|
|
24:58 ·
This is Odin's staff from a Middle Ages pictorial representation. Odin was the father of Thor (see the preceding entry), and a god of battle and death. Odin is often depicted as a tall, one-eyed old man with two ravens acting as his intelligence men.
Compare with the staff of Jupiter, , a common sign in Rome, and also with , the staff of Adad, the Babylonian god of thunderstorms and the forces of weather.
Note that the Hittite hieroglyphs for lightning, , , and , were also three-pronged. The structure uppermost on Odin's staff is similar to one of the crowns in the Three Crowns, the symbol on the Swedish national coat of arms. Three is the magic number, God's number, associated with prosperity and power.
|