penalizing the evil to create a better

world today, are derived from myths told long ago, such as this one.
Norse mythology is still seen in pop culture today. For instance, The Lord of the Rings,

by J.R.R Tolkien, as well as his other novels, such as The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and The

Children of Huron, were all set in Middle Earth. Throughout the works, the characters, such as

the dwarves and elves, were based on Norse myth. In the Marvel universe, a well-known

Avenger is Thor, son of Odin. This was taken directly from the myths itself, as Loki, the god of

mischief was known for getting himself in trouble. The comics, movies, and tv shows, use the

myth to tell the story of fictional super heroes set in modern day. Many other popular stories use

the myths told by the Vikings, which teach valuable lessons, just as it did long ago.

Through these many myths and legends, the Vikings were able to see what they believed

was the creation of the Earth. With the death of a troublesome giant, a unique and complex world

formed. Although today some may not believe these stories to be true, the lessons and tales are

incorporated into pop culture in modern day. Even though myths may slowly be forgotten, the

impact they leave on our society today is never truly gone.


Works Cited

"Vikings FAQs: Religious Beliefs." LEVS : Viking FAQs : Religious Beliefs. N.p., n.d. Web. 26

May 2017.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Myth of Norse Creation Myth." Shmoop. Shmoop University, 11

Nov. 2008. Web. 26 May 2017

"Concepts of Norse Myths." Norse Mythology for Smart People. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2017.

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