Oðan

[Nimos]

Asian people are also underrepresented in media so I wouldn't want white people, who are overrepresented, to take roles from Asian actors. The fact of the matter is skin color does matter. Being colorblind just means ignoring the unequal treatment that exists already.

Im sorry, but I don't buy it.

Movie releases in the U.S. & Canada 2000-2021. In 2021, a total of 403 movies were released in the United States and Canada, up from 334 in the previous year

In 2021, a total of 565 feature films were produced in China, down from 850 compared to the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Cinema of India consists of films produced in India, where more than 1800 movies are produced annually.

How many white or black actors do you think are in those Chinese/Indian films?

Obviously, a lot of black/Asian actors might not have grown up in those countries and therefore not speak the language. But do you think that China and India are having a major debate about the lack of diversity?

But if we simply look at the US:

The most common ethnicity of actors is White (59.5%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (15.6%) and Black or African American (13.9%).

If we say that each actor needs to be in an equal amount of movies, how much of a diversity issue are we really talking about? I don't think it is as much as people make it sound like, based on how many actors there are of each color. My guess is that people assume that there also is an equal amount of actors of each skin color, and therefore also assume that it should be 50/50.

But that's far afield of the op topic. No Norse pagans that I know of mind black people, Asians or others imagining the gods as a reflection of the and their physical qualities. It's just an argument used by the unfortunate number of white supremacists which have appropriated Odinism.

Most likely because the number of people actually following this religion is extremely low, so no one feels stepped on personally. But as a matter of culture and history, I don't like it, religion-wise I couldn't care less.

I also don't mind adding to Tolkeins work because he was **** poor at writing female characters, who were few and flat, so by all means add some women warriors. Let the nerds gripe. xD ...sorry once again off topic of OP.

Well, I would strongly disagree with that. He wrote some intelligent and strong female characters, in fact, he wrote one of the strongest ever, I would argue. Obviously soon to be butchered by the Rings of Power.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Well compared to other representations of gods, which are seen to be absolutely perfect, lying and being deceived are not exactly considered god material by most people. Because people want a god that is perfect and flawless, which no human can live up to or even dream of achieving.

Whereas the Norse gods, deal with a lot of the same issues as we humans do, they have the same type of flaws and end up in sort of the same situations. Obviously on a different scale. It's impossible, at least for me, to relate to something that is so far from being human or even human values that it somehow becomes pointless, because there is nothing to learn or get inspired by when the problems and issues we deal with, are not even remotely an issue for such being.

This is probably also why I find Norse mythology to be by far the most interesting depiction of gods ever created that I at least have read about.

Well he did jump on the spear as well and hang himself

But I think one has to look at the story in such a way that Odin, obviously in search of knowledge and sacrificing his eye, also gave humans the understanding of runes or the written language at the time. So at least to me, I think it tells us something about what type of character and god he was.

My (limited and childish) understanding is that he is not only Norse but is related to the ancient Etruscan religion from which probably springs the Roman religion, though the Roman takes on Greek and later Christian ideas. It seems like he is originally a shapeless god (one of nine) who begins to take on preferred forms more and more often. I do not know how he is related to the Etruscans only that there appears to be a very clear historical connection between the Norse gods and the Etruscan.

This opinion comes from a presentation about Etruscan tombs made in different centuries and thoughts on the development of their religion as the Etruscan culture is gradually conquered and eliminated by the Romans over centuries of time. (Its not clear whether the Romans come from the Etruscans, but they adopt Etruscan religion.) The Etruscans value artistic tombs, and the depictions in their tombs tells things about the beliefs about gods. The Etruscans, like the Norse, believe in Valkyries and have many similar divinities to the Norse.

The development of their religion shows a shift from formless and shape changing gods to more human or more permanently shaped, and it seems like the Norse view Odin similarly as a formless, sexless and shapeshifting god who begins to take on preferred forms mostly male and mostly an older man but not always. I see a connection there which could be merely an impression I get due to how the video is presented.

 

[Nimos]

My (limited and childish) understanding is that he is not only Norse but is related to the ancient Etruscan religion from which probably springs the Roman religion, though the Roman takes on Greek and later Christian ideas. It seems like he is originally a shapeless god (one of nine) who begins to take on preferred forms more and more often. I do not know how he is related to the Etruscans only that there appears to be a very clear historical connection between the Norse gods and the Etruscan.

This opinion comes from a presentation about Etruscan tombs made in different centuries and thoughts on the development of their religion as the Etruscan culture is gradually conquered and eliminated by the Romans over centuries of time. (Its not clear whether the Romans come from the Etruscans, but they adopt Etruscan religion.) The Etruscans value artistic tombs, and the depictions in their tombs tells things about the beliefs about gods. The Etruscans, like the Norse, believe in Valkyries and have many similar divinities to the Norse.

The development of their religion shows a shift from formless and shape changing gods to more human or more permanently shaped, and it seems like the Norse view Odin similarly as a formless, sexless and shapeshifting god who begins to take on preferred forms mostly male and mostly an older man but not always. I see a connection there which could be merely an impression I get due to how the video is presented.

