Norse Mythology Definitions

Vikings-Norse Explorers, merchants and warriors, that raided throughout europe from the late 8th century to the early 9th century.

Ginnungagap-Ginnungagap was a vast dark void. It was the beginning of the world before creation.

Nifleheim-Nifleheim was the land of fog and ice.

Muspellheim-Muspellheim was the land of fire and it was guarded by a giant named Surt.

Yggdrasil-Yggdrasil was the world ash tree of life and it holds all nine worlds together.

Asgard-Asgard was the home of the gods.

Midgard-Midgard is the land of man.

Hel-Hel was the home of the dead, and the goddess of the dead.

Bifrost Bridge-Bifrost Bridge was a divine bridge, it was the link between the humans and the gods. It was a rainbow.

Ymir-One of the frost giants. He was fierce, wild and evil. He was killed by Odin and his sons.

Odin-Odin was the main god. He was the leader. He was the god of wisdom, was, witchcraft, poetry, storm and night. He had many women and children as well.

Frigg- Frigg was the wife of Odin. She was the cloud spinner, the most powerful goddess, and she was the goddess of love, destiny and marriage.

The Valkyries-The Valkyries were the hero selectors and the choosers of slain.

The Norns-The Norns were the fate maidens. There were 3: Urd-past, Verdandi-present, and Skuld-future.

Thor-Thor was the warrior son. He was the strongest son of Odin. He was the god of thunder, battle,and fertility. He was fierce and had a great temper. Mjolliner was his hammer and he had a charito pulled by goats.

Balder-Balder was the beloved son of Odin and Frigg. He was the god of radiance and rebirth, justice and light. He was beautiful and killed by Loki.

Njord-Njord was the god of wind and sea. He was the patron of sailers and fisherman. Frey and Freya were Njords children.

Frey-Frey was the god of fertility and prosperity, sun and rain. He was the brother of Freya and the son of Njord.

Freya-Freya was the goddess of love, fertlity, beauty, magic, war and death. She was the sister of Frey and the daughter of Njord.

Idunn-Idunn was Oddins daughter in law. She was married to Broggy. She was the goddess of youth, and the keeper of the golden apples.

Loki-Loki was the son of giants. He wsa a half blooded god, and he had magic powers. He was a trickster and was cunning and decietful, he came in many disguises. Loki was evil and had evil children, together they would reak havok in the world.

Fenrir-Fenrir was the wolf destroyer.

Jormungandr-He was the world serpant

Ragnarok-Ragnarok was the final battle. It was Loki and his children and Fenrir, the world serpant, and Hel vs.the gods of Asgard, the humans and evil will prevail and good will fail.

Runes-Runes were symbols on stones and when you threw them and which ever way they landed, they would tell your fate.

Hero Journey

Universal
"Atalanta's father, whatever his name was, when a daughter and not a son was born to him, was, of course, bitterly disappointed." (180-181)

Unique
"(…) maidens (…) who loved adventure as much as the most dauntless hero and who could outshoot, outrun, and outwrestle, too, the men of one of the two great ages of heroism." (180)
Major Flaw
"A she bear took charge of her, nursed her, and kept her warm, and the baby grew up thus into an active daring little girl." (181)

Call to Adventure
"Kind hunters then found her and took her to live with them. She became in the end more than their equal in all the arduous feats of a hunters life." (181)
Companions and Supernatural Guides
"A she bear took charge of her, nursed her, and kept her warm, and the baby grew up thus into an active daring little girl." (181)

Initiation
"Once two Centaurs, swifter and stronger by far than any mortal, caught sight of her when she was alone, and pursued her. She did not run from them; that would be folly. She stood still and fitted an arrow to her bow and shot. A second arrow followed, both Centaurs fell mortally wounded." (181)

Journey
1. "Then came the famous hunt of the Caledonian Bear. This was a terrible creature sent to ravage the country of Calydon by Artemis(…)" (181)
2. "At the funeral games held in his honor, Atalanta appeared among the contestants, and in the wrestling match conquered the young man who was to be the father of Achilles, the great hero Peleus." (182)
3. "As a way of disposing of them easily and agreeably she declared that she would marry whoever could beat her in a footrace, knowing well that there was no such man alive. She had a delightful time. Fleet footed young men were always arriving to race her and she always outran them." (184)

Ultimate Battle
"But at least one came who used his head as well as his heels. He knew he was not a good runner as she, but he had a plan."(184)
Transformation
"She saw the gleam through the green, she could not resist it. As she picked the apple up, her lover panting and almost winded, touched the goal, she was his." (184)

Death/Rebirth
"Her free days alone in the forest and her athletic victories were over. The two are said to have been turned into lion's because of some affront offered either to Zeus or Aphrodite." (184)

Boon
"(…) Atalanta had bourn a son, Partheonepaeus, who was one of the seven against Thebes.

