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Auðumbla
In Norse mythology, Auðumbla ɔuðˌumblɑ(also Auðhumla ɔuðˌhumlɑ and Auðumla ɔuðˌumlɑ ) is a primeval cow. The primordial frost jötunn Ymir fed from her milk, and over the course of three days she licked away the salty rime rocks and revealed Búri, grandfather of the gods and brothers Odin, Vili and Vé. The creature is solely attested in the ''Prose Edda'', composed in the 13th century by Icelander Snorri Sturluson. Scholars identify her as stemming from a very early stratum of Germanic mythology, and ultimately belonging to larger complex of primordial bovines or cow-associated goddesses. Name The cow's name variously appears in ''Prose Edda'' manuscripts as ''Auðumbla'' , ''Auðhumla'' , and ''Auðumla'' , and is generally accepted as meaning 'hornless cow rich in milk' (from Old Norse ''auðr'' 'riches' and *''humala'' 'hornless').See discussion in both Lindow 2001:63 and Simek 2007:22. The compound presents some level of semantic ambiguity. A pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ymir
In Norse mythology, Ymir (, ), also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the '' Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the '' Prose Edda'', written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, and in the poetry of skalds. Taken together, several stanzas from four poems collected in the ''Poetic Edda'' refer to Ymir as a primeval being who was born from Eitr, yeasty venom that dripped from the icy rivers called the Élivágar, and lived in the grassless void of Ginnungagap. Ymir gave birth to a male and female from his armpits, and his legs together begat a six-headed being. The grandsons of Búri, the gods Odin, Vili and Vé, fashioned the Earth (elsewhere personified as a goddess, Jörð) from his flesh, from his blood the ocean, from his bones the mountains, from his hair the trees, from his brains the clouds, from his skull the heavens, and from his eyebrows the middle rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mineral Lick
A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that farmers place in pastures for livestock to lick). Natural licks are common, and they provide essential elements such as phosphorus and the biometals (sodium, calcium, iron, zinc, and trace elements) required in the springtime for bone, muscle and other growth in deer and other wildlife, such as moose, elephants, tapirs, cattle, woodchucks, domestic sheep, fox squirrels, mountain goats and porcupines. Such licks are especially important in ecosystems with poor general availability of nutrients. Harsh weather exposes salty mineral deposits that draw animals from miles away for a taste of needed nutrients. It is thought that certain fauna can detect calcium in salt licks. Overview Many animals regularly visit mineral licks to consume clay, suppl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Búri
In Norse mythology, Búri (Old Norse: ), is a divinity god 'producer, father' of all other gods,Simek (Simek 2007:47). and an early ancestor of the Æsir gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. Búri was licked free from salty rime stones by the primeval cow Auðumbla over the course of three days. Búri's background beyond this point is unattested, and he had a son, Borr, by way of an unknown process. Búri is attested in the ''Prose Edda'', composed in the 13th century by Icelander Snorri Sturluson. The ''Prose Edda'' includes a quote from a 12th-century poem by skald Þórvaldr Blönduskáld that mentions the figure. Búri's mysterious origins are the subject of scholarly commentary and interpretation. Attestations Buridava was a fort and sanctuary in the Roman province of Dacia on the Danube. The name Buri is attested by the ninth tabula of Europe of Ptolemy's Geography and Trajan campaign, Cassius Dio and inscriptions. Búri receives mention twice in the ''Prose E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germanic Mythology
Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism. Origins As the Germanic languages developed from Proto-Indo-European language, Germanic mythology is ultimately a development of Proto-Indo-European mythology. Archaeological remains, such as petroglyphs in Scandinavia, suggest continuity in Germanic mythology since at least the Nordic Bronze Age. Sources The earliest written sources on Germanic mythology include literature by Roman writers. This includes '' Commentaries on the Gallic War'' by Julius Caesar, '' Geographica'' by Strabo, and ''Germania'' by Tacitus. Later Latin-language sources on Germanic mythology include ''Getica'' by Jordanes, '' History of the Lombards'' by Paul the Deacon, ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' by Bede, '' Vita Ansgari'' by Rimbert, '' Gesta Hammaburgensis eccle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amalthea (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Amalthea or Amaltheia (Ancient Greek: Ἀμάλθεια) is the most-frequently mentioned foster-mother of Zeus. Etymology The name ''Amalthea'', in Greek "tender goddess", is clearly an epithet, signifying the presence of an earlier nurturing goddess or maiden-goddess whom the Hellenes, whose myths we know, knew to be located in Crete, where Minoans may have called her a version of "Dikte". Mythology There were different traditions regarding Amalthea. Amalthea is sometimes represented as the goat who suckled the infant-god in a cave in Cretan Mount Aigaion ("Goat Mountain"), sometimes as a goat-tending nymph of uncertain parentage (the daughter of Oceanus, Helios, Haemonius, or—according to Lactantius—Melisseus), who brought him up on the milk of her goat. The possession of multiple and uncertain mythological parents indicates wide worship of a deity in many cultures having varying local traditions. Other names, like Adrasteia, Ide, the nymph of Moun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jötunn