I have never heard that before. But I would doubt it without being very certain. Simply because I think there would be somewhat clear references or comparisons between them if that were the case, like finding symbols or jewelry, that would clearly show that they traded or exchanged such things. Obviously, I don't know if that is the case or not, but just by simply guessing, I think there are several things that would speak against it. First of all, the Norse gods and climate of the "cold" north, equal to the Etruscan god's "Warm" climate, probably wouldn't have appealed to one another. I think there would be too big a difference in culture. Also traveling from Scandinavia all the way to Italy or vice versa would have been a huge undertaking at the time, besides there is a long way, and there are also some huge mountains along the way, so the journey would have taken a very long time.

Also, I have never heard that Odin should have been formless or that any of the other gods were supposed to be, again they are way more humanlike with superpowers than gods compared to the biblical one. At least in the tales, I have read, it's not like they take on ghost forms, etc.

My guess is that they had valkyrie-type beings, which is probably more of a coincidence than there being a direct connection. Sort of like you have angels in the bible.

And just google Greek mythology:
The Keres were female death spirits in Greek mythology, daughters of Nyx, the goddess of the night, and Erebos, the god of darkness. They were the sisters of the three Moirai, the Fates, as well as other deities, including Nemesis, Oizys, Geras and Apate. They had a gruesome appearance and hovered over the battlefields in search of dying soldiers.
It may be that the Keres were connected to the Valkyries, which were war spirits of Norse mythology. They both flew over conflict areas searching for dying people; however, the Keres were malevolent spirits, while the Valkyries were benevolent ones, which may be a reflection of the stance towards war by the two cultures.

So maybe the idea traveled around as they were sharing stories or something I don't know.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I have never heard that before. But I would doubt it without being very certain. Simply because I think there would be somewhat clear references or comparisons between them if that were the case, like finding symbols or jewelry, that would clearly show that they traded or exchanged such things. Obviously, I don't know if that is the case or not, but just by simply guessing, I think there are several things that would speak against it. First of all, the Norse gods and climate of the "cold" north, equal to the Etruscan god's "Warm" climate, probably wouldn't have appealed to one another. I think there would be too big a difference in culture. Also traveling from Scandinavia all the way to Italy or vice versa would have been a huge undertaking at the time, besides there is a long way, and there are also some huge mountains along the way, so the journey would have taken a very long time.

Also, I have never heard that Odin should have been formless or that any of the other gods were supposed to be, again they are way more humanlike with superpowers than gods compared to the biblical one. At least in the tales, I have read, it's not like they take on ghost forms, etc.

My guess is that they had valkyrie-type beings, which is probably more of a coincidence than there being a direct connection. Sort of like you have angels in the bible.

And just google Greek mythology:
The Keres were female death spirits in Greek mythology, daughters of Nyx, the goddess of the night, and Erebos, the god of darkness. They were the sisters of the three Moirai, the Fates, as well as other deities, including Nemesis, Oizys, Geras and Apate. They had a gruesome appearance and hovered over the battlefields in search of dying soldiers.
It may be that the Keres were connected to the Valkyries, which were war spirits of Norse mythology. They both flew over conflict areas searching for dying people; however, the Keres were malevolent spirits, while the Valkyries were benevolent ones, which may be a reflection of the stance towards war by the two cultures.

So maybe the idea traveled around as they were sharing stories or something I don't know.

I think that is a very reasonable comment. Yes, I don't think I should jump to conclusions.

 

[The Hammer]

I have never heard that before. But I would doubt it without being very certain. Simply because I think there would be somewhat clear references or comparisons between them if that were the case, like finding symbols or jewelry, that would clearly show that they traded or exchanged such things. Obviously, I don't know if that is the case or not, but just by simply guessing, I think there are several things that would speak against it. First of all, the Norse gods and climate of the "cold" north, equal to the Etruscan god's "Warm" climate, probably wouldn't have appealed to one another. I think there would be too big a difference in culture. Also traveling from Scandinavia all the way to Italy or vice versa would have been a huge undertaking at the time, besides there is a long way, and there are also some huge mountains along the way, so the journey would have taken a very long time.

Also, I have never heard that Odin should have been formless or that any of the other gods were supposed to be, again they are way more humanlike with superpowers than gods compared to the biblical one. At least in the tales, I have read, it's not like they take on ghost forms, etc.

My guess is that they had valkyrie-type beings, which is probably more of a coincidence than there being a direct connection. Sort of like you have angels in the bible.

And just google Greek mythology:
The Keres were female death spirits in Greek mythology, daughters of Nyx, the goddess of the night, and Erebos, the god of darkness. They were the sisters of the three Moirai, the Fates, as well as other deities, including Nemesis, Oizys, Geras and Apate. They had a gruesome appearance and hovered over the battlefields in search of dying soldiers.
It may be that the Keres were connected to the Valkyries, which were war spirits of Norse mythology. They both flew over conflict areas searching for dying people; however, the Keres were malevolent spirits, while the Valkyries were benevolent ones, which may be a reflection of the stance towards war by the two cultures.

