ÓÐInn
ÓÐINN (Odin, Wōden, Wuotan) is the chief god of Germanic mythology. His name, meaning "inspired or intoxicated one," developed from the Proto-Germanic. *Wōþanaz, which is related to IE *wātós, the source of the Old Norse noun óðr (inspired mental activity, intelligence). Non-Germanic cognates are Latin vātēs and Old Irish fàith, both meaning "seer." Described as the best and the oldest of all the gods by Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241), Óðinn is a complex figure whose many names point to the diversity of his functions (Lorenz, 1984, pp. 91–95, 290–304). He is the father of the Æsir (the dominant group of gods), a great magician and seeker of wisdom, the master of runes, the patron of poets, the lord of battles, the god of the dead, and a betrayer of his human devotees. The brothers Óðinn, Vili, and Vé are the first Æsir, the sons of Borr and the giantess Bestla. They initiate the Æsir hostility against giants, killing their oldest maternal ancestor Ymir to create the world from his body and later repudiating three giantesses who seem to be hoping for husbands. Óðinn often appears in triads of gods and is even called Þriði (Third), leading some to compare Óðinn, Vili, and Vé with the Christian Trinity (Lorenz, p.
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