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I have always wondered this....

We see Vikings at times but hardly ever do we see or hear from Odin, Thor etc.....but we see and hear from Zeus and Herc often.

Probably because their stories spanned larger territories. That and the Greeks are responsible for the Western civilizations way of life. Greek mythology is also much older than Norse mythology. By the time the world was learning about, Norse mythology, Greek mythology had probably made it's way around the world, inspiring writers and educators. It also helps that Greece had a strangle hold on half of the world for centuries and then, the next most powerful, Western civilization, The Romans, adopted much of the Greek mythology and philosophy. There is also a lot more of, Greek Mythology than Norse.

Hercules looks better than Thor naked.

no homo

Originally posted by The Nuul
I have always wondered this....

We see Vikings at times but hardly ever do we see or hear from Odin, Thor etc.....but we see and hear from Zeus and Herc often.

Because the Greeks and Romans created so much of the foundation of modern culture, science, philosophy and style while the Norse didn't. Go to a national or local capitol and find the main building, more than half the time it will be in the style of Greek ruins.

it be cool to go to court and instead of blind justice we see thor and his hammer ready to judge our worthiness and righteousness.. some how he seems more appropriate in some cases..

It'd be cool if the judge had Mjolnir instead of a gavel.

exactly... u have bn judged unworthy... throwing the hammer on someone instead of the book..

I'd wanna be a judge if that were the case.

the ultimate sentence is death which would make more sense when using the chair for electrocution..

let thor's power and light cleanse ur soul and welcome you to valhalla if that is his wish... flip the switch... no wait!!! SHZZZZz

I think mainly because the there are far less surviving writings from the norse.

Probably because Norse mythology is pretty pessimistic (and extremely violent), you know with Ragnarok and all. Most people don't like the idea of unfortunate endings.

Originally posted by Blinky
Probably because Norse mythology is pretty pessimistic (and extremely violent), you know with Ragnarok and all. Most people don't like the idea of unfortunate endings. A lot of pessimism and definitely violence are in Greek Mythology too.

Maybe because of all the cool statues and all that which are still viewable in Greece or online. Are there any norse statues at all ?

hundreds...
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=thor+statues&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&start=0

lol

Originally posted by Mindset
A lot of pessimism and definitely violence are in Greek Mythology too.

Well of course, but Greek mythology's pessimism and violence pales in comparison to that of Norse mythology. There is no event comparable to that of the "Doom of the Gods" in Greek mythology. Plus Norse mythology (and culture for that matter) was absolutely centered on war, where as Greek's had much more diverse themes.

Originally posted by Blinky
Well of course, but Greek mythology's pessimism and violence pales in comparison to that of Norse mythology. There is no event comparable to that of the "Doom of the Gods" in Greek mythology. Plus Norse mythology (and culture for that matter) was absolutely centered on war, where as Greek's had much more diverse themes. I can agree with the pessimism, but it definitely doesn't pale in comparison in regards to violence.

As a whole it may be more varied, but then there are the Spartans.

Hahaha, ummkay.

Originally posted by Mindset
Hercules looks better than Thor naked.

no homo

Norwegians are hotter than Greeks.

^ Prove it.

my personal preference are blonds swedish, german, polish so i say norwegians would be hotter then greeks in my own opinion.

Originally posted by Blinky
Hahaha, ummkay. Shut your whore mouth!

http://www.creepygif.com/images/full/30.gif

http://www.mrcollectoronline.com/images/bowen/statue_bowen_thor_bronze.jpg

Originally posted by The Nuul
I have always wondered this....

We see Vikings at times but hardly ever do we see or hear from Odin, Thor etc.....but we see and hear from Zeus and Herc often.

Greek mythology pre dates christian mythology and dominated most of the western world at one time. By the time norse mythology came into being christian mythology had already displaced greek mythology as the dominant religion in the western world.

