Was Odin a genuine human being?
· Thor Heyerdahl and Per Lillieström have found interesting indications in their work
Jakten på Odin (The search for Odin) that suggests that there is a distinct possibility for
Odin to be, in fact, a human chief of a people called
Asas that were located around the Azov-lake and Azov in southern Russia, sometimes between 100 BC - 300 AD.
· Indications from Anglo-Saxon kingdom genealogies in England suggests that there existed a human named Odin of Saxon descent, in english sources named
Wodan, sometimes between 100 AD - 250 AD that became the ancestor for their kings, through his son Beldeg (Balder).
· The hypothesis for probable explanation by this
author will be entered when background search has been completed.
A human Odin treated as a God in northern Europe was the hypothesis for
Thor Heyerdahl in his last project,
Jakten på Odin (The search for Odin). However, most northern scholars consider this part of Snorri's Heimskringla and Ynglinga saga to be just fabrications and imaginative creations; there has not been shown any evidence for a people called 'Asas', nor 'Vans', their supposed worst enemies, in ancient Scandinavia.
Is it possible that
Odin was in fact a historical person, as stated by
Snorri Sturluson in his
Edda and
Saxo Grammaticus in
Gesta Danorum, who managed to get a reputation to be stemming from the gods, and who became worshipped as a god in northern Europe - thus founding the Asa-faith?
This article will argue from the findings of Thor Heyerdahl and Per Lillieström in their book summarizing this project,
Jakten på Odin (The search for Odin) and try to translate their findings into a mathematically valid collaboration with contemporary and historically valid sources.
When convienient, other sources will be referenced too, as needed.
The hypothesis for probable explanation by this
author will be entered when background search has been completed.
Ancient sources referencing the Asas
Snorri Sturluson and Saxo Grammaticus are two contemporary but (according to this author) independent writers of the early middelages that states that a human tribe of schamanistic wizards gained the reputation of being gods in ancient Scandinavia.
Saxo Grammaticus
1, around 1200 AD, gives the following account for these people:
"[...] efter lang Strid om Herredømmet vandt disse Hexemestere Sejer over Jetterne og fik ikke blot Magten i Landene, men ogsaa Ord for at være Guder."2
"His tamen apud delusas praestigiis mentes divinitatis accessit opinio."3
Snorri Sturluson
4, around 1220- 1240, gives the following account for these people:
"The country east of the Tanaquisl in Asia was called Asaland, or
Asaheim, and the chief city in that land was called Asgaard. In
that city was a chief called Odin, and it was a great place for
sacrifice. [...] People5 sacrificed to Odin and the twelve chiefs from Asaland, and called them their gods, and believed in them long after."6
"En Ódin og tá höfdingja tólf blótudu menn og kölludu god sín og trúdu á lengi sídan."7
Time-line calculations for a human Odin
First, we will see what the findings of Heyerdahl and Lillieström might give in terms of a collaborative time calculation for the existence of a historical person named Odin. We will examine their findings related to Anglo-Saxon kings in England, and compare this with the
Ynglinga saga and other ancient northern litterature, as well as historical and archeological findings in Asia Minor.
Basis for calculations from Anglo-Saxon genealogies
Following Heyerdahl's calculations of 30 year/generation, the man named
Odin would have lived sometimes during the later 2nd, early 3rd century AD. The two genealogies of the 6th century Anglo-Saxon kings Cerdic and Ida gives us a birth date for Odin sometimes, roughly, 150 - 200 AD (see
Genealogy lists of Odin and Anglo-Saxon kings on page 16 below).
However, some ancient kings supposedly lived into their 80s, and got kids late that inherited the kingdom... Thus a longer stretch of years is possible (but hardly shorter - for a son to grow up and inherit a kingdom, he should be at least in his 20s when the father dies?). So, calculating 40 years/generation would set a birth date for Odin to be around 100 - 150 AD.
Genealogy lists of Odin and Anglo-Saxon kings
In relation to
Odin and the
Asa-faith of ancient Northern Europe, the following table of the list of kings might be of interest (summarized from Thor Heyerdahl's last book, The search for Odin (
[Ref. 28]).
The Winchester manuscript lists the genealogy of the West-Saxon kingdom (
Wessex) in England, up to king
Alfred the great8 and was written in the late 9th century.
The Canterbury manuscript lists the genealogy of the Northumbrian kingdom.
Table 1: Genealogy list of Anglo-Saxon kings compared to Snorris Edda.
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The Winchester manuscript (1)
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The Canterbury manuscript (2)
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Tror ( Thor), alleged son of Priamos's daughter Troan and (Aga)Memnon
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Cerdic (Attacked England in 496 AD, won the land in 500 AD, died 534 AD)
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Ida (king in 547 AD, died 568 AD)
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1
Cynric is later supposed to have been involved in a battle against the Britons near Salisbury, in 552 AD.
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(1) The Winchester Manuscript, Cambridge, Corpus Cristi College MS 173, ff.1-32.
