American gods by neil gaiman if youre looking for a book that borrows elements and gods of myths and brings them to the modern day. The illustrations are just as good as in the greek book, and they convey the dark flavor and material culture of the norse in a satisfying way. The gods and frost giants are destined to face each other on the battlefield at ragnarok, the doom of the germanic gods, the catastrophic fight to the death that is to take place on the vigrid plain. Their creator is a thirteenthcentury icelandic chieftain by the name of snorri sturluson. Now both carolyne larrington, the eminent and accomplished scholar of old norse, and. The 10 best greek mythology books norse mythology for. Both have one god that rules all of the other gods. I know greek, roman and egyptian fairly well, and some indian as well, but my knowledge of norse mythology kind of ends ive always loved mythology.
However, it is very interesting to note that the mythology of the vikings norse has many similarities with the greek myths. The chronology of norse mythology has a clear beginning in the creation myth, and a clear ending in the tale of ragnarok. The norse people are the ancient people of northern europe scandinavia, iceland, denmark, northern germany etc. A little greedy, maybe, but the girls were so excited about it initially that they each wanted a copy to read in bed. Unlike the greek deities, however, they seldom interact with human beings.
Discover pantheons from greek, roman, norse, and other mythologies in nine great books. This is an accepted fact, as it is widely known that the romans stole the greek myths. A very popular mythology would be greek mythology, which many people know about it or at least know of it. Once i discovered norse mythology for real i was fascinated by it. One thing lead to another and one afternoon i found a book called the gospel of loki by joanne m. Greek mythology and roman mythology are almost identical.
Having said that, we think that the study of mythology greek, roman, egyptian, and norse is still appropriate and profitable for our children when set in the proper christian context for three reasons. Gods were often patrons of different trades or types of people. Another classic of mythology, this one from the 19th century. Major deities and figures like the greek deities, the norse gods and goddesses have all the characteristics of largerthanlife human beings. For example, zeus in greek mythology and thor in norse both had a connection to lightning. Various forms of a creation myth are recounted, where the world is created. Another not as popular mythology is norse mythology. Does anyone know of any norsegreek mythology books.
Theres more than just greek and roman mythology, too. A big difference between greek and norse mythology is that the gods in norse mythology are a lot closer to mankind. Buy norse mythology by neil gaiman from amazons fiction books store. Norse mythology is the religion of the norse people. Norse cosmology divided the universe into nine realms. But most of what happens in between those two bookends doesnt occur in any particular order, and certainly doesnt follow a strictly linear trajectory. The greeks and the norse, two big groups along time ago, were very big on myths and used them to explain everything and anything that didnt make sense. For more great fantasy reads, check out our fantasy books for kids and 10 thrilling books for teens who love fantasy. There are so many books on norse mythology out there, especially at the beginner level, that if you were. Click here to view or buy daulaires book of greek myths at amazon, where its discounted 30% from its list price.
Daulaires book of greek myths by ingri daulaire, edgar. Working myths can be very controversial based on their value and meaning. Where did all mighty norse warriors hope to go after death. Norse mythology the norse gods have had a profound impact upon civilisation, with tales of odin, thor, loki, borr, surt, mimir, freya and tyr captivating audiences since creation. Each version of the myth differs from others and can includeomit various details. As you can see, the basic concepts are pretty similar but in details they really are different, the greek myths were more about love while the norse were about war and death. For a mixed media bag, elder scrolls skyrim is norse like, clash of the titans, the classic movie, not the remake, and the next magic.
Greek mythology seems to have far more interaction and sexual escapades with humanity. Norse mythology myth encyclopedia greek, god, story. A captivating introduction to greek myths of greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters. If youve already immersed yourself in the kinds of beginnerlevel books that that article recommends and you find yourself wanting to go further into the ancient mythology and religion of the norse, this list is for you. While norse mythology focused on the gods, heroes, and the nine realms, roman mythology was more focused on the actual city of rome, rather than the gods, heroes, and monsters they borrowed from the greeks in roman mythology, you.
I picked up this book and the usborne greek myths and legends when i was about 8 or 9. Norse gods also interact with humans a lot more than greek. Norse mythology takes you on a spectacular journey, as tales from the two main groups that form the mythology of northern and eastern europe unfold. Norse mythology creation story explained in 5 minutes. The viking spirit is an introduction to norse mythology like no other. Much like greek and roman mythology, norse myths are still with us. What is the difference between norse myths and greek myths.
The vikings, or norsemen, terrorized northern europe from 8001100 c. Circe and song of achilles both by madeline miller if youre looking for creative retellings of famous greek myths. These myths are, by no means, identical to the greek ones like the roman ones are, but there are very distinct. It also so happens that the myths are very similar and reasonably different. Nine realms of norse cosmology ancient history encyclopedia. Daulaires book of greek myths audiobook written by ingri daulaire, edgar parin daulaire. Famous storytellers from jrr tolkien to neil gaiman have drawn their inspiration from the longhaired, meaddrinking, marauding and pillaging vikings. Jack kirby and stan lee both sought to include a wide array of thors fellow vanir and aesir gods in the marvel universe. They are in no way related everything is different. American gods by neil gaiman also goes into several norse myths. This video on norse mythology explains the beginning of the gods, goddesses, giants, dwarfs, and humans.
