Sanjukta Bose, UG III, Roll no- 001600401025
Abstract: In this paper, I have attempted to read the creation and apocalypse myths of Norse mythology, alongside Greco-Roman versions of the same, to bring out certain differences, similarities and peculiarities in the two. While we find abundant references to a handful of Norse gods in popular culture, little is known about the myths associated with these gods, who are viewed as nothing more than “characters”. This paper examines the creation and apocalypse myths of Norse mythology by reading them in close comparison to their counterparts in Greek mythology.
Humankind, during its early stages of civilization, relied on myths to make sense of the world around it. Myths have existed as a tool to understand Nature, and also as a means of placating her forces. In the world of primitive man, what we know as myths today were deeply rooted in the daily lives of men and women- it was often not very different from the discourse of history.
The set of myth that is known today as “Norse Mythology” can be traced back to the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda of Snorri Sturluson written in Iceland in the early 13th century. Many believe that the Poetic Edda, also known as Codex Regius, was a collection of minstrel poems passed orally from one singer to the other. None of the poems are attributed to any particular author, although many of them appear to have been the works of individual poets. The Prose Edda, on the other hand, begins with what scholars believe is a euhermized prologue, and goes on to outline Norse cosmogony, pantheon and myths.
Author Neil Gaiman writes in the introduction of Norse Mythology (a collection of the author’s own retellings of these myths, made in famous in pop culture by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s Thor comic-book series), “The Norse myths are the myths of a chilly place, with long, long winter nights and endless summer days, myths of a people who did not entirely trust or even like their gods, although they respected and feared them. As best we can tell, the gods of Asgard came from Germany, spread into Scandinavia, and then out into the parts of the world dominated by the Vikings- into Orkney and Scotland, Ireland and the north of England- where the invaders left places named for Thor or Odin. In English, the gods have left their names in our days of the week. You can find Tyr the one-handed (Odin’s son), Odin, Thor and Frigg, the queen of the gods, in, respectively, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.”
It is a matter of great irony in the study of Norse mythology that the texts that comprise the object of this study owe their existence to the technology of parchment writing, which, as it turns out, was brought into Iceland by the Church, and was institutionalized after the country’s conversion to Christianity. In this regard John Lindow writes, “These hagiographic texts present the confrontation between paganism and Christianity as essentially one of two proselytizing or missionary forces. The apostles and saints work to convert pagans to the new religion, but at the same time they are confronted with powerful pagans who would have them worship the old pagan gods.” As a result of this clash, it has been noted that the myths written down in the Eddas may have been influenced by Christian elements that found their way into the pagan practices. For example, the descriptions of the apocalypse in Norse mythology, Ragnarok, bear stark similarities to the end of days as written in the Bible.
Unlike
the Norse myths, which have very limited sources, most of which are incomplete
and fragmentary, the Greek myths boast of a rich pool of source materials, made
available to us through the writings of Homer, Hesiod, and other ancient poets.
For this paper, I will be focusing mainly on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a Latin narrative poem that chronicles the history
of the world; from its creation to the death of Julius Caesar. Ovid’s epic poem
operates with a loose mythico-historical work, where mythical stories and elements
are interwoven with events in the history of mankind. As stated earlier, myths
help us understand how the universe functions, and one of the fundamental
aspects of this understanding is that of the creation myth. Book 1 of Metamorphoses deals with this very myth
of creation- where order is created through chaos, and through the separation
of the four elements. Prior to this, the elements were a chaotic mess- each
warring with the other, an unharmonious mass of discordant atoms. Then the
Earth was created-
“When God, whichever, God he was, created
The universe we know, he made of earth
A turning sphere so delicately poised
That water flowed in waves beneath the wind
And Ocean’s arms encircled the rough globe:
At God’s touch, lakes, springs, dancing waterfalls
Streamed downhill into valleys, waters glancing
Through rocks, grass and wild-flowered meadows;
Some ran their silver courses underground,
Others raced into seas and broader Ocean-
All poured from distant hills to farthest shores.
Then God willed plain, plateaus, and fallen sides
Of hulls in deep-leaved forests: over them
He willed rock-bodied mountains against sky.