Originally posted by Wild Shadow
my personal preference are blonds swedish, german, polish so i say

At one ,Greeks were very fair skinned and blonde. That changed with the islamic invasions

Originally posted by The Dark Cloud
At one ,Greeks were very fair skinned and blonde. That changed with the islamic invasions some not all... but i like my northern blond blue eyed and milky skin foriegn sisters..

Originally posted by Blinky
^ Prove it.

Norway

Originally posted by Blinky
^ Prove it.

Greece

facepalm2

i use to think that being conquered by the persians was a joke and it would have bn easier if that race never existed but, then i thought about and realized a part of my ancestory comes from spain/italy and possibly from some persians some thousand of yrs of go so i may not have never bn born if that race was wiped out from history...

stupid intertwined paradox of my bloodline

Wait.......did this thread just turned gayish?


sneer

Originally posted by Adam_PoE
Norway

I'll see your norway and raise you a Greek:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/verbal_jr/blog%20temps/sakis_rouvas.jpg





IMO, all 3 are too thin and have the build of a boy, not a man.

i see ur greek pool boy and raise you a swedish bikini team.

http://www.realtid.se/ArticlePages/200606/12/20060612145105_Realtid152/TjejerVM300.jpg

Originally posted by Wild Shadow
i see ur greek pool boy and raise you a swedish bikini team.

http://www.realtid.se/ArticlePages/200606/12/20060612145105_Realtid152/TjejerVM300.jpg

Lady on the right is decent, but she needs to put on a little weight. The others are "meh".

Originally posted by Wild Shadow
i see ur greek pool boy and raise you a swedish bikini team.

http://www.realtid.se/ArticlePages/200606/12/20060612145105_Realtid152/TjejerVM300.jpg

Thanks for that, this hot guy stuff is gross.

agreed. here is a better one... hmmm.. milk/beer maids..(alison angel)
http://www.rochardsbunnyranch.com/blog/pictures/beerbabe.jpg
droolio

Originally posted by Wild Shadow
agreed. here is a better one... hmmm.. milk/beer maids..
http://www.rochardsbunnyranch.com/blog/pictures/beerbabe.jpg
droolio

I think that's a porn lady, not a swede.

even better that is how i visualize all my blond blue eyed women partially strengthen by my visitation to beerfest in Munich.

Originally posted by dadudemon
I think that's a porn lady, not a swede.

I wasn't aware of a difference.

Originally posted by dadudemon
porn lady

isn't that redundant?

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
I wasn't aware of a difference.

Originally posted by inimalist
isn't that redundant?

K.

Originally posted by The Nuul
I have always wondered this....

We see Vikings at times but hardly ever do we see or hear from Odin, Thor etc.....but we see and hear from Zeus and Herc often.

A few reasons, I'd imagine.

One is that the Norse myth was spread more through word of mouth than the Greek and Roman myths which were often written down. Greek and Roman civilization was more widespread, with libraries from Rome itself down to Egypt at one point, and this helped them become "classics".

Two is that the Renaissance focused on those classics and dragged them back into the spotlight. Norse mythology, never in said spotlight, did not enjoy a rediscovery. In any case, Norse mythology would have been difficult to integrate, seeing as it was very dark and violent and Christianity spent a lot of effort and time stamping it out only a few hundred years ago.

the greeks have more style imean the norse are like cold thundra imean the vikings always lived in cold harsh enivronmentalish places if u come to think bout it so there isnt much color in there myth the grek myth are more coloful in theme like litararily greeks are more relatable this is basicall like marvel vs dc both options are great but i go for greek and marel ....

Frankly better stories, people ****ing animals, animals fusking people. So much murder and betrayal. Corruption, Rape (lots of rape)......

It's simply cooler than Thor drinking a ****ing flagon of mead connected to the sea.