The Elk
There was once an old man, hungry and lonesome walking through the woods. While he pondered the thought of food and what he would eat, he saw a herd of elk. He told them he was alone and had no one to follow him. The elk followed him for a long while. When darkness fell upon the land, the group came to a high cut bank, however, little did the elk know below it, there was a steep bluff. The old man, knowing this, told the elk that it was a nice jump; that they would laugh. All but one cow jumped off, as a result, all the rest were killed. The old man asked her to jump as well, she replied to him, “My child is about to be born, and I am very heavy, I am afraid to jump.” For this reason, the old man told her to go on, that in fact, there would be plenty of elk again some day. So the Cow, went on and lived. The old man took the meat from the elk he had tricked into jumping and hung it to dry along with the tongues. He went away for the day and was hungry when he returned. When he went to get the meat, it was gone; the wolves had eaten it. When he went to get the tongues, they were hollow and eaten as well. The mice had eaten the meat out, therefore the old man starved yet again.

Citation
1.) The Elk." Indian Mythology. Indian Mythology. 2006. 6 November 2008.

http://www.indianmythology.org/blackfoot/bad_weapons.htm#elk.

2.) Holser, Ginger. "Elk." 2008. Photograph. Living With Wildlife. 11 November 2008 http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/elk.htm.

Hero Journey

Step in Hero Journey	Quote	Image
Universal	"Atalanta's father, whatever his name was, when a daughter and not a son was born to him, was, of course, bitterly disappointed." (180-181)
Unique	"(…) maidens (…) who loved adventure as much as the most dauntless hero and who could outshoot, outrun, and outwrestle, too, the men of one of the two great ages of heroism." (180)
Major Flaw	"A she bear took charge of her, nursed her, and kept her warm, and the baby grew up thus into an active daring little girl." (181)
Call to Adventure	"Kind hunters then found her and took her to live with them. She became in the end more than their equal in all the arduous feats of a hunters life." (181)
Companions and Supernatural Guides	"A she bear took charge of her, nursed her, and kept her warm, and the baby grew up thus into an active daring little girl." (181)
Initiation	"Once two Centaurs, swifter and stronger by far than any mortal, caught sight of her when she was alone, and pursued her. She did not run from them; that would be folly. She stood still and fitted an arrow to her bow and shot. A second arrow followed, both Centaurs fell mortally wounded." (181)
Journey	"Then came the famous hunt of the Caledonian Bear. This was a terrible creature sent to ravage the country of Calydon by Artemis(…)" (181) "At the funeral games held in his honor, Atalanta appeared among the contestants, and in the wrestling match conquered the young man who was to be the father of Achilles, the great hero Peleus." (182) "As a way of disposing of them easily and agreeably she declared that she would marry whoever could beat her in a footrace, knowing well that there was no such man alive. She had a delightful time. Fleet footed young men were always arriving to race her and she always outran them." (184)
Ultimate Battle	"But at least one came who used his head as well as his heels. He knew he was not a good runner as she, but he had a plan."(184)
Transformation	"She saw the gleam through the green, she could not resist it. As she picked the apple up, her lover panting and almost winded, touched the goal, she was his." (184)
Death/Rebirth	"Her free days alone in the forest and her athletic victories were over. The two are said to have been turned into lion's because of some affront offered either to Zeus or Aphrodite." (184)
Boon	"(…) Atalanta had bourn a son, Partheonepaeus, who was one of the seven against Thebes."

