Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 17

MYTHS IN THE
MODERN AGE
THE NORSE MYTHS LIVE ON IN
POPULAR CULTURE, BUT THEY ALSO
BRING US AN ETHIC FROM THE PAST.
BY DENISE LOGELAND
T
hor and his
hammer,
Valhalla's
Valkyries and
warriors, Idunn
and her apples of youth-all
of them came to life in the
pages of a 1967 volume called
" D'Aulaires Norse Gods and
Giants. " Maybe you remember
reading it. Ingri and Edgar Parin
d'Aulaire gave many people
their fi rst introduction to the
Norse myths as a collection of
colorful tales for children.
But the myths aren't just kid
stuff, and Douglas " Dag " Rossman,
a member of Valdres 1-503
in Decorah, Iowa, says it's worth
going back to revisit the Norse
myths as an adult.
" It's the most concrete way
we have to get into the minds
of our ancestors of a thousand
years ago, because they didn't
leave letters in the attic, " says
Rossman, a retired professor of
biology who's made a second
career as an author, storyteller,
and scholar of the myths. " The
archaeological record is relatively
thin in terms of details, but
the myths contain insights into
the way people were thinking
about 'What does it mean to be
a human being? What values are
important, and conversely what
things should be avoided?' "
Those eternal questions at the
core of the myths might explain
why the stories and their characters
live on in unexpectedly
modern ways.
HOW THE MYTHS
SURVIVED
Huginn and Muninn, Odin's
ravens in Norse mythology, fl y to
the farthest corners of the world
each day, then return to perch
on his shoulders and tell him all.
Many centuries later, anyone can
play the part of Odin by using
Huginn, a new open-source software
that sends bots out over the
Internet to gather information.
In myth, Loki is a devious
shape-shifter. Today, Loki is
also a new single malt Scotch
whisky released last winter by
Highland Park, a distiller in the
Orkney Islands.
And Thor, the ancient god of
thunder? He's been a Marvel
Comics character since 1962. But
lately, he's also been a character
on " The Almighty Johnsons, " a
hit comedy-drama series about
a family of reincarnated Norse
gods, now entering its third season
on New Zealand television.
The Norse myths fi gure
prominently in gaming, in fantasy
literature-J. R. R. Tolkien
drew heavily on them when he
wrote " The Lord of the Rings "
and " The Hobbit " -and in
the heavy metal subgenre of
sonsofnorway.com VIKING JUNE 2013 17

http://www.sonsofnorway.com

Viking Magazine - June 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Viking Magazine - June 2013

Contents
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - Cover1
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - Cover2
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - Contents
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 4
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 5
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 6
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 7
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 8
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 9
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 10
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 11
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 12
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 13
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 14
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 15
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 16
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 17
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 18
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 19
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 20
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 21
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 22
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 23
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 24
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 25
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 26
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 27
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 28
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 29
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 30
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Viking Magazine - June 2013 - 46
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - Cover3
Viking Magazine - June 2013 - Cover4
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