In order to prepare you as well as possible for the launch of God of War Ragnarok, we offer you a series of articles dedicated to the important characters of the cast, starting with the almighty Odin. Absent from God of War 2018, the Nordic God should quickly get in the way of Kratos and Loki, since the trailers show him appearing in front of their house.
Origin and relationship between characters
Family
Odin is considered the main god of the Norse pantheon. Son of Bor and the giantess Bestia, he has two brothers: Vili and Vé. Between them they form the first Aesir , race of the major gods and creators of the universe and of Men.
He has many children from various unions, whose mentions vary according to the texts. From his marriage with Frigg are born Balder, Hoder and Hermod. Thor and Meili will be born from his union with Jörd. Will also come Bragi, Vidar, Vali from different mistresses or even Heimdal, natural or adopted son.
Her name
This name, derived from the word Odr in Old Norse, refers to the notions of fury, passion, inspiration . But Odin is a shape-shifting god and therefore sometimes appears under other names: Alford ( father of all ), Blindr ( the blind ), Fjolnir ( the wise ), Geiguor ( the suspended ), Hoar ( the one-eyed ) ... And so on. In all, there are more than 200 nicknames that can correspond to a mythological episode or even describe a physical or moral particularity of the character.
Role and attributes
God of what?
Odin has many roles and functions that correspond to his many facets. Both wise and courageous, he is also a god who conceals himself and knows how to be tricky . Also, he often appears as the god of knowledge, of the dead, of victory in war, but also of magic and poetry.
He resides in his palace of Valaskjalf in the kingdom of Asgard from where he observes the nine worlds, connected to the earth by a rainbow. He welcomes fallen warriors to Valhalla : during the day, he prepares them for the final battle of Ragnarök while at night he invites them to a great banquet.
How can we recognize it?
His appearance first of all: he is generally described as an elderly, bearded and one-eyed man , sometimes wearing vagabond clothes such as a hat, a cape, a staff.
He has familiars: two crows named Hugin ( thought ) and Munin ( memory ) whom he sends to spy on the nine worlds, and two wolves Geri ( greedy ) and Freki ( violent ) who most often reside at his palace. He also has a particular mount: Sleipnir ( he who soars ), an eight-legged horse, able to move over the seas and in the air and to travel between worlds.
Odin finally possesses two items that set him apart: the golden ring Drauphnir which multiplies by nine every nine days and a spear named Gungnir , which he throws over battles to designate the victors.
Mythological references and possible connection to the game
creator of the universe
After killing the original giant Ymir, Odin and his brothers use his corpse to create Midgard, the world of Men. They create the first humans from elm and ash wood. From the putrefied corpse of Ymir are also born the dwarves. Odin modifies them so that they can survive but banishes them to the underground realm of Svartalfheim due to their vicious nature. It is in this realm that the dark elves also live.
The War of the Gods
A war, the first of the universe, saw opposing two families of gods : the Aesir (commanded by Odin) and the Vanes. No one wins this war and it ends with an exchange of hostages.
Odin and Mimir
During this exchange of hostages, Mimir was beheaded and returned to Aesir. However, Odin manages to resuscitate his head and places it under a root of Yggdrasil, near a source of which he becomes the guardian. It was while wanting to drink from this source to recover its wisdom that Odin would have lost his eye, the price of knowledge claimed by Mimir.
The Wild Hunt
No offense to Geralt from The Witcher, Odin would be the leader of the Wild Hunt, accompanied by his daughters the Valkyries. In this legend, shared by many northern peoples, Odin would cross the sky to unleash nature and its elements.
The Ragnarok
Final spoiler. It was during Ragnarök, the prophetic end of the world announced to Odin by a clairvoyant, that the god would find death , killed by the wolf Fenrir.
