The Allfather
Odin is the chief of the Aesir and ruler of Asgard, a god of wisdom, war, poetry, death, and magic. Son of Bor and the giantess Bestla, he and his brothers slew the primeval giant Ymir and shaped the world from his body. Restless and relentlessly curious, Odin wanders the nine worlds disguised as an old traveler, seeking knowledge wherever it can be found.
His name derives from Proto-Germanic Wodanaz, rooted in woð, meaning "fury," "inspiration," or "ecstasy" — the frenzy of the warrior and the poet alike. The same root gives the English weekday Wednesday, "Woden's day."
Odin's hunger for wisdom costs him dearly. He gives up an eye to drink from Mimir's well, and hangs himself for nine nights on the world-tree Yggdrasil, pierced by his own spear, to win the runes. Two ravens, Huginn (thought) and Muninn (memory), fly across the world each day and whisper to him all they see.
With his wife Frigg he fathers the radiant Baldr, whose death he is powerless to prevent. At Ragnarok, Odin rides out to battle the wolf Fenrir and is swallowed whole, his long quest for knowledge unable to save him from his foretold end.
Common Questions
Why does Odin have only one eye?
He sacrificed an eye to drink from Mimir's well of wisdom, trading sight for deeper knowledge of the cosmos and its fate.
Is Odin the same as Woden or Wotan?
Yes. Woden (Old English) and Wotan (Old High German) are the same deity under the broader Germanic tradition; all descend from Proto-Germanic Wodanaz.