Likely because the Classical Greek culture has more influence than Norse culture on the Modern Western World (along with Latin culture). I don't think Greek Mythology is better, in fact I think Norse myths are superior to Greek myths, but that's just me.

the norse also lived in a climate that destroys historical relics that might have been built to their gods, and, iirc, the norse didn't have a written language

Originally posted by inimalist
the norse also lived in a climate that destroys historical relics that might have been built to their gods, and, iirc, the norse didn't have a written language

Lots of Viking relics last till this day, they weren't really about statues and shit. More funeral pyres, raping and pillaging. Most stuff they made we have a pretty good idea of. Temples and shit was not their thing they lived in villages and travelled oceans. They were in small bands who tended to join together. Greece, was also about the raping but that was usually the gods on humans and animals, althouth they liked that shit when they won battles etc as a people.

comparatively though, even if they did build stuff like the parthanon, there is no way it would have existed hundreds of years later for the Rennisance Europeans to go nuts over.

Originally posted by The Nuul
I have always wondered this....

I haven't. But, I can't say why. I just don't find their mythology all that interesting. Sure there's a legitimate reason to know it so you can contextualize other mythology and differentiate cultures, but I've never found it all that interesting. Neither have I ever though Greek mythology was all that interesting. Egyptian is where it's at for me.

Because Greek mythology has interesting stories.

Originally posted by ADarksideJedi
Because Greek mythology has interesting stories.
And Norse Myth doesn't?

IMO once you get past the incest and self-righteous heroes there isn't much to Greek Myth.

I think Inimalist hit the nail on the head when he pointed out that the Greeks became super popular thanks to the Rennaisance. If it weren't for all those painters, sculptors, and writers celebrating them the myths wouldn't be nearly as popular as they are today.

Originally posted by The Nuul
I have always wondered this....

We see Vikings at times but hardly ever do we see or hear from Odin, Thor etc.....but we see and hear from Zeus and Herc often. because western civilizations trace their origins back to greece and not scandinavia.

Originally posted by 753
because western civilizations trace their origins back to greece and not scandinavia.
Which is just plain stupid in the case of England and (by extension) America.

That's just the way it is, those filthy barbarians were culturally assimilated into a matrix of christianity and greco-roman culture. It wasn't just the germanic peoples either, Europe and almost all of America (continent) have been 'artificially' westernized, usually through some unseemingly methods.

Originally posted by Omega Vision
And Norse Myth doesn't?

IMO once you get past the incest and self-righteous heroes there isn't much to Greek Myth.

I think Inimalist hit the nail on the head when he pointed out that the Greeks became super popular thanks to the Rennaisance. If it weren't for all those painters, sculptors, and writers celebrating them the myths wouldn't be nearly as popular as they are today.

It does not have as much.

Originally posted by 753
That's just the way it is, those filthy barbarians were culturally assimilated into a matrix of christianity and greco-roman culture. It wasn't just the germanic peoples either, Europe and almost all of America (continent) have been 'artificially' westernized, usually through some unseemingly methods.

Excuse me who are you calling filthy barabarians? You do realise that Viking culture is actually a religon to some people today. Furthermore they weren't anymore violent than the rest of Europe people just liked to protray them that way because they were pagan. You have an example of an early type of Democracy in Iceland.

:

Originally posted by inimalist
the norse also lived in a climate that destroys historical relics that might have been built to their gods, and, iirc, the norse didn't have a written language

There are still lots of relics eg statues, drawings etc. I think you're right about the Vikings not having a written language however alot of Viking lore was written down shortly after the Viking Age (I think there may have been a transition point between them becoming Christian were they might have started writting). Eventhough they had to convert to Christanity some people still practised and believed in the Norse Gods.

Essentially I think Greek mythology is more popular because I think there is some stigma attached to the Vikings ie they were barabaric and uneducated while the Greeks are seen as being more sophisticated. You have a similar thing with the Anglo-Saxons (Anglo-Saxons are essentially Vikings that lived in England) and Normans.




Originally posted by Corrupt_America
More funeral pyres, raping and pillaging. Most stuff they made we have a pretty good idea of. Temples and shit was not their thing they lived in villages and travelled oceans.


