After Life
Gods
In Norse mythology, the Viking gods, are originally two groups of gods. One group is called Aesir and the second group is called Vanir. Vanir were considered wise and skilled in magical arts. They were usually worshiped in connection with prosperity and the harvest from the earth. In contrast Aesir were worshiped in connection with war and victory.
Odin
Odin was the chief god in the Norse mythology, and the father of Thor, Balder, Hoder, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Ull, Vidar, Hermod and Vali. His wives were Fjorgyn, Frigga and Rind.
Thor
Thor was the son of Odin and Fjorgyn. He was the god of thunder, the sky, fertility and the law. Armed with his strength-giving items, a belt and the hammer Mjölnir, he had a simple way of righting wrongs: he more or less killed everything that moved. The other gods -mostly Loki- occasionally took advantage of Thor's simplicity.
Loki
Loki can be called the 'wizard of lies' and is in many ways the most interesting god in Asgard. Loki was related to Odin, but their relationship was rather strange. He came to Asgard either as of right or because Odin and he entered into a blood-brotherhood.
Frey
Frey was a fertility god of the the Vanir race. He was the son of Njord and came to Asgard as a hostage along with his father and sister Freya.
Freya
Freya was the goddess of war and death. She married the god Od, who deserted her.
Idun
The goddess of spring and immortal youth was called Idun. She was the daughter of the dwarf Ivald and married to the god Bragi.
Sif
Sif was the goddess who married Thor and bore his stepson (by Odin), Ull. The vikings (and their gods) admired golden hair, and she was exceptionally proud of hers, so Loki cut it all off while she was asleep.
Hel
Hel was a goddess (or a monster), a daughter of Loki and Angrboda, who ruled over Niflheim, which was the land of the dead. There were different opinions of whether she was alive or dead. Ull, in his role as god of winter, was supposed to spend a few months each year as Hel's lover. Hel and her ghostly army were going to support the other gods at Ragnarok, after which her domain would go out in flames.
http://www.rosala-viking-centre.com/gods.htm
Religion
Before the 12th century AD the Vikings worshiped pagan gods. They would sacrifice both animals and people to keep the gods happy. Even after they adopted Christianity some of these practices still remained. Gravestones have been found with both pagan and christian symbols on them suggesting that there was a long period of time when both pagan and christian practices mingled.
As pagans, the Vikings believed that death marked the start of a journey to another world. Valkyries were warrior-women goddesses who searched battlefields for dead heroes. Warriors who had died bravely would be carried by the Valkyries to Valhalla. There they would be welcomed to the afterlife by the god Odin. They would fight by day and feast by night. Vikings who died a less than noble death would be taken to a place called Hel.
They believed that when they left the earth to go to the different world they would need the things they used or enjoyed in life. Vikings would be buried with everything that they would need to have in the next world. The richest Vikings would be buried inside ships that were filled with clothes, weapons, furniture, horses, dogs, and even servants. The ships were then covered with earth in funeral mounds, or burnt in a funeral pyre. The graves were marked with runestones.
Because they believed that when they died they would go to Valhalla, the Vikings weren't afraid to die in battle. This mindset allowed them to win many battles because they had confidence and didn't care if they died or not. They knew that they would eventually die and decided to take out as many of the enemy as possible beforehand.
Odin
Odin was the chief god in the Norse mythology, and the father of Thor, Balder, Hoder, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Ull, Vidar, Hermod and Vali. His wives were Fjorgyn, Frigga and Rind.
Thor
Thor was the son of Odin and Fjorgyn. He was the god of thunder, the sky, fertility and the law. Armed with his strength-giving items, a belt and the hammer Mjölnir, he had a simple way of righting wrongs: he more or less killed everything that moved. The other gods -mostly Loki- occasionally took advantage of Thor's simplicity.
Loki
Loki can be called the 'wizard of lies' and is in many ways the most interesting god in Asgard. Loki was related to Odin, but their relationship was rather strange. He came to Asgard either as of right or because Odin and he entered into a blood-brotherhood.
Frey
Frey was a fertility god of the the Vanir race. He was the son of Njord and came to Asgard as a hostage along with his father and sister Freya.
Freya
Freya was the goddess of war and death. She married the god Od, who deserted her.
Idun
The goddess of spring and immortal youth was called Idun. She was the daughter of the dwarf Ivald and married to the god Bragi.
Sif
Sif was the goddess who married Thor and bore his stepson (by Odin), Ull. The vikings (and their gods) admired golden hair, and she was exceptionally proud of hers, so Loki cut it all off while she was asleep.
Hel
Hel was a goddess (or a monster), a daughter of Loki and Angrboda, who ruled over Niflheim, which was the land of the dead. There were different opinions of whether she was alive or dead. Ull, in his role as god of winter, was supposed to spend a few months each year as Hel's lover. Hel and her ghostly army were going to support the other gods at Ragnarok, after which her domain would go out in flames.
http://www.rosala-viking-centre.com/gods.htm
Religion
Before the 12th century AD the Vikings worshiped pagan gods. They would sacrifice both animals and people to keep the gods happy. Even after they adopted Christianity some of these practices still remained. Gravestones have been found with both pagan and christian symbols on them suggesting that there was a long period of time when both pagan and christian practices mingled.
As pagans, the Vikings believed that death marked the start of a journey to another world. Valkyries were warrior-women goddesses who searched battlefields for dead heroes. Warriors who had died bravely would be carried by the Valkyries to Valhalla. There they would be welcomed to the afterlife by the god Odin. They would fight by day and feast by night. Vikings who died a less than noble death would be taken to a place called Hel.
They believed that when they left the earth to go to the different world they would need the things they used or enjoyed in life. Vikings would be buried with everything that they would need to have in the next world. The richest Vikings would be buried inside ships that were filled with clothes, weapons, furniture, horses, dogs, and even servants. The ships were then covered with earth in funeral mounds, or burnt in a funeral pyre. The graves were marked with runestones.
Because they believed that when they died they would go to Valhalla, the Vikings weren't afraid to die in battle. This mindset allowed them to win many battles because they had confidence and didn't care if they died or not. They knew that they would eventually die and decided to take out as many of the enemy as possible beforehand.
http://www.wcl.govt.nz/blogs/kids/index.php/2008/04/10/vikings-afterlife-and-burial/
Istrehågan Viking Grave, Sandefjord, Norway http://www.arnecroell.com/p460164333/h14276F00#h14276f00
Istrehågan Viking Grave, Sandefjord, Norway http://www.arnecroell.com/p460164333/h14276F00#h14276f00