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Odin

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Allfather of the Norse gods, associated with wisdom, war, and poetry

Detailed Definition
Odin is the chief of the Æsir, god of wisdom, war, death, and poetry, who sacrificed an eye for knowledge and hung on Yggdrasil to gain runes. He gathers fallen warriors in Valhalla. In poetry, Odin symbolizes the pursuit of hidden knowledge, sacrifice for insight, and the duality of creation and destruction.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Norse myth as rendered in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Children of Odin,” Odin sacrifices an eye for wisdom; In W.H. Auden’s “The Age of Anxiety,” Odin symbolizes seeking knowledge at great cost; In Seamus Heaney’s “North,” Odin’s ravens reflect poetic observation; In modern poetry, Odin often represents the shamanic poet; In Louise Glück’s “The Wild Iris,” Odin’s runes echo in natural signs; In Tracy K. Smith’s “Life on Mars,” Odin’s spear becomes a cosmic axis.
Additional Notes
Odin, chief Norse god of wisdom, war, and poetry, embodies sacrifice (giving an eye for knowledge), ecstatic trance, and the seeker of runes; poets reference him to explore shamanic inspiration, the cost of insight, or the warrior-poet ideal—his self-hanging on Yggdrasil to gain the runes parallels crucifixion myths and informs modern mythopoeic poetry.
Also Known As
Allfather One-Eyed God Raven Lord of Asgard
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