The god Balder in Scandinavian mythology was also called Balder, which means "lord". Agriculture was considered his sphere of protection, however, like the whole plant world. The pagans worshiped the god Baldr as the deity of spring, the rebirth of nature after hibernation and the whole of light.
Who is Balder?
Ancient legends claim that he was so pure in soul, thoughts and actions that a golden radiance especially emanated from his body and face. His forehead, white as snow, was framed by curls of the color of the sun. Eyelashes and eyebrows, as claimed, were also golden, which makes it possible to understand that this god was a natural blonde, unlike his other brothers. In the entire divine pantheon, only the Balder gods loved unconditionally - all without exception (except perhaps the envious Loki), knowing how pure he was with his soul.
It is said that the ancient German name for the daisy flower translates as "the brow of Balder." After all, this flower is just as bright and innocent. This god perfectly mastered the secret of ancient runes that were inscribed on his tongue, as well as the art of healing with the help of herbs and plants. The ability to use ancient runes revealed Baldra many secrets, except for one: he could not know his future, which played a cruel joke with him.
According to some traditions, it is Balder’s death that will be the beginning of Ragnarok - the death of all gods after a total battle between the gods and the forces of nature, when the usual way of life is destroyed. It is also mentioned that after such a day of judgment, Balder will nevertheless be reborn to life, which will be a sign of the beginning of a new world.
Pedigree
His parents were the highest gods from the Scandinavian epic: Frigg and Odin - the god of war. Balder also had a twin brother, Head, but completely unlike him. The exact opposite of the radiant brother, Head was blind from birth, a silent and dark face - apparently, therefore, he began to command the forces of winter and darkness. In addition to the gloomy twin brother, the god of spring had six more brothers, the great Thor among them.
A family
The wife of the god Baldr in Scandinavian mythology was the beautiful Nanna - the goddess of warmth and fertility. Together with his bright husband, they brought happiness, prosperity and prosperity to everyone around.
This divine couple had a son of Forseti, the god of justice, who became famous for his wisdom not only among ordinary people, but also among the higher gods. Absolutely all, without exception, listened to his opinion. According to some sources, the couple also had a daughter, Nip, but historians have no unanimous opinion on this matter.
The most famous tale of Balder
According to ancient mythology, the god Balder was invulnerable: not a single object, material or type of influence could cause him physical injuries due to the fact that his mother, Frigg, took an oath promise from all existing things that no one would dare harm her sun to son.
Why did she do that? Because her son began to have strange dreams foreshadowing his death, but since he did not have the opportunity to find out how this would happen (after all, he could have foreseen anything except his future), Frigg had to resort to such an unusual method.
Balder’s gained invulnerability became a universal amusement among his brothers and other gods of Scandinavia, all pricked him with different types of weapons, objects, poisoned animals, crushed stones, but nothing could harm him. And only the envious and omnipresent Loki found a weak spot: the recently sprouted sprout of a mistletoe, the goddess Fregg did not notice, so he was not bound by a promise.
Overwhelmed with hatred for the beloved of the gods, he tore out a sprout and headed for Hedu, who, because of his blindness, did not participate in a comic fight. The cunning Loki began to incite the blind man by the fact that he did not even try, and, putting the sprout of a mistletoe in his hand, he turned him towards the god of spring. A naive Head threw a sprout like a spear and pierced the heart of his brother, who immediately fell dead.
How did it end?
The horror of all those present knew no bounds, since only death on the battlefield at the hands of the enemy made it possible for the warrior to enter the magical Valhalla, where he would wait for Ragnarok. But the way God Baldr died, announced that he was to remain until the rebirth in the underworld of the dead.
Of course, this state of affairs was unworthy of a fair-haired god and did not suit the entire divine pantheon, so a messenger was sent to the goddess of the underworld with a request to let go of the defeated god by deceit.
Prolonged negotiations led to the fact that the only condition was set: absolutely the whole world should mourn Balder - then he will be released and returned home. Naturally, all the people, the higher and lower deities mourned the beloved moon-faced god, but the insidious Loki took the form of a disgusting giantess who did not utter a tear. Because of this, the agreement was not fulfilled, and Balder had to remain in the underworld.
In the end, the situation cleared up, it was found out whose hands it was, and Loki began a real hunt. Of course, he was caught and chained to a rock, hanging a poisonous snake over his face, from the mouth of which constantly flowed poison and caused unbearable suffering to the god of deception. Such was his retribution for the inflicted villainy.
Analogs in other religions
Many scholars of mythology from different countries believe that the Scandinavian god Balder is similar to such personalities in describing his appearance and some aspects of his biography:
- Adonis from Greek myths was also a standard of beauty, who commanded the plant world and periodically died and was reborn, like all seasonal deities, symbolizing the change of seasons.
- The same analogue, but in Slavic paganism, is the sun god Yarilo.
- Yudhisthira from the Indian epic Mahabharata, who also died by chance from a blind relative, and in his story also find many parallels with the myth of the Scandinavian gods Baldra, Hede and Loki.
The Scandinavian chronicles also contain many different stories related to the gods, their exploits and treachery, but the story of the twin brothers, trapped in a dishonest act, is a symbol that the truth will always triumph and the guilty will be punished.