You are sterotyping of course they had statues and I think some of there fortifications exist today. Not all Norse people travelled around. Everybody was into raping and pillaging. facepalm


Viking culture reminds me of African culture, stigmatised and underated.

Originally posted by Deadline
Excuse me who are you calling filthy barabarians? You do realise that Viking culture is actually a religon to some people today. Furthermore they weren't anymore violent than the rest of Europe people just liked to protray them that way because they were pagan. You have an example of an early type of Democracy in Iceland.

:

It was a joke you dickhead. I don't think nonwestern or nonchristian peoples are filthy. I was mocking the greeks' and christian's stereotypical views of foreigners and pagans.

Originally posted by 753
It was a joke you dickhead. I don't think nonwestern or nonchristian peoples are filthy.
It wasn't funny.

Originally posted by Deadline
You're not very funny dickhead. Its also the sort of thing I expect you to say, now run along. People who need a joke explained to them don't get to say it isn't funny. If you didn't care for an explanation then why waste our time quoting me in the first place?

Originally posted by 753
People who need a joke explained to them don't get to say it isn't funny. If you didn't care for an explanation then why waste our time quoting me in the first place?

Anyway I edited my post, don't want an argument. I can be a sensitive subject if it means alot to you, thats all.

Alright, sorry the joke was offensive, it wasn't my intention.

Originally posted by 753
Alright, sorry the joke was offensive, it wasn't my intention.

No worries. Awww group hug!

Originally posted by Deadline
There are still lots of relics eg statues, drawings etc. I think you're right about the Vikings not having a written language however alot of Viking lore was written down shortly after the Viking Age (I think there may have been a transition point between them becoming Christian were they might have started writting). Eventhough they had to convert to Christanity some people still practised and believed in the Norse Gods.


thats not what I'm trying to say though

think of it like this:

If you build a road in Arizona, it will last X years. If you build that same road in Yukon, given the same amount of use, etc, it will last MUCH less than X years.

This is because matter expands and contracts during heating and cooling, and especially in very cold winters, where water can evaporate even when frozen solid, it just causes more wear and tear.

its not to say anything about Viking culture vs greek culture (in fact, even honest historians will remark that northern European history is under-studied), but rather to say why Greek culture might have been more available to study during the renissance.

There is also the fact that they invented science /shrug

Greek myths were simply cooler.

I think people seem to forget that it was Saxons, Vikings, Picts, Scots, Welsh, Celts and many other cultures that founded the UK and Northern Europe. Take Germany and Ireland for example . . . they are socialist nations, not democracies as many would like to believe. Germans remain proud and strong and the Irish still refuse to surrender (ie IRA).

While ancient Greek and Latin language is rarely spoken because it has been forgotten, gaelic has not. The Irish, the Welsh and Scots still frequently speak it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ocAUQnNdE
It is one of the most difficult languages to master. Where I work, one of my regular customers named her son Odin. The pub I frequently visit, it's blatantly Celtic. You have to be of Celtic or Northern European descent to get in.

By the way. the Jersey Show clowns do not count as real Italians . . .

Goddamn it. Quit posting song links already.

I always preferred Norse myself but the guy on the first page is right. The Greeks had one of the largest and most culturally advanced civilisations in the world. For a time, they were the center of the world. The Norse were a bunch of marauders and rapists. Barbarians. It's easy to see which would be more fondly and widely remembered.

I was using it as an example for the gaelic language . . . no need to get pissed.

WELL I AM PISSED YOUNG MAN!

fffuuu

GO TO YOUR ROOM!

Greek names sound cooler than Gaelic names. Fact.

Hey man, I'm of Irish/German descent. No need to get angry.

Lucien, I must disagree (about the names). Warrior names sound better and more powerful. Besides, didn't the Greek gods engage in incest?

And beastiality. Also pedophilia if I recall.

Thor and Odin >> Hercules and Zeus.

Originally posted by Darth Truculent
Hey man, I'm of Irish/German descent. No need to get angry.