Myths existed to explain how many things in the world came to be. I had gotten interested in greek mythology and wanted a book, and this one was right beside the greek one. It includes norse gods and giants such as odin, ymir, buri, and many more. Some complain that when compared to gaimans other works, norse mythology falls a bit flat. As far as numbers go, that actually goes to norse with 22 primary gods compared to 12 greek. Norse mythology by neil gaiman a recent addition to the world of wonderful books about mythology. It gives them a deeper understanding of greek and roman culture and egyptian and european.
See how much you know about the myths and legends of these mighty warriors with our norse mythology quiz. What texts are the main sources of norse mythology. Norse mythology explores the magical myths and legends of norway, sweden, denmark, iceland and vikingage greenland and outlines the way the prehistoric tales and beliefs from these regions that have. What the relationship between norse mythology and greek. Both greek and norse mythology are alike from the creation to the same power structure to the belief have having a preset faith. Norse mythology neil gaiman ive always loved mythology but am much more knowledge about greek and roman than norse, so when a friend recommended a book about norse mythology and written by the incredible neil gaiman, then i jumped at the chance and even bumped it up to to read list. In greek mythology there is no apocalypse no end of the world. Those new to norse mythology might be astonished by how bizarre some details are. Norse gods also interact with humans a lot more than greek gods. Draw and color one of the characters from the book. Hermodr in hel from an 18thcentury icelandic manuscript. And while the greeks could set the titans free, that only evens. For the book by neil gaiman, see norse mythology book.
To ask other readers questions about norse mythology, please sign up. Draw any scene from the norse myths you read today. The girls have been very into the daulaires book of greek myths, which sarah got out of the library in hardback duplicate. This was the book that got me interested in norse legends and mythology. The surviving norse myths are mostly centered on odin and thor, and little is known about the goddess worship or thor worship prevalent at that time. Much like edith hamiltons mythology, daulaires book of greek myths was originally published decades ago in 1962, in fact but has yet to be surpassed to this day.
What i also noticed is how these tales have affected his other works. Working myths are myths associated with particular rituals or ceremonies in the observing society. For example, thors wife sif was made infamous in the myths when her head was shaved bald by a mischievous loki. The greek wrote down more of their myths, so more of it was preserved. Differences and similarities between roman and norse. Theres a bewildering array of books out there on greek mythology, especially at. The norse myths and greek myths have so many differences and how they see things are incredibly different. We arent experts in other mythologies yet so were sticking with these three for now. After reading both greek and norse mythology, it is clear that there are similarities but there are also glaring differences. The thor franchise has always focused on gods from norse mythology like thor, odin, and loki, but in marvel comics the greek gods also exist in the marvel universe, and their existence allows thor to interact with characters like hercules, ares, and zeus. The greatest difference, i think, is in the end of the gods.
I was first introduced to the work of daulaire back in the 5th grade, many years ago, with the book of greek myths. Narrated by paul newman, sidney poitier, and kathleen turner. Or, create your own norse myth from the norse gods you read about today, or draw a scene. A volva, a scandinavian seeress, tells the spearwielding god odin of what has been and what will be in odin and the volva by lorenz frolich 1895. The penguin book of the norse myths compellingly retells these stories for the modern reader, taking us from the creation of the world through the building of asgards wall to the final end the extraordinary scandinavian myth cycle is one of the most enduring, exciting, dramatic and. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the. The center of the universe was the great worldtree yggdrasil and the nine realms either spread out from the tree or existed in levels stretching from the roots down and, marginally, sidetoside. For added difficulty, decorate both sides of the ornament. A captivating guide to norse folklore including fairy tales, legends, sagas, and myths of the norse gods and heroes. The main difference is the mind set and personality of the stories and characters within them.
Ancient religions before christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the mediterranean and beyond, their many gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to appreciate the foundational role religion played in their lives. Love and thunder can introduce the greek pantheon of gods to the mcu through christian bales character. It collects bulfinchs works the age of fable, or stories of gods and heroes, the age of chivalry, or legends of king arthur, and legends of charlemagne, or romance of the middle ages. The vast majority of the thunder god s comic and film costars all originally croppedup in the viking myths too. The gathering set is greek themed, with heroes, gods, and hydras. Differences between greek and norse mythology hum 115. Professor hansfriedrich mueller, of union college in schenectady, new york, makes. The norse myths presents the infamous viking gods, from the mighty asyr, led by. Norse mythology by neil gaiman if youre looking for retellings of old norse myths. Both demeter greek and skadi norse were connected to the harvest. The world of norse mythology includes two groups of gods, the aesir and the vanir, as well as giants, trolls, elves, dwarfs, and heroic human warriors. If i had to describe the norse myths in one word, this would be the word.
Many other groups used myths but nothing can compare to the greek and norse myths with their great meaning and reason for everything. Earlier norse works known as eddic and skaldic poetry assume a knowledge of the cosmology. The 10 best norse mythology books norse mythology for smart. A comparison between classical and norse mythologies. The fantastic in every sense of the word books on this list draw from indian, norse, japanese, chinese, and korean myths.
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