A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods (Æsir and Vanir) and other non-human figures, such as dwarfs and elves, although the groupings are not always mutually exclusive. The entities themselves are referred to by several other terms, including , (or ) and if male and or if female. The typically dwell across boundaries from the gods and humans in lands such as . The are frequently attested throughout the Old Norse record, with also featuring in the Old English epic poem ''Beowulf''. The usage of the terms is dynamic, with an overall trend that the beings become portrayed as less impressive and more negative as Christianity becomes more influential. Although the term "giant" is sometimes used to gloss the word "" and its apparent synonyms in some translations and academic texts, are not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hera
In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Olympus, sister and wife of Zeus, and daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. One of her defining characteristics in myth is her jealous and vengeful nature in dealing with any who offend her, especially Zeus' numerous adulterous lovers and illegitimate offspring. Her iconography usually presents her as a dignified, matronly figure, upright or enthroned, crowned with a '' polos'' or diadem, sometimes veiled as a married woman. She is the patron goddess of lawful marriage. She presides over weddings, blesses and legalises marital unions, and protects women from harm during childbirth. Her sacred animals include the cow, cuckoo and the peacock. She is sometimes shown holding a pomegranate, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nerthus
In Germanic paganism, Nerthus is a goddess associated with a ceremonial wagon procession. Nerthus is attested by first century AD Roman historian Tacitus in his ethnographic work ''Germania''. In ''Germania'', Tacitus records that a group of Germanic peoples were particularly distinguished by their veneration of the goddess. Tacitus describes the wagon procession in some detail: Nerthus's cart is found on an unspecified island in the "ocean", where it is kept in a sacred grove and draped in white cloth. Only a priest may touch it. When the priest detects Nerthus's presence by the cart, the cart is drawn by heifers. Nerthus's cart is met with celebration and peacetime everywhere it goes, and during her procession no one goes to war and all iron objects are locked away. In time, after the goddess has had her fill of human company, the priest returns the cart to her "temple" and slaves ritually wash the goddess, her cart, and the cloth in a "secluded lake". According to Tacitus, the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ''Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales'') and the ''Histories'' (Latin: ''Historiae'')—examine the reigns of the emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD). These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus (14 AD) to the death of Domitian (96 AD), although there are substantial lacunae in the surviving texts. Tacitus's other writings discuss oratory (in dialogue format, see '' Dialogus de oratoribus''), Germania (in ''De origine et situ Germanorum''), and the life of his father-in-law, Agricola (the general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain), mainly focusing on his campaign in Britannia ('' De vita et moribus Iulii ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Lindow
John Frederick Lindow (born July 23, 1946) is an American philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley. He is a well known authority on Old Norse religion and literature. Biography John Lindow was born in Washington, D.C. on July 23, 1946, the son of Wesley Lindow and Eleanor Niemetta. His father was a banker and his mother was a teacher. John Lindow received his undergraduate degree at Harvard University, where he gained a A.B. magna cum laude in 1968, and a PhD in 1972, both in Germanic Languages and Literatures. After gaining his Ph.D, Lindow joined the faculty at University of California, Berkeley, serving as Acting Assistant Professor (1972-1974), Assistant Professor (1974-1977), Associate Professor (1977-1983), and Professor of Scandinavian (1983-?). He was since retired as Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore. In 1977, Lindow was elected as a corresponding member of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolf Simek
Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in Germanic studies, and is the author of several notable works on Germanic religion and mythology (including Old Norse religion and mythology), Germanic peoples, Vikings, Old Norse literature, and the culture of Medieval Europe. Biography Since 1995, Simek has been Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek was appointed Professor of Comparative Religion at the University of Tromsø in 1999, and Professor of Old Nordic Studies at the University of Sydney in 2000. Simek has held a number of visiting professorships, having had long research stays at the universities of Reykjavik, Copenhagen, London, Oxford and Sydney. From 2000 to 2003, Simek was Chairman of the International Saga Society (German: Internationalen-Saga-Gesellscha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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