Lucien, I must disagree (about the names). Warrior names sound better and more powerful. Besides, didn't the Greek gods engage in incest? Yeah, but all that brother-sister lovin' gave birth to the concept of democracy. Norse gods gave us a reason to burn perfectly good boats.


I think the superior cadre of gods is clear here.

If I remember correctly, it was Viking Kings who were burned in their ships along with their wives and concubines. Vikings considered it an honor to be killed in combat - a first class ticket to Valhalla. For close to 100 years they terrorized Southern Europe until Christianity found them. But, in Ireland (as the land is divided between Catholic and Protestant), there is still a strong belief in the mystic realm. Parts of the Norse religion and culture still remain intact.

greek mythology is my most favorite one outta all the mythos. it has the best stories.

imagine all the mythological stories that the bible has but every story after every other story was david and goliath like but it directly involved gods and demigods. that's mostlt greek mythology,

@ nyphthys

i cant wait for deadline to read your comments

Originally posted by Stoic
Greek myths were simply cooler. /thread.


All the explanation required.

Originally posted by Rhovanion
The Norse never had a written language? What do you call the runes then?

Drawings?

gg

Originally posted by The Nuul
I have always wondered this....

We see Vikings at times but hardly ever do we see or hear from Odin, Thor etc.....but we see and hear from Zeus and Herc often.

thats like saying why is anal sex more popular than regular sex

Originally posted by Deano
thats like saying why is anal sex more popular than regular sex

Cos it's naughty.

indeed.

Personally, I love Celtic/Norse/Little Folk mythology.

But I quote "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
"What are three things the Greek did first."
"Philosophy, Democracy, and Astrology."
Or something like that.

Also - think of a word, any word, and I tell you the Greek word.

But seriously, Greek Mythology was taught in school. In seventh or eighth grade, we studied it in English. I did some further education in Greek research by doing a class of it through itunes, where a professor just put her very popular and educational lectures into about 30 minute mini-lectures. I thought that it had a really fascinating "beginning" story. Out of chaos came mother earth and father sky who birthed the titans....

And then onto descriptions and stories of the gods and goddesses and how that reflected onto Ancient Greek life.

Plus runes where only taught to a select few elites. Therefor they were much less usefull in spreading the culture etc of the Norse people.

Originally posted by Nephthys
Plus runes where only taught to a select few elites. Therefor they were much less usefull in spreading the culture etc of the Norse people.

I could be wrong but I was under the impression everyone knew the runic script.

I think basically Greek mythology is more popular because we look down on The Vikings as barbarians, I think the Normans had something to do with that. Prior to the Normans conquering England we had a closer connection to Scandinvia, they Normans also tried make the Anglo-Saxons look uncivilised.

The Normans were also in control of Sicilily and southern Italy at one point. Closer proximity to the descendants of a Greco-Roman culture that ruled for centuries is going to stir interest.

As the Eastern Roman Empire aged it began to take on a more "Greek" feel to it. Greek became the standard language, overtaking Latin. The Crusaders sacked and pillaged large swathes of land that had been at one point under Byzantine control, collecting and gradually distributing elements of the Greek (and other) culture(s) over Christendom.


Norse mythology has been less popular and omnipresent for the simple fact that it was too far removed for too long from mainland Europe (Christendom). Greek mythology has had the advantage of age and proximity.

No, I'm fairly sure it was only a select few who had any form of writing.

Well theres also the fact that every dozen years or so the Vikings would just show up in their boats and pillage the shit out of England for no real reason whatsoever. Having a religion that glorifies dying in battle over in your bed tends to make one look like a bit of a douche to the rest of the world.

Originally posted by Lord Lucien
The Normans were also in control of Sicilily and southern Italy at one point. Closer proximity to the descendants of a Greco-Roman culture that ruled for centuries is going to stir interest.


They were also descendents of the Vikings.

Originally posted by Lord Lucien

Norse mythology has been less popular and omnipresent for the simple fact that it was too far removed for too long from mainland Europe (Christendom). Greek mythology has had the advantage of age and proximity.

