ODIN, or OTHIN (O. Norse 66inn)

This article appears in Volume V20, Page 4 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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ODIN, or OTHIN (O. Norse 66inn) , the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

god of the Northern pantheon. He is represented as an old man with one eye. Frigg is his wife, and several of the gods, including Thor and Balder, are his sons. He is also said to have been the father of several legendary kings, and more than one princely family claimed descent from him. His exploits and adventures form. the theme of a number of the Eddaic poems, and also of several stories in the

prose

PROSE

Edda. In all these stories his character is distinguished rather by wisdom and cunning than by martial prowess, and reference is very frequently' made to his skill in poetry and magic. In Ynglinga Saga he is represented as reigning in Sweden, where he established

laws

LAWS

for his people. In notices relating to religious observances Odin appears chiefly as the giver of victory or as the god of the dead. He is frequently introduced in legendary sagas, generally in disguise, imparting

secret

SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

instructions to his favourites or presenting them with weapons by which victory is assured. In return he receives the souls of the slain who in his palace, Valhalla (q.v.), live a life of fighting and feasting, similar to that which has been their desire on earth. Human sacrifices were very frequently offered to Odin, especially prisoners taken in battle. The commonest method of sacrifice was by hanging the victim on a tree; and in the poem Hdvamdl the god himself is represented as sacrificed in this way. The

worship

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

of Odin seems to have prevailed chiefly, if not solely, in military circles, i.e. among princely families and the retinues of warriors attached to them. It is probable, however, that the

worship

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

of Odin was once common to most of the Teutonic peoples. To the Anglo-

Saxons

SAXONS

he was known as

Woden

WODEN

(q.v.) and to the Germans as Wodan (Wuotan), which are the regular forms of the same name in those languages. It is largely owing to the peculiar character of this god and the prominent position which he occupies that the mythology of the north presents so striking a contrast to that of

Greece

GREECE

.
See TEUTONIC PEOPLES, ad fin.; and

WODEN

WODEN

. (H. M. C.) ODO, or EuDES (d. c. 936), king, or duke, of Aquitaine, obtained this dignity about 715, and his territory included the

south

SOUTH
SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

-western part of Gaul from the Loire to-the Pyrenees. In 718 he appears as the ally of Chilperic II., king of

Neustria

NEUSTRIA

, who was fighting against the Austrasian mayor of the palace, Charles Martel; but after the defeat of Chilperic at Soissons in 719 he probably made peace with Charles by surrendering to him the Neustrian king and his treasures. Odo was also obliged to fight the Saracens who invaded the southern part of his kingdom, and inflicted a severe defeat upon them at Toulouse in 721. When, however, he was again attacked by Charles Martel, the Saracens renewed their ravages, and Odo was defeated near Bordeaux; he was compelled to crave protection from Charles, who took up this struggle and gained his momentous victory at Poitiers in 732. In 735 the king abdicated, and was succeeded by his son Hunold.

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