Top 5 Norse God in the Norse Mythology ( Strongest Norse Gods )

There have been many mythologies all over the world but only some of them have gained fame all over the world among those is Norse mythology these were the gods of the Vikings some of its most powerful and strongest deities and gods are given below 

 1. ODIN

Odin, the supreme deity, had, besides the title of All-Father, many other names. He was called Ygg (The Awful), Gagnrad (He Who Determines Victories), Herjan (God of Battles), Har (The High One), Jafnhar (Even as High), Thirdi (Third),1 Nikar, Nikud, Bileyg (One With Evasive Eyes), Baleyg (One With Flaming Eyes), Bolverk (The Worker of Misfortune), Sigfather (The Father of Battle or of Victory), Gaut (The Creator or, the “Geat”), Roptatyr, Valfather (Father of the Slain),2, etc. Odin was the wisest of all the gods; from him, the others always sought counsel when the need arose. He drew wisdom from the well of the Giant Mimir. Having placed one of his eyes in pawn with Mimir, Odin invariably appeared as a one-eyed, rather oldish man;3 otherwise he ’was represented as strong and well-favored, and as armed with spear and shield. In Valhalla and Vingolf, where Odin gave banquets to gods and heroes, he partook of nothing but wine, which to him was both meat and drink; the meat that was placed before him he gave to his two wolves, Geri and Freki.

Odin with his Wife

 Odin also had two ravens, Hugin and Munin (Thought and Memory), which perched one on each of his shoulders. To them he owed a great part of his wisdom; every day they flew forth through the expanses of the universe, returning at supper to tell him all that they had seen; therefore Odin was called also the God of Ravens. From his high seat, Lidskjalf in Valaskjalf, Odin saw all that came to pass. On his horse, Sleipnir, which was eight-footed and the fleetest horse in the world, he rode wherever he wished. His spear Gungnir would strike whatsoever he aimed at. On his arm he wore the precious ring Draupnir; from it dropped every ninth night eight other rings as splendid as itself.  The worship of Odin appears to have consisted in part in a peculiar kind of human sacrifice, and this circumstance had much to do with our forefathers’ regarding him as a stern and cruel deity. Just as Odin himself hung up on a gallows, wounded with the thrust of a spear, and devoted to himself,1 so, according to certain legendary narratives, it was a custom to dedicate men to Odin by hanging them on a gallows and piercing them with spears. The skalds thus referred to Odin as the “God of Hanged Men” or the “Lord of the Gallows.” He bade his raven fly to such as had been hanged, or he went in person to the gallows tree and utilizing incantations compelled the hanged man to hold discourse with him. A historian of the eleventh century, Adam of Bremen, recounts that in the sacrificial grove near the temple at Uppsala many the cult bound up with his name seems to have come from the South into the North at a comparatively late date. Place names in which the name of Odin forms a compounding element provide valuable aid in determining the limits of Odin worship in various regions.1  Jord and Frigg were the wives of Odin; his concubines, the Giantess Grid, and Rind; his sons were Thor (with Jord), Balder (with Frigg), Vidar (with Grid), Vali (with Rind), and besides, Heimdal, Hod, and Bragi; all these were numbered among the chief deities. Other sons are Tyr, Meili, and Hermod, the messenger sent by the gods to Hell upon the death of Balder. Ancient kings and princes were proud to count their descent from Odin; for this reason, other sons were later attributed to him, such as Skjold, ancestor of the kings of Denmark, Sæming, ancestor of the Haloigja family (the earls of Lade), Sigi, ancestor of the Volsungs, and still others

2. THOR  

 Next after Odin, the principal deity was Thor. He it was who guarded men and their labors from the wild forces of nature, personified as Giants. Thus he held sway — in certain Northern regions — over air and climate, over rain and harvest. As the god of fertility, however, he had to divide his rule with the gods of the Vanir; but thunder and lightning always were

the special province of Thor, who according to the Norse myths was constantly engaged in the battle against the Giants. He rode in a chariot which, as it rolled along, produced thunder. The chariot was drawn by two goats, Tanngnjost2 and Tanngrisni;3 these goats Thor could kill and eat and bring to life once more provided all the bones are gathered up in the hides. Because Thor usually drove these goats, he was called Riding-Thor; he had other names as well, such as Ving-Thor, Lorridi, Einride.  Thor’s realm was known as Thrudvang; there stood his imposing hall, Bilskirnir, the largest in the world, comprising 540 rooms. To Thor belonged three objects of price: the most valuable of these was the hammer Mjollnir, which he carried whenever he gave battle to the Giants; he could make it as great or as small as he pleased, he could hurl it, through the air, and it always found its mark and returned of itself to his hand. Again, he had remarkable iron gauntlets with which to grasp the hammer; and he had a belt of strength which, when he girdled it about him, added to his Æsir power. Without Thor the Æsir would have found no help against the Giants; but no sooner did they mention him by name than he gave proof of his prowess. He was wedded to beautiful Sif, of the golden hair;5 their children were Modi and a daughter named Thrud. With the Giantess Jarnsaxa, he had besides a son called Magni.  Thor was hot and hasty of temper; when he rode out to meet the Giants, the mountains trembled and the earth burst into flame. When the gods repaired to Yggdrasil to hold assembly there, Thor did not trouble himself to cross by way of Bifrost but took a shorter road on which he waded the deepest streams. Now and then he might chance to leap before he looked, and so once or twice he came out of some enterprise or other with harm and confusion.  The worship of Thor was very widespread throughout the North. Numerous place-names bear witness to his cult,2 and the sagas contain not infrequent accounts of sanctuaries dedicated to Thor or of invocations directed to him.3 To our ancestors Thor was tall and strong, handsome and dignified; he had a red beard and gripped Mjollnir in his hand.   