So maybe the idea traveled around as they were sharing stories or something I don't know.

My opinion would be the Vanir cult was closer to the Etruscans, as we see the Vanir were ultimately linked with the Earth, growth, and fertility; as one would expect in the warmer euro climates, this was probably gradually subsumed by the Norse (probably with the fall of Rome), with the mythic combining of the Aesir and Vanir tribes. My guess is Tiwaz was their high God, along with Frey (yes I'm mixing etymology), and the shift to Odin as high God, was due to this sublimation.

 

[Clara Tea]

What does this statue mean to you?

View attachment 64965

Drag the image to the Google Images search box, and you will find that it is a statue of a Norse God, Odin.

Some references call it Viking, but it was recently found, by DNA analysis, that virtually any ethnicity or race was allowed to join the Vikings (they were sort of pirates).

Odin - Wikipedia

Wikipedia (above) says that Odin appeared from 2 BCE, and was associated with "wisdom, healling, death, oraylty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet." That seems similar to Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts (Harry Potter books), and his appearance seems similar, as well.

In various languages the name "Odin" appears as Woden, Unoden, Wuodan, Weda, and in Old High German as Wuotan. This makes me think of a connection between the German language and nearby culture of China. Maybe there is a connection between Odin and Woo Tan? Though I can't seem to find any info on Woo Tan.

"Thank you" in German is "Danke," and in Chinese, it is "Danka Shaw." It seems that the close proximity spread the language.

You can almost always tell which language borrowed from another because the newer version is shorter. For example, stuffed grape leaves in Greece are domatis, and in the Middle East (which did extensive trading with Greece) they are dolma. The shorter version is likely the newer acquisition of the word into their language.

It would be unthinkable to assume that the Germans and Chinese didn't have some kind of trade or communication. However, for years, China had the attitude that it didn't need any trading partners because it was entirely self-sufficient.

The writing at the bottom of the statue seems to say Odin.

Verify Your Identity

Above, you will see a picture of Thor from the same collection.

Amazon.com : odin statue

Above, you will see a picture of Odin's statue, for sale at Amazon.com.

 

[The Hammer]

Drag the image to the Google Images search box, and you will find that it is a statue of a Norse God, Odin.

Some references call it Viking, but it was recently found, by DNA analysis, that virtually any ethnicity or race was allowed to join the Vikings (they were sort of pirates).

Odin - Wikipedia

Wikipedia (above) says that Odin appeared from 2 BCE, and was associated with "wisdom, healling, death, oraylty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet." That seems similar to Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts (Harry Potter books), and his appearance seems similar, as well.

In various languages the name "Odin" appears as Woden, Unoden, Wuodan, Weda, and in Old High German as Wuotan. This makes me think of a connection between the German language and nearby culture of China. Maybe there is a connection between Odin and Woo Tan? Though I can't seem to find any info on Woo Tan.

"Thank you" in German is "Danke," and in Chinese, it is "Danka Shaw." It seems that the close proximity spread the language.

You can almost always tell which language borrowed from another because the newer version is shorter. For example, stuffed grape leaves in Greece are domatis, and in the Middle East (which did extensive trading with Greece) they are dolma. The shorter version is likely the newer acquisition of the word into their language.

It would be unthinkable to assume that the Germans and Chinese didn't have some kind of trade or communication. However, for years, China had the attitude that it didn't need any trading partners because it was entirely self-sufficient.

The writing at the bottom of the statue seems to say Odin.

Verify Your Identity

Above, you will see a picture of Thor from the same collection.

Amazon.com : odin statue

Above, you will see a picture of Odin's statue, for sale at Amazon.com.

That's what it means sure. But what it mean to you? What is your takeaway.

 

[Nimos]

My opinion would be the Vanir cult was closer to the Etruscans, as we see the Vanir were ultimately linked with the Earth, growth, and fertility; as one would expect in the warmer euro climates, this was probably gradually subsumed by the Norse (probably with the fall of Rome), with the mythic combining of the Aesir and Vanir tribes. My guess is Tiwaz was their high God, along with Frey (yes I'm mixing etymology), and the shift to Odin as high God, was due to this sublimation.

Might be, I again have to doubt it. I don't think there is any strong if any connection between the Etruscan religion and that of the Norse, the Vanir might have been a slightly different view at the time, or it might simply have been part of the stories in order to explain something which might not be 100% clear to us today.

Then again, you might be right, I have no clue

 

[The Hammer]

Might be, I again have to doubt it. I don't think there is any strong if any connection between the Etruscan religion and that of the Norse, the Vanir might have been a slightly different view at the time, or it might simply have been part of the stories in order to explain something which might not be 100% clear to us today.

Then again, you might be right, I have no clue

I'm not sure any of us really have a clue outside of playful speculation. There is a lot of missing pieces in these puzzles

 

[Nimos]

I'm not sure any of us really have a clue outside of playful speculation. There is a lot of missing pieces in these puzzles

Yeah it would be interesting if one could go back in time and see how it all played out, I bet it would be quite different from what we think