Odin Unveiled: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Norse God

Óðinn is known to be the chief god in the myths of the Old Norse texts, but his place in the pantheon is peculiar, not aligning with other Indo-European cultures. This video explores the origin of Odin, the influences on his name, his attributes, but perhaps most importantly, why he sits where he does within mythology, a role that is as old as the Proto Indo-Europeans.

🌍 Links

🧡 Please respect other's cultures and beliefs. Racism, discrimination or threatening speech will not be tolerated.

📚 References
Poetic Edda; translations by Larrington or Petit
Prose Edda; translation by Antony Faulkes
Prayer and Laughter by Anatoly Liberman
Comparative Mythology by Jan Puhvel

Jackson Crawford has done as much for education in the Old Norse language than anyone I know, and for those wishing to study the Old Norse language his channel is linked below, along with direct links to the videos I talk about;

📑 Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:27 Odin, Wotan, Woden
4:15 The Indo-Europeans
7:06 Why is Odin called Odin?
9:40 The Pantheon Problem
12:00 Was Woden really a chief god?
20:55 The origin of the name Woden
25:20 Odr, before Odin or after Woden?
31:30 Runes and the Romans
34:21 The One-Eyed God
38:45 Shamanism
40:12 Odin an All Father?
54:20 Who was Óðinn?

[Crecganford]

Do you have any thoughts on the origins of Odin?

[Valdagast]

_“I told you I would tell you my names. This is what they call me. I'm called Glad-of-War, Grim, Raider, and Third. I am One-Eyed. I am called Highest, and True-Guesser. I am Grimnir, and I am the Hooded One. I am All-Father, and I am Gondlir Wand-Bearer. I have as many names as there are winds, as many titles as there are ways to die. My ravens are Huginn and Muninn, Thought and Memory; my wolves are Freki and Geri; my horse is the gallows.”_

[ASMRChess]

You should consider adding “ASMR” to one of your titles or something like “Learn The Origin of Odin and Relax ASMR”… Because these brilliant videos are basically perfect educational ASMR and I think you could potentially reach a new and huge audience by helping the algorithm understand that your content is perfectly suited for relaxation. This channel is criminally underrated.

[DullyDust]

Can't wait to hear about how the Old Grey Wanderer came about. I really love listening to your episodes about the old Norse gods in particular as I grew up in Denmark with a lot of their stories and your videos both take me back to my childhood fascination and they never fail to teach me new things about the old traditions of my ancestors ❤ thank you

[erlinggaratun]

In Norwegian the wild hunt is called 'the Asgard raiders' Åsgårdsreien

[sreedevi]

Hi I just wanted to share that in Kerala, India there used to be a community named odiyan. They were skilled in shape changing into different beasts and birds. Usually they use it as a camouflage to do it by contract to scare someone or the so. I don't know exact details and my knowledge is limited so if you find it interesting maybe you can look into cross cultural similarities of words used in different cultures. Just a suggestion. I love listening to you ❤ take care

[Emymagdalena]

I absolutely love this. I was also thinking about similarities with Dionysus, the erratic movements and wanderings, and the motif of dying and rebirth.

[booklover]

This channel is gold. Thanks, Crecganford!

[svipdagx]

It's said that gods main desire is to be worshipped;Odin will forever stand out when he first spoke"better never prayed, than offered too much".

[tianmere]

One of your best videos yet. I'm going to have to rewatch this to make sure I didn't miss anything.

[ZKBruhman]

Probably one of your best, most informative videos!

[bjornodin]

I'm just so impressed with how effortless he makes the pronunciation of "Óðinn" seem! ❤ Without a doubt, the best non-native, Icelandic speaker I've personally witnessed.
I think there are some possible weak points in his colleagues reasoning, when it comes to possible etymology, supernatural attributes, cross pollination of the aforementioned, etc....
It seems to me, that without a codified dogma, your local demigods and deities could have pretty free flowing attributes...? There is no reason for a default to hyper-binary thinking, when it comes to evolution of pantheons across Eurasia, for millenia...?

[kariannecrysler]

Such a thorough explanation on Odin’s story. I loved it 💯💕

[Waaromdan]

Only wanted to say that I missed a name of him in your row, in the Netherlands we call Odin Wodan. For some reason people don’t know/realize that the Netherlands borders Germany and sits in a nice nook between the UK and Scandinavia.
Thank you for your great videos!
I myself am on team Tyr and would love to see more on him and Fenrir because they are just so interesting.
Vriendelijke groeten! 😊

[dalestaley]

I loved this! Glad to have you back Jon. I hope your trip was fun.

[emom]

Another excellent video, leaving a lot of room for pondering about all of the connections within different pantheons.

[vekkdrums]

I'm starting to learn more about the Norse Mytology and religion and this was amazing, mate. thanks for all the info! also, you voice is great for these documentaries.

[erokul]

What a treat! This is the kind of videos I enjoy the most!
Absolutely love it!

[sattarhakro]

well described the origin of woden/ odin. in our language sindhi we also use word "wado" for big, older, father, headman and chief .

[erikhoff]

Excellent presentation! Well researched and organized. Thank You so much for the effort to produce this video. Skal