As highest heaven has two zones on the right,
Two on the left, and a fifth zone in flames,
With celestial fires between the four, so
God made zones on earth, the fifth zone naked
With heat where none may live, at each extreme
A land of snow, and at their sides, two zones
Of temperate winds and sun and shifting cold”. 3
The universe according to Norse mythology began in nothingness- there was no
chaos, only the void. It began with the formless mist world Niflheim and its eleven poisonous
rivers; along with Muspell to the
south- the fire world where everything burned. It was in the gap between these
two worlds- Ginnungagap– that life
formed for the very first time. Fire and ice came together to create a giant- Ymir, who was the ancestor of all
giants. There was also a hornless cow that licked the ice to reveal Buri, the ancestor of the Gods. Ymir gave birth to a male and a female
giant from its left arm, and another six-headed giant from its legs. All giants
have descended from these children of Ymir. Buri
married one of these giants and had a son named Bor, who married Bestla,
and thus were born Odin, Vili and Ve. The three brothers then decided that it
was time to build the world, as they couldn’t possibly spend all of their time
in the lifeless Ginnungagap. In order
to build the world, it was necessary to kill Ymir, and it is from the different
body parts of this giant that the world came into being- the clouds came from
the giant’s brain, the stars are the insides of his skull, the seas came from
the giant’s blood and sweat, while the rocks and pebbles came from Ymir’s teeth
and bones.
The main similarity between the Greco-Roman and Norse accounts of creation is, of course, the synthesis of discordant opposing forces- of dark and light, of fire and ice- to create something coherent and stable. However, the dissimilarities appear to be far more interesting. While, in Ovid’s creation myth, the world emerges from, literally, a creative force- the God in Book 1 of Metamorphoses is creating every feature of the planet by himself. This does not hold true for the world created in the Norse myth. This world is the result of a destructive force. The world as we know it was fostered in the arms of Death. The act of creation itself is twofold, since the first realm to be created was the one where the giants existed; but this was nothing more than a void teeming with nothing but emptiness. But Odin and his brothers realize that is only in the death of Ymir that would make all life possible. The act of creation of life in the Norse myths is rooted in acts of violence and death.
The creation of mankind in the Norse myths is unlike any other. Odin, Vili and Ve come across two logs of wood in Midgard- the realm that we have learned to call home, and the one that was completely devoid of human life yet full of boundless beauty. One of them is a log of ash wood, and the other is elm. Odin breathes life into these woods, Vili gives them will and intelligence, while Ve carves them into a man and a woman respectively. The Greco-Roman version of this myth is similar to its Christian counterpart, insofar as the first man on earth is created in the image of god himself. Also, one can’t help but notice that both the man and woman in the Norse myth are created as equals- one is not an extension of the other, rather they are both created as two whole, separate individuals, each with its own set of unique traits.
Gaiman writes in his Norse Mythology- “The first log was a log of ash wood. The ash tree is resilient and handsome and its roots go deep. Its wood carves well and will not split or crack. Ash wood makes a good tool handle, or the shaft of a spear. The second log they found… was a log of elm wood. The elm tree is graceful, but its wood is hard enough to be made into the toughest planks and beams; you can build a fine home or a hall from elm wood.” Reading the descriptions of Ask and Embla, the first man and woman, according to Norse myths, one observes how they embody the two greatest needs of the fierce, survivalist, warrior-like tribes- war, and a sturdy home.
For the Norse gods, the end of the world is an irreversible event that takes place in the future. Ragnarok, or the apocalypse, is referred to in Norse texts as something that has not yet happened, but that which is inevitable and unstoppable. It is the cataclysmic destruction of everything- including the gods and goddesses. When Ragnarok (“the twilight of the gods”) arrives, there will first be the Great Winter- its length comparable to that of three normal winters. All laws and morality will be forgotten by man, who will commit the greatest of crimes just for mere survival. The wolves Skoll and Hati who have been chasing the sun and the moon, will finally swallow their prey; even the stars will disappear, and all that will be left of the heavens will be the void. Yggdrasil, the great tree that holds the cosmos together will crumble, and Fenrir, the monstrous wolf, will freely roam the earth again. Jormungand, the mighty serpent, and Thor’s greatest enemy, will rise from the depths of the earth and wreck havoc to all the seas. The fire giants of Muspelheim, led by Surtr, will reign over the universe; and the gods in Asgard will prepare to fight them despite knowing what the outcome of the battle is going to be. When the gods are dead and all creation is destroyed, the world will sink into the sea and there will only remain the void.