(2) The Canterbury Bi-Lingual Epitome, British Library MS Cotton Domitian Aviii, ff.30-70.
Discussion on genealogy lists
According to Heyerdahl & Lillieström, the Edda listing of Snorri Sturluson could not have been a copy of the 300 year older Anglo-Saxon chronicles - then he would not have ended the genealogy when he did but copied the complete list. Hence, Lillieström states in The search for Odin
9 that this can be viewed as an evidence for Odin in fact being a historical person, giving birth to a series of Anglo-Saxon kings who later conquered England and formed new kingdoms there.
This view is also held by
Saxo Grammaticus, who in Gesta Danorum
10 tells the tale of
Balder and his father
Odin and a love story affair involving the Swedish chief
Höder, which ends with both Balder and Höder being killed (Book 3, Hod and Balder). Saxo also states that 'Odin has convinced half of Europe that he is a God' (Book 1, Hading), and that the people that became worshipped as gods were a certain tribe of wizards, which in the opinion of this author might be interpreted as schamans.
Thus, we might accept the hypothesis that there was in fact a human person named Odin, or Wodan/Wotan, that became the ancestor of Anglo-Saxon kings. And this person should have lived sometimes, roughly, around 100 - 250 AD.
Time-line collaboration with ancient litterature and history
Now, how does this add up with the Asa-peoples emigration from the
Black Sea to escape the Romans?
Heyerdahl & Lillieström finds that the emigration of the Asas are likely to have happended sometimes around 60 BC. This conclusion they base on tales of the Ynglinga saga and Saxo's Gesta Danorum, as well as on historical facts and tales known from Asia Minor and the Kaukasus area around the Black Sea.
Indications from ancient northern litterature
1) Saxo and Snorri tells of Odins sonson
Frode, who should have been king of Denmark around the time of Christ being born, under Roman emperor Augustus
[Note 1].
2) Furthermore, Heyerdahl & Lillieström use the genealogy of
Ynglinga saga, listing the kings from Njord until Norwegian king Halvdan Svarte, about 830 AD. These comprise 28 generations, 840 years, and at 30 years/generation Njord should have been born around 10 BC.
[Note 2]
3) Further indications TBD
Discussion on ancient northern litterature
This would imply that Odin was born around 90 BC, to have a son and grandson that became king around 0 BC (calculating 30 years/generation)
11.
To have Njord being about the same age as Odin (born in 90 BC) would imply a generation mean of 33 years (not 31 as they calculate in the book, stating Njord as born 60 BC)
Fair enough - it is a possible genealogy!
Indications from Asia Minor history
1) The Romans were as far east as Azerbadjan in between 84 or 96 AD, according to inscriptions they made in Gobustan under the ruling of emperor Domitian Germanicus
[Note 3].
2) Plinius identifies a people called the Odin-people, to be located by the Azov-lake in the first century AD
[Note 4].
3) There are numerous findings of Scandinavia-like runes in the Kaukasus, dated from 200 - 700 AD. These can clearly not have been brought here by the Vikings - but they can surely have been brought by someone from this area, into Scandinavia!
Runes are known in Scandinavia from 200 AD - so, if they existed elsewhere in the world at the same time they are likely to have been introduced by some immigrating
12 people stemming from the Kaukasus
[Note 5].
4) The excavations in Azov that were initiated by Thor Heyerdahl have found several remains of civilazations in the area, out of which the most interesting is a distinct layer of remains dated from 100 BC until around 300 AD
[Note 6].
5) Omeljan Pritsak, a Ukrainian historican that worked with Heyerdahl, explains that the people
Alans often mentioned in the ancient northern litterature was an Iranian nomadic tribe. They had a next of kin people of Turkish descent living nearby, called al-As (stated by 14th century Abu'l-Fida). This people was called 'Alans' by the Turkish people, but called themselves 'Asas'. Both these tribes have a common ancestory in the
Sarmatians, coming from old iranian territories in central Asia who came west and settled in the Kaukasians - and today, this people are known as 'Ossetians'
[Note 7].
6) In
The history of the Alans by V. Koutnezov, it is explained that the Asas existed in the Kaukasus also in the 15th century AD. The first mentioning of the Asas was Strabo, born in 64/63 BC near Azov. In several sources, the people are called 'Alans' but are said to call themselves 'Asas'
[Note 7].
7) In east Turkey, the province Van has a capitol by the same name, located near the Van-lake which was known as a kingdom from around 800 - 700 BC named
Urartu - also called the kingdom of Van. Furthermore, there is an ancient language called Van from the same area, northeastern Anatolia.
[Note 8]
8) The two greatest iron mines in this parts of Asia are located (1) by the Van-lake, and (2) by the Azov-lake
[Note 9].
9) About 65 BC, Mithradates king of Pontus in the Van-lake area south of the Black Sea was defeated by the Romans and escaped to the Azov-lake (where the Asas are supposed to have lived).
There are tales of a great warrior fighting in these wars, who later seem to disappear when the Roman forces are getting an advantage in the war.
Throughout the first century BC, and the first century AD, there are constant wars fought around the south Black Sea and the Kaukasus.
10) There are (unconfirmed) tales among the Odin-people of today of a large group emigrating from their homelands.
[Note 10]
11) Furthermore, russian antrophologist Alexandre Davydov, to Heyerdahl discloses genealogy legends in the Khorezm area east of the Caspian ocean written by A.V. Vinogradova. In Khorezm lives a people (Uzbekians) that have immigrated from Turkish land. The legends tells of a division of land territories between three sons of Peridon (Feridon), named Tur (pronounced as 'Thor'), Sairima and Arya. The area given to Tur was populated by east-iranian nomads associated with the name 'Turan' or 'Tur'. This is aligned with the land of Turkestan.
This ancestor is also named by Koutnezov, as 'Traetaon'. Tur became the ancestor of the Turan-people, Sairima the Sarmatians, and Arya the Arya-people.
[Note 11]
Discussion on Asia Minor history
Thus, the Asas are likely to have escaped prior to this.
The Odin-people exists to this day in the Kaukasus!
According to the poetic Edda, it was
Odin that brought the runes to Scandinavia.
However, the resemblance of the Germanic and Turkish runes are seemingly rather a liklihood of used material, than a commonly originated script language
13.
It is possible that there existed a place called
Asgård, or
Asgorod exactly where Snorri said it was, when he said it was
Thus, there are several accounts for a tribe called the
Asas.
This adequately supports Snorris story of the Asas as a real people and not a fabulation, and thus it is not unlikely that a part of the tribe emigrated in the first century BC.
The conclusion can only be that the
'Asa' people have really existed.
This adequately supports Snorris story of the Vans as a real people and not a fabulation.
A good as any reason to inflict war and competition between the Asas and the Vans.
This does not confirm, but neither does it contradict an emigration to northern Europe.
This might indicate a relevance in the genealogy of Snorri for Odin, tracing the ancestory to Thor that in turn is stemming from a Turkish people - that possibly even was the part of the Trojans that escaped to the north of the Black Sea when the Greeks destroyed Troy in 1250 BC.
Conclusions from northern litterature and Asia Minor history
These indications adequately supports Snorris story of the Asas fleeing for the Roman forces to seek new land up in northern Europe - in Svitjod. But most importantly, the existence of a people called Asas living by the Black Sea around 100 BC - 100 AD can now be confirmed.
It seems plausible that the Asas really could have emigrated from Azov/Asgård around 60 BC, and that a human named Odin could have existed in Scandinavia or northern Germany around 50 BC.
· But it certainly
does not match the Anglo-Saxon genealogy, as we have seen.
So, to answer the question whether this adds up to support the Asa-peoples emigration from the Black Sea is rather easy:
· The simple truth is, it does not...
Thus it seems we have two different approaches for identification of a human being, named Odin, that span at least 200 years apart. It just do not match...
·
How can this be solved?
My hypothesis will be entered when background search is completed.
Please share your thoughts!
Mail me at: Wilmer Thomas
Litterature and background articles
· See
Terminology for a definitions list of used terminology.
· Genealogy lists of
Anglo-Saxon kings.
· A personal account from
Bjornar Storfjell, who worked with Thor Heyerdahl in the project.
·
The Heruls, written by Troels Brandt.
Article revision history
Table 2:
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Added content list and new calculations for collaboration and expanded Odin hypothesis in the summary
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Restructured introduction and summary, with minor textual updates. Hypothesis temporarily removed.
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Added back reference to main article.
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1
This article series lists the following references to Saxo: [Ref. 23], [Ref. 24], [Ref. 50], [Ref. 51] and [Ref. 52].
2
See [Ref. 51], at
http://www.lysator.liu.se/runeberg/saxo/saxo07.html .
3
See [Ref. 52], at
http://www.kb.dk/elib/lit/dan/saxo/lat/or.dsr/1/5/index.htm .
4
This article liststhe following references to Snorri: [Ref. 42], [Ref. 43], [Ref. 53], [Ref. 54] and [Ref. 55].
5
The quote leaves out (the [...] inset) the story of Asa immigration into Scandinavia, hence `people' refers to the people in ancient Scandinavia.
6
See [Ref. 53], at
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Heimskringla/ynglinga.html .
7
See [Ref. 55], at
http://www.snerpa.is/net/snorri/yngl-sag.htm .
8
He was later followed by the grandson
Adalstein (Ethelstane), who fostered
Harald Hårfagre's son
Håkon Adalsteinsfostre.
10
See [Ref. 23], Höd og Balder, p 101ff.
11
Another interesting alignment here, is that the qualities of Saxo's Frode corresponds very well with the reputation given to Frey in ancient Sweden - who also might be conceived of as a grandson of Odin, following his father Njord, who in turn followed Odin as the ruler in Svitjod.
12
The opposite, of course, is also possible - that the emigration went from Scandinavia - at least as long as a thorough dating has not been made as to which were first.
