So I realized I missed some points in my previous post. Here comes some more mindless drivel!
Significant people sacrificing them selves.
So you of course know that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. What an upstanding thing to do. Not sure what beef the Romans had with him but oh well. Its alright he rose up again 3 days later.
BUT did you know Odin also sacrificed him self for the good of others? Well mostly. When you look at it, his actions could also been seen as overly selfish, but I choose to believe he has every one's best interests at heart. Basically, Odin first sacrificed one of his eyes at Mimir's well in exchange for a drink from the waters in order to gain great wisdom. He became wise but wanted to be more wise (so he could help people right?) so he hung him self from Yggdrasil (the world tree) for 9 days and was pierced by his own spear as an offering to him self. Yes, he sacrificed him self to him self. While hanging from the tree he observed all the 9 worlds and gained great wisdom. He learned 18 runes (18 is a multiple of 9, noticing a pattern here?) that gave him various powers that he could use to help him self or others. He had certain powers just for him, such as a rune that made it impossible to tie him up, but many for others that mostly gave great advantage in battle (very important in Viking culture) such as invulnerability, blunting enemy weapons, the ability to catch arrows etc. etc. There were also a few more practical ones such as one that allowed him to save ships from storms. All up some pretty spiffing things for a chap to be able to do for you. Anyway he learned all this while he was dying on the tree, but its ok he was fine after a good lie down.
Apple theft.
Adam and Eve, those naughty devils, ate some of God's apples in the garden of Eden after being convinced to do so by a sneeky snake and as a result they were promptly ejected from the premises. Harsh drag.
Well I'm sure you'll be amazed to hear that there is a similar story in Norse myth! In this version a giant called Thiazi steals not only the apples of the gods but the god who grows them too. This is all in a cunning plot to see the gods wither into old age (the apples provide eternal youth) and the giant makes off with the goddess Idun to his home in Jountenheim. Loki is sent to retrieve Idun (I won't tell the story but its his fault she was kidnapped) so he transforms into a falcon and flies to the land of giants to get her. He finds her, uses magic runes to turn her into a nut and starts to fly back to Asgaard, but not before Thiazi finds out that Idun is gone! Thiazi thurns into an eagle and chases Loki down just as he reaches the realm of the gods, but luckily the gods are awaiting his and Loki's arrival and they promptly set him on fire and kill him for stealing their apples. That's how that tale goes down. I like it because people are turning into things all the time and there is a chase scene.
In both versions the perpetrators learn not to steal apples. Adam and Eve via being kicked out of paradise and Thiazi by being set on fire then killed. The lesson here is gods really like apples.
