3 Comments

To me Odin is truly a god, like Zeus. But a point I always think must be considered, which comes from my knowledge of the Celtic (British and Irish) tradition, is that when a civilisation falls and its mythos is replaced by the beliefs of the replacement, as happened when the Saxon culture overwhelmed the Romano - Celtic Britons or the Milesians (according to legend refugees from the fall of Troy) overwhelmed the people who worshipped the Tuatha de Danaans pantheon, the old gods became fairies, elves, leprechauns etc., the inhabitants of Sidhe (aka Tir na'n Og - land of thye ever young).

It's an interesting idea and I believe myths and folk legends can tell us more about the evolution of human civilisations than the speculations of paleo - archeologists.

Having said that I like the idea Neil Gaiman based American Gods on, that a god exists as long as just one person believes in them. I still can't imagine Odin looking anything like Lovejoy (Ian McShane) though.

Expand full comment

To me Odin is truly a god, like Zeus. But a point I always think must be considered, which comes from my knowledge of the Celtic (British and Irish) tradition, is that when a civilisation falls and its mythos is replaced by the beliefs of the replacement, as happened when the Saxon culture overwhelmed the Romano - Celtic Britons or the Milesians (according to legend refugees from the fall of Troy) overwhelmed the people who worshipped the Tuatha de Danaans pantheon, the old gods became fairies, elves, leprechauns etc., the inhabitants of Sidhe (aka Tir na'n Og - land of thye ever young).

It's an interesting idea and I believe myths and folk legends can tell us more about the evolution of human civilisations than the speculations of paleo - archeologists.

Having said that I like the idea Neil Gaiman based American Gods on, that a god exists as long as just one person believes in them. I still can't imagine Odin looking anything like Lovejoy (Ian McShane) though.

Expand full comment