England is right next door to Scandinivia. The Anglo-Saxons were technically Vikings, they had the same gods and culture as The Vikings they just converted to Christanity earlier but they were still similar to The Vikings. Look at they way The Anglo-Saxons fought also I think Beowulf has elements of Norse paganism and Christanity.


I don't see what age has to do with it. Norse mythology didn't come out of nowhere you know.


Originally posted by Nephthys
No, I'm fairly sure it was only a select few who had any form of writing.


Source please. By the way it takes more than just writing to make you civilised.

Originally posted by Nephthys

Well theres also the fact that every dozen years or so the Vikings would just show up in their boats and pillage the shit out of England for no real reason whatsoever.


Everyone was pillaging The Vikings just got a bad reputation becasue they were pagan. There were loads of Norse people that didn't do pillaging and didn't even leave there Village

Originally posted by Nephthys


Having a religion that glorifies dying in battle over in your bed tends to make one look like a bit of a douche to the rest of the world.

Which shows how little you know about it. You are stereotyping the Vikings only certain people did that, there were alot of people that hated it. That is usually associated with the followers of Odin.

I never said it did. Re-read my post, I was pointing out that not having a widely used form of writing would have made it harder to spread and preserve their culture.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/evidence_01.shtml

'it is likely that few people were literate in runes.'



The Greeks weren't. They were too busy nobbing little boys to do any pillaging.



'There were alot of people that hated it?' How the hell do you know that exactly? Did they take public opinion polls or something?

Originally posted by Deadline
They were also descendents of the Vikings.True, but religion isn't genetic. The descendants of the original Viking settlers/conquerors of the area intermixed with the native Franks. Christianization was inevitable, and it happened. By the time the Viking raids ebbed out in the 12th century(ish), Christianity was the religion of Normandy. Thanks to their conquering of England, that country obviously was too. Paganism was suppressed.



Originally posted by Deadline
England is right next door to Scandinivia. The Anglo-Saxons were technically Vikings, they had the same gods and culture as The Vikings they just converted to Christanity earlier but they were still similar to The Vikings. Look at they way The Anglo-Saxons fought also I think Beowulf has elements of Norse paganism and Christanity.Again, religion isn't genetic. If it were, most of Italy would still be worshiping Jupiter. There's also a distinct difference between Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Anglo-Saxons, and their brethren Scandinavian Vikings. The former were all north Germanic/Netherlands people, and the Northern European coast wasn't subject to much Viking settlement. Not all pre-1066 invaders of Britain were Vikings (or their descendants).


Originally posted by Deadline
I don't see what age has to do with it. Norse mythology didn't come out of nowhere you know. You misread my point. The ancient Greek's mythology (religion) is much older than Norse mythology. That is, it's older than the Norse mythology we know of (most sources on its earliest incarnations date to like 1000 AD, whereas the Greeks go back before Rome). Greek mythology was also present all throughout the Hellenistic era, the Roman era, the Byzantine era, etc. It's been documented and archived since before Homer and spread about Roman and Christian Europe since technically Pytheas mapped out Britain in the 300s BC.


Greek mythology was just more... everywhere for much longer than Norse mythology. I don't know how to say it simpler.

Originally posted by Lord Lucien
True, but religion isn't genetic. The descendants of the original Viking settlers/conquerors of the area intermixed with the native Franks. Christianization was inevitable, and it happened. By the time the Viking raids ebbed out in the 12th century(ish), Christianity was the religion of Normandy. Thanks to their conquering of England, that country obviously was too. Paganism was suppressed.


You're strawmanning. I'm not arguing that its genetic my point is that even after people have converted to another religon there are still traces of the previous religon/culture. To be fair though the Anglo-saxons are a better comparison to the Normans.

