This is the country that Odin, Willi and Ve made for themselves, after which Odin populated it with his sons (Asami), rare inhabitants of other worlds (Njord, Freyr and Freya from the Vanirs, Loki from the Giants), as well as the souls of warriors who died with a sword in their hands. The latter live in Valhalla and are waiting for the final battle. Ases are gods who send protection to Earth for people from giants, and they also monitor the life of humanity. One of the main differences between the Viking religion and others is the existence of negative qualities in the gods. They are no longer considered infallible, like, for example, God among the Christians, are not absolutely good, like among the Chinese, and bear (albeit in the future) responsibility for their atrocities, unlike the Greek Olympians. The Aesir fight, and kill, and break oaths, but in general, of course, they are necessary for humanity; without the Aesir, people would not be able to resist the Giants. In general, the Aces are surprisingly similar to people - they are also mortal (if not for the magic apples, the inhabitants of Asgard would have long ago disappeared into oblivion), they can also be maimed, they are far from omnipotent, and so on. Therefore, the Scandinavian Sagas here also compare favorably with other mythologies - the gods are close to people, they can also love and suffer, which is why they behave like humans, unlike the same Olympians.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru