On gods and people

[Søren Krarup Olesen]

HALSTEN + DANIËL + HARRY:

> > Or did the Scandanivian countries have different gods at that time,
> > meaning that the Norse gods really are gods from only the ancient 
> > culture of Norway?

We've always had and still have the very same god(s) in Scandinavia. The
old ones had names like Thor, Odin, Freja etc. and they were all
equivalent to ancient Roman and Greek gods in the sense that they each
had their own "working area"; ruling, transportation, love, you name
it. Only the recent god (he who goes by many names and doesn't like
competitors) seems to be able to take care of everything.

I feel tempted to make a comparison between mythological gods and comic
characters: None of them do actually exist, you won't meet them on the
street for example. They physically look slightly different from normal
people although they have more or less the same characteristics. They
live in a city/place we are unable to visit. They are immortal.

The observant reader may of course object to this, since our ducks and
mice don't "rule" (and "play" with) the human beings as such, still we
have this mailing list, don't we, where we discuss legends, sagas,
rumours and myths. Perhaps this little mailing list is one example of a
modern electronic church (or rather a temple) where people meet for
debates because they have one thing in common.

Just a wild thought... :-)

Søren