Originally posted by Lord Lucien

Again, religion isn't genetic. If it were, most of Italy would still be worshiping Jupiter. There's also a distinct difference between Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Anglo-Saxons, and their brethren Scandinavian Vikings. The former were all north Germanic/Netherlands people, and the Northern European coast wasn't subject to much Viking settlement. Not all pre-1066 invaders of Britain were Vikings (or their descendants).


Again I'm not arguing it's genetic. You also completely missed my point, even after the Anglo-Saxons converted they were still similar in culture to the Vikings. Some Anglo-Saxons poems have traces of paganism and Christanity. There were poems about Thor after the pagan period. My point is even after people convert people can still have an interest and appreciation for past culture.



Originally posted by Lord Lucien

You misread my point. The ancient Greek's mythology (religion) is much older than Norse mythology. That is, it's older than the Norse mythology we know of (most sources on its earliest incarnations date to like 1000 AD, whereas the Greeks go back before Rome). Greek mythology was also present all throughout the Hellenistic era, the Roman era, the Byzantine era, etc. It's been documented and archived since before Homer and spread about Roman and Christian Europe since technically Pytheas mapped out Britain in the 300s BC.


Greek mythology was just more... everywhere for much longer than Norse mythology. I don't know how to say it simpler.

No I didn't. You missed the point I was making, Norse mythology was around before The Viking era. What I mean is Norse gods existed druing the times of the Romans.

The point I'm making is the whole of Norse mythology didn't spring up during that period. The Vikings have a tradition, stories and mythology that existed before then but obvoulsy there were some changes during The Viking era.

Originally posted by Nephthys
No, I'm fairly sure it was only a select few who had any form of writing.
Not exactly, when studying all the thousands of runestones scattered across Sweden, many of them were raised by very ordinary people who wrote about very ordinary things. There are plenty of "..... was here" type of runestones.

Originally posted by Rhovanion
Not exactly, when studying all the thousands of runestones scattered across Sweden, many of them were raised by very ordinary people who wrote about very ordinary things. There are plenty of "..... was here" type of runestones.

I was kinda of thinking that as well.

Originally posted by Deadline
You're strawmanning. I'm not arguing that its genetic my point is that even after people have converted to another religon there are still traces of the previous religon/culture. To be fair though the Anglo-saxons are a better comparison to the Normans. True, and given that British culture is a cocktail of millenia of cultural inter-breeding, traces of Danelaw and Norse customs are obviously there.



Originally posted by Deadline
Again I'm not arguing it's genetic. You also completely missed my point, even after the Anglo-Saxons converted they were still similar in culture to the Vikings. Some Anglo-Saxons poems have traces of paganism and Christanity. There were poems about Thor after the pagan period. My point is even after people convert people can still have an interest and appreciation for past culture.Yes, and given that we today know about it, they obviously did. But in relevance to the thread's question, simple knowledge of a mythology's existence doesn't make it (more) popular.





Originally posted by Deadline
No I didn't. You missed the point I was making, Norse mythology was around before The Viking era. What I mean is Norse gods existed druing the times of the Romans.

The point I'm making is the whole of Norse mythology didn't spring up during that period. The Vikings have a tradition, stories and mythology that existed before then but obvoulsy there were some changes during The Viking era. Evidently. But again, simply existing concomitantly to the Greeks and Romans won't make it "more popular" as per the OP's verbiage. There are comparatively mounds of documentation and archives of the Ancients Greeks and their gods than there are of the Scandinavians and theirs. The Norse sources are also much younger. They haven't had the time that the Greeks had to permeate hundreds of cultures over the centuries. Tied in with that, they were also very localized to Scandinavia and the North Sea. The Greek Pantheon (and its Roman successor) by comparison was at varying points from 330 B.C. to 1452, distributed from Britain to India.


And that's my thesis: The Greek mythology has been spread out amongst more peoples, over larger areas, for greater lengths of time than Odin's boys. And the people they spawned from formed the building blocks of the Roman Empire and modern day Europe. That's something that has made them more popular.

