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Odin
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The Aesir gods respect Odin because of his great wisdom, which he worked very hard to get. At the beginning of the world, he even gave up one of his eyes in exchange for a drink from a wisdom-well. Odin may be missing an eye, but thanks to that sacrifice, he can see in his mind everything that happens in the past, present, and future. Odin's wisdom is what makes him such a good king.
Basic Information
Name Odin
Nickname The Big Cheese, Wise Guy, the War God, Woden (Anglo-Saxon), Wotan (Old High German), Wotanaz (Proto-Germanic)
Sex Male
Current city Asgard
Work & Education
Occupation King of the Aesir Gods
God of War, Battle, and Victory
God of Wisdom, Knowledge and Poetry
God of the HuntFamily & Friends (& Enemies)
Parents Bor and Bestla
Siblings Two brothers, Vili and Vé
Sworn blood-brother, LokiChildren With Frigg, sons Balder, Hod, and (possibly) Hermod
With Jord, a son, Thor
With the giantess Grid, a son, Vidar (slayer of Fenrir wolf)
With Rind, a son, Vali (avenger of Balder)
Adopted sons: all the slain Vikings that populate ValhallaFriends The Valkyries, who choose the best of the slain Vikings for my hall
Enemies Fenrir-Wolf, who will kill me during Ragnarok (I may only have one eyeball, but I can see the future)
Loki, who killed my son, Balder (though he did give me my horse, Sleipnir)Relationships
Relationship status Married to Frigg
Lover to the giantess Jord
Lover to Freyja (secretly)Favorites
Quotations "If you command wisely, you'll be obeyed cheerfully."
– Thomas Fuller
"Knowledge is power."
– Francis Bacon
"No man was ever wise by chance."
– Lucius Annaeus Seneca
"Only the dead have seen the end of the war."
– George Santyana
"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."
– Albert Einstein
"It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value."
– Stephen HawkingBooks Anglo-Saxon poetry, including Beowulf and The Wanderer
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman
If We Must Die by Claude McKay
The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The Harry Potter series (I see myself in Dumbledore)
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink
Poetry magazineMusic I love Sam Cooke, A Change Is Gonna Come
The Eagles, Hotel California
Joan Jett, I Love Rock N' Roll
Tchaikovsky
Richard Wagner
Sergei RachmaninoffMovies Activities & Interests
Likes My awesome hall Valhalla, where I host the slain Vikings
My silver hall Valaskialf, from which I can watch the entire world Gladsheim, the hall from which I preside over Asgard and appoint the Diar, or Twelve Judges
Gungnir, my magical spear of the finest dwarvish craftsmanship
Draupnir, the gold ring that produces eight new gold rings every ninth night
My eight-legged horse, Sleipnir
Huginn and Muninn, the ravens of thought and memory
My wolves, Freki and GeriGroups Kings of the Gods
Wise Men
War Leaders
Sacrificial Lambs
Big Cheeses of Asgard
World Creators
Mensa
Spotter's Guide
Odin is an easy god to spot. Why? Because he only has one eye. That's not to say he's a Cyclops, just that he gave up one of his eyes in exchange for the gift of wisdom. When he's not in Asgard, he enjoys wandering Middle-Earth dressed up like the wizard Gandalf.
Physical Description
Sex: Male
Age: 60s
Build: Muscular
Complexion: Pale
Hair color: White
Facial hair: A full, white beard
Scars/marks/tattoos: Missing one eye
Jewelry and accessories: When wandering Middle-Earth, Odin wears a wide-brimmed hat and carries a walking stick. He also owns a magical gold ring, called Draupnir.
Clothing: Long robes
Armor: When in battle, Odin often wears a helmet and carries a shield
Type of weapon: SwordTypical Companions
- Sleipnir, his eight-legged horse
- The ravens of thought and memory on his shoulders
- His two wolves on either side
- Frigga, his wife
- Freyja, his lover
- The Valkyrie
- Viking warriors
Other Notes
Known hangouts: When Odin isn't wandering through Middle-Earth, look for him in his hall, Valhalla, where he hosts the spirits of the bravest fallen warriors from Middle-Earth. You also might find him in his silver hall, Valaskialf, where he can see everything that goes on in the world. Otherwise, walk over to Yggdrassil, a sacred ash tree, to see if he's hanging out there.
Escape vehicle: His eight-legged horse, Sleipnir
Sightings
Dec 20, 2019
Song of Myself
Odin is name-checked, along with a bunch of gods from other cultures, in Walt Whitman's Song of Myself.
Dec 20, 2019 - Dec 20, 2019
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
The character of Gandalf in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings was inspired by Odin in his Wanderer guise. J.R.R. Tolkien described the character as an "Odinic wanderer" (source: J.R.R. Tolkien, Letters, no. 107).
Dec 20, 1962
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics adds Odin to the Marvel universe. He shows up in the Thor and Journey Into Mystery series. He makes a great superhero.
Dec 20, 1989 - Dec 20, 1994
The Sandman
Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novels include plenty of Norse-inspired characters, including Odin, who mostly wears his wanderer disguise.
Dec 20, 2019
American Gods
In the novel American Gods, by Neil Gaiman, Odin appears as a character called Mr. Wednesday (Wednesday is Odin's special day).
Dec 20, 2019
Thor
Odin shows up as an angry dad in the movie Thor. He's cast his son, Thor, out of Asgard for misbehaving.