We see them on the big screen, bashing about aliens and each other, ruling over fantastical worlds and wielding extraordinary weapons. Their hair is perfect, muscles rippled and jaw chiseled. While Anthony Hopkins, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston do a remarkable job of portraying the Norse gods Odin, Thor and Loki, it is likely few moviegoers are aware these are not just superheroes, sprung from the mind of a talented writer. These are important figures in an ancient religion. And now, after thousands of years, the Norse gods are getting a brand new temple, the first since the Viking age. Before we explore this new phase of the Norse religion, let’s venture into its past and find out how it all began. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Odin
A Modern Makeover for an Ancient Religion: The Norse Gods Find a New Earthly Home
Posted in Architecture, Blog, Celebrities, Culture, Public Life, Religion
Tagged ancient history, ancient religion, AntiquityNOW, Loki, Norse gods, Norse mythology, Odin, Thor, Vikings
The Ancient Roots of Disney’s Blockbuster Film “Frozen”
In our previous post, The Disneyfication of Pocahontas and the True Story of Uleleh, we explored the origins of the Disney film Pocahontas and discovered that it has a deeper, more complex history than we thought. In today’s post, we delve into another Disney film, Frozen, which is said to be based on the fairy tale The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. Interestingly, there are speculations that Andersen’s fairy tales were actually inspired by Norse mythology, so we decided to examine The Snow Queen for these literary remnants. Join us as we peel back the layers of history to see how an ancient culture eventually gave rise to a 21st-century Oscar-winning animated film. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Celebrities, Culture, Literature, Public Life, Recreation
Tagged ancient history, Anna, AntiquityNOW, Disney, Elsa, Frozen, Hans Christian Anderson, Norse mythology, Odin, Skaði, The Snow Queen
The Pagan Origins of Christmas
In the modern age, the majority of the world view Christmas as a Christian holiday in origin. However, this is not the case. A lot of popular traditions that are associated with Christmas are not indeed Christian in origin. Many have pre-Christian beginnings in pagan festivals that were celebrated by the pagan populace around the winter solstice before they were later converted to Christianity. Examples of such festivals are Saturnalia and Yule. In addition to this, Christmas was banned on a few occasions within certain Protestant groups, such as the Puritans, because they believed that Christmas was too pagan.[1] In modern times Christmas, for those who celebrate it, is generally thought to be most people’s favourite holiday. The same could be said for the pagan winter festivals in ancient Europe. This was due to the fact that everyone was looking forward to better weather with the arrival of Spring and that there was far less agricultural work to be done at this time of year. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Holidays, Public Life, Recreation, Religion
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Koliada, Odin, pre-Christian Germanic, Romans, Saturn, Saturnalia, Sol, yule log, Yule Tide
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