Myth Definitions

Mythology Definitions

1.) Myth-A myth is a traditional story accepted as history. It serves to relate and explain the world’s views on a culture and its people. An example would be the myth of Hercules.
2.) Hero-A hero is the founder of something new; a new age, era, religion. He contains one or more unique characteristic that sets him apart from regular people. An example of a hero is Atalanta.
3.) Hero Journey-The hero journey is the road of trials battles and obstacles that the hero goes through, such as the journey the ultimate battle, companions along the way, the call to adventure, initiation, transformation, death and rebirth, and the boon brought back. In the myth of Hercules, he encounters many trails and battles, the 12 labors of hercules, and the boon was security and safety for the people.
4.) Universal- Universal means that something applies to everyone in some way. It is a representation of every man, and everyone can somehow relate to that idea. It is the “big picture.” Hercules is universal because even though he is a hero, he still has his flaws and he still is human. Hercules has a very bad temper, and lacks self confidence, which many can relate to in some way.
5.) Archetype-Archetype describes structure, a type or kind of something. It is the foundation or the original model. The creation archetypes are void, watery abyss and the egg. For example in the Egypt myth, everything starts out in a dark watery abyss called Nun.
6.) Cyclical-Cyclical refers to a cycle or a constant pattern with repetition. The pattern is unbroken and it is whole. Every myth follows the cyclical pattern with the Hero Journey, starting with call to adventure, collecting companions, the initiation, the journey, ultimate battle, boon, transformation, death and rebirth, the boon is shared, and then it starts all over again in the same pattern.
7.) Duality-Duality means double or opposites, you have one with the other. With duality there is a sense of two-ness and separation division. For example there is yin and yang, there is good and evil, light and dark, land and water, moon and sun, male or female, and many others that come with life and stories.
8.) Creation-Creation means the starting point or the beginning, the origin or the first. For example in the Chinese myth, then there was an egg, and inside there was Pangu.
9.) Life from Death-the term life from death refers to the idea that for something or someone to live, another must die, and that death creates life. For example in the Egypt myth there is death and then out of that death the sweat creates the sungod, the tears create the humans and so on.
10.) Matriarchal-Matriarchal means the foundation of female power where the mother or woman rules. For example there is Mother Earth.
11.) Patriarchal-Patriarchal means the foundation of male power where the father or man rules. For example Father Sky.
12.) Sacrifice-Sacrifice means the tribute, or the giving up of something for something else or the common good. It can be an offering or a gift. For example in the myth of Demeter and Persephone, Demeter sacrifices Persephone for six months out of each year.

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Persephone and Demeter

            The myth of Demeter and Persephone is a story of beauty, precious innocence, loss, and a reason for change.  A mother’s grievance and sorrow for her perfect creation, snatched, and exposed.  A virgin’s innocence stolen, from the man of mystery and fear.  There are three different levels of interpretation in analyzing myths.  The natural explanation of the story explains the obvious, the surface layer of the story, and the simple details of the myth.  The social level explains how society reacts to the natural level.  And last the psychological level of interpretation explains the inner most details of the story, the hidden messages and meanings of the story and how it can relate to the reader personally.

            In the myth of Demeter and Persephone the surface details are simple.  Demeter is the Corn Goddess, she provides for the people of the Earth.  Persephone is the Goddess of Spring.  She represents new life and change, babies and birth.  She symbolizes newness and freshness in the seasons.  These are the first details the reader is made aware of, but there is a massive amount of depth and layers in the next level of interpretation.

            On the social level, Demeter is referred to by society as the “Good Mother”.  She represents Agriculture, planting, and growing.  Civilization would not have been possible without her help and her gift of corn.  She symbolizes versatility.  She is a leader, a queen.  Persephone symbolizes many things on a social level; one being happiness.  She is always so happy and, she contains innocence and carries her youth as a privilege, savoring and enjoying every minute of it, knowing it only lasts so long.  Persephone is beautiful, and lively, perfection lingers closely around her.  She defines purity and virginity.  When she is stolen away by the feared god of the underworld, Hades, all of these traits change. She is forced into marriage, her purity and innocence taken from her unwillingly.  Her liveliness and spirit are crushed.

            The last layer, the psychological aspect, holds so many deep details. Demeter is nurturing and caring to Persephone and her people she watches over.  She is protective and provides a sense of safety and security.   Demeter is a mother to Persephone; her daughter is part of her. She loves Persephone dearly and when she is taken, Demeter experiences the pain, the emotional loss, and the loneliness around her without Persephone by her side.  This is the same grief that human’s have when they have lost a loved one from their lives, so even though she is a goddess, Demeter relates.   Persephone is such a complex individual; the details can be analyzed so deeply.  She holds such a compassion and love for the beauty around her.  She is a daughter, a friend, and someone that defined perfection.  Persephone is also malleable like an impression, she takes in everything around her, and with every new thing she learns, like anyone, she changes and grows.  She contains so much curiosity and adventure inside of her, which is where she comes to be very vulnerable and naïve to the imperfections and dangers around her.  When she is taken unwillingly by Hades, she realizes the darker side of things that she had never been exposed to.  Her innocence and purity is stolen from her and she feels a sense of loss, guilt and shame.  But as she learns of the darker side, she still holds her curiosity, which leads her to the seed and the return to Hades for four months of the year, where she leaves earth and everything dies.  Her mother mourns until her daughters safe return.

            There are three layers of myth analysis, natural, social, and psychological.  Within these layers we are able to see and pick out the deep unknown details that in some way relate to us as readers personally.  The myth of Demeter and Persephone is a story of beauty, precious innocence, loss, and a reason for change.  A mother’s grievance and sorrow for her perfect creation, snatched, and exposed.  A virgin’s innocence stolen, from the man of mystery and fear.  In Some way we can all relate to this meaningful myth.