In contrast to the above, Greek myths do not have a definitive apocalypse- one where everything is destroyed, including the gods. But there are several motifs of life after destruction in these myths. In Metamorphoses itself, Jove destroys the world because he is angered by man’s sinful nature in the Iron Age. Upon his command, a great flood sweeps over the earth and drowns everything in its wake. The two survivors, Deucalion and Pyrrha, are the ones who continue life in the new world that emerges from the aftermath of the flood. In Greek mythology, the end of the world is not an event of the future, but one which may have already happened several times in the past. It also not a prophetic decree beyond the control of the gods (like Ragnarok), but lies within the ambit of the gods’ powers. Even if the world ends, the gods can choose to create a new one. In Norse mythology, once apocalypse has struck, there is no going back.
However, Ragnarok, too, has a silver lining to offer. Since the world was consumed in fire, all that remains now is water. It is in this endless expanse of water that the hope for new life is fostered and sustained. In some retellings of this myth, not all of the gods are dead- Vidar, Vali, Hodr, Balder, and Thor’s sons Modi and Magni, will arise out of the water and form a new pantheon; thereby alluding to a sense of rebirth and reconstruction of a new world order. Daniel McCoy argues in The Viking Spirit: Introduction To Norse Mythology and Religion, that the version of the myth in which no rebirth occurs is an earlier, more purely pagan version; and that the rebirth story is a later addition that may have developed in the later Viking age, under Christian influence.
While it may seem obvious to draw parallels between the Christian imagery of the apocalypse and Ragnarok- both with their emphasis on an eternal fire that consumes the world, and descriptions of earthquakes, wars and floods- there is, however, a fundamental difference between the two. The new world order after the Christian apocalypse will be different from what it previously used to be. In this paradise world, there is place only for the righteous and the innocent. This new world is not for everyone, and one’s entry here are dependent on their actions and thoughts from the world gone by. In Norse mythology, the hint of a promise of a new beginning is open for everybody- no distinction is made between the morally corrupt and the innocent. Like the creation myth, in Ragnarok too, a new beginning springs from that which was utterly destructive and violent. From the ashes of the old world, the new one will rise. A second chance for all of humankind to flourish.
In addition to being a prophecy about the future that revealed much about the underlying nature of the world along the way, the myth of Ragnarok also served as a paradigmatic model for human action. The knowledge of an imminent catastrophe that would wipe out the world as we know it is not an easy thing to make peace with, especially, when one belongs to the Viking community, where war and death and suffering are such a common part of life. It makes me wonder how they must have lived their life, knowing that Ragnarok was inevitable, that even their fearsome gods and goddesses would not be able to stop it. It must be difficult to believe in a divine power that you know will eventually perish along with you. What makes the gods so special then if they can’t even control the end of the world? But perhaps the Vikings believed in their gods regardless of their inability to stop the apocalypse. Perhaps the idea of perishable gods made them realize how everything else in life too is temporary. Perhaps they made peace with the fact that their lives, like the gods’, would end one day, and the only way to go from there is to live each day without regrets, to face one’s fate with honor, dignity and courage, just like the gods would have. Perhaps, like the old gods, they too hoped to have the tales of their bravery recounted in the new world that would emerge from the ruins of Ragnarok.
CITATIONS:
1. Lindow, John. “Norse Mythology and the lives of Saints.” Scandinavian Studies. 2001, Vol. 73. pg 437-453.
2. Gregory, Horace. “Introduction.” The Metamorphoses, Ovid. Macmillan Company of Canada Ltd, 1958.
3. McCoy, Daniel. The Viking Spirit: Introduction To Norse Mythology and Religion. Createspace Independent Hub, 2016.
4. T. Flom, George. “The Drama Of Norse Mythology.” Scandinavian Studies And Notes. 1939, Vol. 15. pg 135-157.
5. Gaiman, Neil. Norse Mythology. Bloomsbury, 2017.
History, Literature, Criticism 