The Viking Gods: Mythology of the Norsemen

“The visible world is the flesh of the invisible gods. The Old Ways still live within us, in our blood, heart and soul and only need to be rediscovered by rediscovering our heritage, of our polytheistic Indo-European forefathers. By studying mythology, we are indeed studying how our ancestors of the pre-Christian age saw themselves and their world. Thus, we come to find values and ideals long-forgotten or put aside in the modern society”. Alessandro Revan, founder of the renowned Internet group Sons of Odin (counting several thousands of members), presents a deepening on the supernatural world of the Viking-Age. The book deals with description and analysis of the spiritual and cultural beliefs of the Heathen Scandinavians, providing a complete cycle of stories of ancient myths of the Norsemen. The author treats keenly the meaning behind such mythological world and the significance that those supernatural beings have in our every day life. INSIDE YOU WILL READ ABOUT: - a comparison between monotheistic and polytheistic religions (sacred-profane dichotomy, view of nature, universalism and folkish, anthropomorphic features); - more than 20 deities (including: Odin, Thor, Loki, Tyr, Freya, Freyr etc.,), nature, roles, and meanings; - giants, with the description of the most renowned ones – as Fenrir, Jörmungandr, Ymir, Surtr, etc. – nature and roles and meaning of the giants; - other supernatural beings (elves, landvaettir, trolls, dwarves, etc.); - cosmology (the Nine Worlds, etc.); - the underworld (Hel, Valhalla, Folkvang, Valkyries, einherjar, the undead, etc.) - 27 retellings of Norse myths (creation of the cosmos, Aesir-Vanir war, the Mead of Poetry, Tyr sacrifice, Ragnarök, etc.) and a comment for each tale; - influence of Norse Mythology on our lives today, with respect to each single deity, giants, values of the pagan Norsemen etc.; - parallels between Norse mythology and other Indo-European polytheistic religions (Celtic, Irish, Greek, Roman, etc..) - other relevant topics: historical background, berserker, sea monsters, sacrifices, clash of religions, seidr (magic), etc..