Viking Religion and Beliefs

Viking Gods and Religions

Viking's have many gods which they worshiped: Odin, Thor, Loki, Frey, Freya, Idun, Sif, and Hel. These gods were sacred to the Scandinavians until Christianity spread throughout their homeland, converting almost half  of the population to Christ. However the gods still remained as their main religion. Depicted in the Norse religion, Odin was the father of all except Loki who was accepted into the brotherhood another way. The God's lived in Azguard (a world between life and death where the north gods live. Their are eight gods in total but there are three main ones.

Odin

Odin is probably the most major god in Norse religion and is the ruler of Asguard. He also is the father of nearly all other gods, the most famous of whom being Thor. In the religion Odin represents war, battle, victory and death. He can also be typically feared among some of the Scandinavians.

  This is a sculpture of Odin on an old Viking building.

ThorThor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder and lightning. Thor is one of the most famous, respected and is typically the most popular god of all. Like most God's, Thor is the direct son of Odin and is supposedly Odin's favorite child. It is said that Thor patrols the outer regions of Asguard fighting back giants. It is also said that if this did not happen Asguard would be long overrun.

    This is a sculpture of Thor dug up in northern Denmark with the Norse god pulling the famous hammer out of his beard!

Loki

Loki is not a son of Thor but is accepted into the brotherhood of the gods in Asguard. Loki represents Loki is a shape shifter and can merge into many different shapes. In stories, Loki is known to transform into things from falcons to flies and horses to cows.

This is a drawing depicting what Loki is thought to look like.