Similarities Between Norse And Greek Mythology

The Timeless Stories of Humanity
From the beginning of civilization, myths and stories have been integrated into the culture and daily lives of humans. Many of these myths contain moral guidelines that dictate acceptable behavior within the culture where the myths originated. These moral guidelines and central values found in myths across the world have many similarities. The Greeks and Norse are examples of how civilizations separated by land and time still have values and beliefs that share many qualities. The ideologies derived from the Greek and Norse Mythologies have many similarities and reflect how ancient mankind viewed its ties to nature, their relationship with their gods, and the cycle of destiny.
To begin with, both the Greeks and Norse believed that humans were connected to nature and the physical world around them. In Grecian mythology, humans were viewed as an extension of nature. An example of this is when …show more content…
The Greeks believed in a cycle in which new generations would replace old generations. This cycle is present when Zeus overthrew his father: “Led by Zeus, the six brothers and sisters … rebelled against their father against whom they were victorious” (Black, par. 10). In Greek mythology, Zeus overtook his father, Cronus, who had previously overtaken his father, Uranus. This demonstrates that the Greeks believed that newer generations, such as the Olympians, would inevitably replace older ones. The Norse also believed in a process in which the power from the old would be shifted to the new. Similarly to Zeus, Odin overthrew an older ruler and assumed their power: “Odin and his brothers slew Ymir and set about constructing the world from his corpse. ” (Højbjerg, par. 5) Odin slaying Ymir, the oldest godlike creature, symbolizes the younger generation superseding the old. In the two myths the power and control of the universe is transferred from old to the new

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Similarities Between Norse And Greek Mythology

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