AMD 6 Ben Lemisch

For this chapter's AMD I looked up some Germanic Mythology. America as nation has folklore and cultural folk tales but nothing like the older countries of Europe have. With our reading fairy tales last chapter and my constantly watching this family guy clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpBJsVw000w I wanted to look into more of what past Germans believe. The collection of German mythology includes Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and other mythologies created inside of the state of Germany. My favorite character from the myths I looked up was Odin, the ruler of Asgard. As the ruler of Asgard Odin is considered the ruler of the gods and the most powerful among them. Odin is associated with war, battle, victory and death, wisdom poetry, magic, prophecy and the hunt. Odin appealed to me because as he seemed like a competant leader and one who lead his armies to victory against the frost giants. I also like this mythology because it stressed war and the value of a warrior culture. The Norse mythologies are mostly centered on fighting but in a different way than the other European myths are. Western European fairy tales center around a prince fighting a dragon; the Norse mythology follow whole armies fighting each other from different worlds. The Norse looked to the sky and other worlds to find the stories for their myths whereas other nations told their stories in the world around them. I enjoyed reading about Odin's vairous wars and conflicts, especially against the frost giants. The more I learn about German culture and their background the more I enjoy it.