As far as numbers go, that actually goes to norse with 22 primary gods compared to 12 greek. There are so many books on norse mythology out there, especially at the beginner level, that if you were. Much like greek and roman mythology, norse myths are still with us. Similarities and differences between norse and greek. To ask other readers questions about norse mythology, please sign up. Norse mythology myth encyclopedia greek, god, story. Another classic of mythology, this one from the 19th century. Norse mythology by neil gaiman if youre looking for retellings of old norse myths.
We arent experts in other mythologies yet so were sticking with these three for now. The 10 best norse mythology books norse mythology for smart. For more great fantasy reads, check out our fantasy books for kids and 10 thrilling books for teens who love fantasy. What texts are the main sources of norse mythology. See how much you know about the myths and legends of these mighty warriors with our norse mythology quiz. Click here to view or buy daulaires book of greek myths at amazon, where its discounted 30% from its list price. 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. And while the greeks could set the titans free, that only evens.
It gives them a deeper understanding of greek and roman culture and egyptian and european. This article picks up where my original list of the 10 best norse mythology books leaves off. What is the difference between norse myths and greek myths. Discover pantheons from greek, roman, norse, and other mythologies in nine great books. Myths existed to explain how many things in the world came to be.
In greek mythology there is no apocalypse no end of the world. The fantastic in every sense of the word books on this list draw from indian, norse, japanese, chinese, and korean myths. Daulaires book of greek myths audiobook written by ingri daulaire, edgar parin daulaire. Draw any scene from the norse myths you read today. What i also noticed is how these tales have affected his other works. Decades later i stumbled across this gem on amazon and bought it immediately. The norse people are the ancient people of northern europe scandinavia, iceland, denmark, northern germany etc. 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. Gods were often patrons of different trades or types of people. Once i discovered norse mythology for real i was fascinated by it.
Both have one god that rules all of the other gods. 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. Their creator is a thirteenthcentury icelandic chieftain by the name of snorri sturluson. However, it is very interesting to note that the mythology of the vikings norse has many similarities with the greek myths. The vikings, or norsemen, terrorized northern europe from 8001100 c.
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. 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. Does anyone know of any norsegreek mythology books. 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.
Another not as popular mythology is norse mythology. Norse mythology and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle. Those new to norse mythology might be astonished by how bizarre some details are. 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. I was first introduced to the work of daulaire back in the 5th grade, many years ago, with the book of greek myths. A comparison between classical and norse mythologies. A very popular mythology would be greek mythology, which many people know about it or at least know of it. This video on norse mythology explains the beginning of the gods, goddesses, giants, dwarfs, and humans. The norse mythology of the book, and it was nothing bartleby. Famous storytellers from jrr tolkien to neil gaiman have drawn their inspiration from the longhaired, meaddrinking, marauding and pillaging vikings.
A captivating introduction to greek myths of greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters. The norse myths presents the infamous viking gods, from the mighty asyr, led by. Jack kirby and stan lee both sought to include a wide array of thors fellow vanir and aesir gods in the marvel universe. Theres more than just greek and roman mythology, too. 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. For added difficulty, decorate both sides of the ornament. If i had to describe the norse myths in one word, this would be the word. The 10 best greek mythology books norse mythology for smart. 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. The greek wrote down more of their myths, so more of it was preserved.
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. Or, create your own norse myth from the norse gods you read about today, or draw a scene. 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. Working myths are myths associated with particular rituals or ceremonies in the observing society. Greek mythology seems to have far more interaction and sexual escapades with humanity. Circe and song of achilles both by madeline miller if youre looking for creative retellings of famous greek myths. 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. 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. This is an accepted fact, as it is widely known that the romans stole the greek myths. Norse mythology is the religion of the norse people. Weve read through the whole thing and now at bedtime. 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.
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. Where did all mighty norse warriors hope to go after death. 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. Narrated by paul newman, sidney poitier, and kathleen turner. After reading both greek and norse mythology, it is clear that there are similarities but there are also glaring differences. I had gotten interested in greek mythology and wanted a book, and this one was right beside the greek one. For the book by neil gaiman, see norse mythology book. Many other groups used myths but nothing can compare to the greek and norse myths with their great meaning and reason for everything. The chronology of norse mythology has a clear beginning in the creation myth, and a clear ending in the tale of ragnarok. The viking spirit is an introduction to norse mythology like no other. The greatest difference, i think, is in the end of the gods. The vast majority of the thunder god s comic and film costars all originally croppedup in the viking myths too. These myths are, by no means, identical to the greek ones like the roman ones are, but there are very distinct. Norse gods also interact with humans a lot more than greek gods.
Both greek and norse mythology are alike from the creation to the same power structure to the belief have having a preset faith. For example, thors wife sif was made infamous in the myths when her head was shaved bald by a mischievous loki. But most of what happens in between those two bookends doesnt occur in any particular order, and certainly doesnt follow a strictly linear trajectory. Earlier norse works known as eddic and skaldic poetry assume a knowledge of the cosmology.
Daulaires book of greek myths by ingri daulaire, edgar. This was the book that got me interested in norse legends and mythology. American gods by neil gaiman also goes into several norse myths. Each version of the myth differs from others and can includeomit various details. 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. 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. 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. They are in no way related everything is different. Professor hansfriedrich mueller, of union college in schenectady, new york, makes. 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. This audiobook collection includes five captivating books. One thing lead to another and one afternoon i found a book called the gospel of loki by joanne m. 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.
What the relationship between norse mythology and greek. Hermodr in hel from an 18thcentury icelandic manuscript. Different people find greek mythology to be meaningful for different reasons. Norse cosmology divided the universe into nine realms. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the. Some complain that when compared to gaimans other works, norse mythology falls a bit flat. Nine realms of norse cosmology ancient history encyclopedia. A big difference between greek and norse mythology is that the gods in norse mythology are a lot closer to mankind. The gathering set is greek themed, with heroes, gods, and hydras.
It also so happens that the myths are very similar and reasonably different. Norse mythology creation story explained in 5 minutes. Draw and color one of the characters from the book. It includes norse gods and giants such as odin, ymir, buri, and many more. Unlike the greek deities, however, they seldom interact with human beings. Love and thunder can introduce the greek pantheon of gods to the mcu through christian bales character. 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. The gods will always be on mount olympus, ruling over the earth. 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.
A captivating guide to norse folklore including fairy tales, legends, sagas, and myths of the norse gods and heroes. Working myths can be very controversial based on their value and meaning. The main difference is the mind set and personality of the stories and characters within them. Now both carolyne larrington, the eminent and accomplished scholar of old norse, and. The norse myths and greek myths have so many differences and how they see things are incredibly different. Most of the existing records on norse mythology date from the 11th to 18th century, having gone through more than two centuries of oral preservation in what was at least officially a pagan society. A little greedy, maybe, but the girls were so excited about it initially that they each wanted a copy to read in bed. Buy norse mythology by neil gaiman from amazons fiction books store. 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. Both demeter greek and skadi norse were connected to the harvest. Norse mythology by neil gaiman a recent addition to the world of wonderful books about mythology. Major deities and figures like the greek deities, the norse gods and goddesses have all the characteristics of largerthanlife human beings.
1078 1290 578 99 1007 211 1255 1363 681 1042 203 1031 706 1104 593 427 279 1365 651 1149 203 1300 964 1442 1174 1030 662 1495 1349 672 1240 1264 542