3. BALDER  

 The son of Odin and Frigg is Balder, the god of innocence and piety. He is so bright and fair that light shines from his features; he is also wise, eloquent, gentle, and lenient, and righteous to such a degree that his judgments stand always unshaken. His home and stronghold are called Breidablik; there nothing impure may find lodgment. His wife is the faithful Nanna, daughter of Nep. His son is the righteous Forseti. Balder was killed by his brother Hod, but after the destruction of the universe, he will return again.1  The cult of Balder is mentioned only in the late, unhistorical Fridthjof’s Saga; from this source, we learn that he had a great sanctuary, Baldershagi, somewhere in Sogn. 

4. NJORD  

 Njord (Njorðr, originally Nerpuz) guides the course of the winds and governs sea and fire; he grants to those who call upon him a good fortune at sea and in the chase, and he dispenses wealth, whether of lands or of chattels. Of old, he came from Vanaheim.3 It so befell that when the Æsir and the Vanir were engaged in concluding a treaty of peace, each race gave hostages to the other, the Æsir designating Hœnir and the Vanir, Njord; they all spat in a crock, and from the spittle, they made a man, the sapient Kvasir. From that time forth Njord was reckoned among the Æsir and took rank with the foremost of them. His dwelling, called Noatun, is near the sea; outside the walls swim swans and waterfowl of all sorts. Njord’s children are the god Frey and the goddess Freyja; his wife, their stepmother, is Skadi, a Giantess. The Æsir having brought about the death of her father Thjazi,4 Skadi went in arms to Asgard to demand recompense. In order to pacify her, the Æsir permitted her to choose a husband from their number, but she was to see only their feet and to make her choice in this way. She fixed her eyes on a pair of shapely feet and, supposing them to be Balder’s, chose accordingly. But her choice fell on Njord, with whom she did not live on the very best of terms; Skadi wished to make her abode in Thrymheim, her old home, but Njord wished to remain in Noatun. So they agreed to live by turns nine nights in Thrymheim and three nights in Noatun. When they had stayed the first nine nights in Thrymheim, Njord said that he was utterly weary of the mountains; the howling of the wolves seemed to him most lugubrious as compared with the singing of the swans. Skadi found herself disappointed likewise; when she had remained three nights in Noatun, she was no less weary of the screaming of the birds and the roaring of the sea, which broke her repose. Thus perforce they went their own ways; Skadi returned to Thrymheim, where she disported herself in skiing and hunting and so earned the sobriquet of the Ski-Deity or the Ski-Goddess (ondurdís).  Njord was called the Scion of the Vanir, the Vanir-God, the God Without Blemish. According to the testimony of place names,1 his cult was widespread throughout the North. At the ancient sacrificial feasts, men drank to Njord and Frey next after Odin; and from an early formulary for taking oaths it is manifest that oaths were sworn by Njord and Frey and by the “almighty god” (presumably Thor).

5. FREY  

 Njord’s son is Frey, who is fair to look upon, mightier, and more valorous than even his own father. He governs weather and tillage; in his hand lie prosperity, joy, and peace. Like Njord, Frey is called Scion of the Vanir, the Vanir-God; also, God of the Seasons and Giver of Riches. He holds sway over Alfheim and the Bright-Elves.  Frey has certain priceless talismans that cunning Dwarfs have made for him. First of these is the ship Skidbladnir, which sails over land and sea alike; when its sails are hoisted the winds always favor its course, and it is so devised that it can be folded together and kept in a pocket till the time for its use has come. He has also a marvelous boar, named Gullinbusti or Slidrugtanni, that races through the air and over the sea, throwing beams of light from his golden bristles; Frey often hitches the boar to his chariot when he wishes to drive abroad. Frey is wedded to Gerd, fair daughter of the Giant Gymir. He caught sight of one day as he had taken his seat in Lidskjalf to gaze out upon all the worlds; far to the north he saw her walking across her father’s farmyard; air and sea shone with brightness as she raised her white arm to close the door. Frey fell in love with her, and for sorrow could neither sleep nor drink. His father Njord sent Skirnir, Frey’s servant, to learn what was amiss with him; then Frey confessed his longing and commanded Skirnir to run his errand and pay court on his behalf. Skirnir promised to go if Frey would only lend him his magic sword, whose blade, if need be, could strike of its own power. Thus armed he went forth on his quest, and through sorcery, he constrained Gerd to promise a meeting with Frey; the appointed tryst was to take place after the lapse of nine nights, and in the interval, Frey was beside himself with longing. Frey afterward missed his trusty sword; in a duel with the Giant Beli, he was compelled to use the antlers of a stag to kill his opponent. When the end of the world comes, he will feel still more keenly the want of his sword. Snorri relates that his violent love for Gerd was a penalty laid upon him by Odin because Frey had ventured to sit in Odin’s seat.  The worship of Frey was general throughout the North, and place names demonstrate that many sanctuaries were dedicated to him.1 The Swedes showed particular zeal in the cult of Frey; and from Yngvi-Frey (Yngvi, Yngvifreyr, also Ing or Ingunar-Freyr) in Uppsala, the family of the Ynglings, Norway’s royal house, is said to have descended. There are accounts of horses dedicated to Frey, the so-called Manes of Frey. In Sweden, a priestess of his cult was given to Frey for a wife, with whom he is supposed to have lived in actual marriage.   

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