Originally posted by Lord Lucien


And that's my thesis: The Greek mythology has been spread out amongst more peoples, over larger areas, for greater lengths of time than Odin's boys. And the people they spawned from formed the building blocks of the Roman Empire and modern day Europe. That's something that has made them more popular.

Good point but I still don't think thats why it's more popular. If that were the reason then it would be more popular in Iceland and other parts of Scandinivia. Now I can't be sure but I doubt its more popular in places like Norway and Iceland.

I think the reason why it became less popular was because of the Normans, prior to 1066 England had a greater connection to Scandinivia. The Normans made it their business to make Anglo-Saxon culture seem more barbaric. This attitude has still stuck till today, bare in mind the Normans were also responsible for creating the conflict between England and Ireland, so don't underestimate their influence on history.

I don't know the Norse people were forced to accept Christanity but for some reason Scandinivians seem to have kept a stronger connection to their pagan past.

Originally posted by Deadline
Good point but I still don't think thats why it's more popular. If that were the reason then it would be more popular in Iceland and other parts of Scandinivia. Now I can't be sure but I doubt its more popular in places like Norway and Iceland.

I think the reason why it became less popular was because of the Normans, prior to 1066 England had a greater connection to Scandinivia. The Normans made it their business to make Anglo-Saxon culture seem more barbaric. This attitude has still stuck till today, bare in mind the Normans were also responsible for creating the conflict between England and Ireland, so don't underestimate their influence on history.

I don't know the Norse people were forced to accept Christanity but for some reason Scandinivians seem to have kept a stronger connection to their pagan past. Scandinavia is separated by a lot of water and a helluva trek through the Baltics. I'm betting a lot of early Christian missionaries just said "f*ck it".

And I think the OP, like most of us here, is either North American, British/Commonwealth, or mainland European. The colonies were all part of European empires that traced their own religious, political, and cultural roots to Rome and Greece. I don't think the answer's that complicated, it's just an issue of proximity and age. The Scandinavian religions just didn't expand over enough territory for a long enough period of time to have the same impact. We'll learn and teach ourselves about our own history first, it's why there's rarely a history class in Euro-centric high schools focusing on the ancient histories and cultures of India, or Mozambique. And our history is thrice and foremost: Christianity, democracy, Greco-Roman.

Originally posted by Lord Lucien
Scandinavia is separated by a lot of water and a helluva trek through the Baltics. I'm betting a lot of early Christian missionaries just said "f*ck it".

They didn't. England is right next door to Scandinavia, which is why people from there frequently landed in England. As far as I'm aware there are more examples of Vikings settling and visting Britain than there are in Ireland for example.


Originally posted by Lord Lucien
And I think the OP, like most of us here, is either North American, British/Commonwealth, or mainland European. The colonies were all part of European empires that traced their own religious, political, and cultural roots to Rome and Greece.

and I'm arguing this is because of the Normans.



Originally posted by Lord Lucien
I don't think the answer's that complicated, it's just an issue of proximity and age. The Scandinavian religions just didn't expand over enough territory for a long enough period of time to have the same impact. We'll learn and teach ourselves about our own history first, it's why there's rarely a history class in Euro-centric high schools focusing on the ancient histories and cultures of India, or Mozambique. And our history is thrice and foremost: Christianity, democracy, Greco-Roman.

Like I said if that were the reason it would be more popular in Norway and Iceland, I might be wrong but I doubt it.

Question is, Greeks gods didn't have a few holiday's like Halloween and St. Patricks Day (which my culture celbrates regularly - especially today). Halloween was originally a harvest festival thanking the gods for a great season of killing and raising food. St. Patricks Day originally when a alcholic priest was sent on a 'get sober' mission. Drove the snakes out of Ireland. We already drank too much, but St. Patrick just gave us an excuse to drink more.

By the way, have a great St. Patricks Day from a half Irish bastard!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDwlGbEcJ6Y

Originally posted by Deadline
They didn't. England is right next door to Scandinavia, which is why people from there frequently landed in England. As far as I'm aware there are more examples of Vikings settling and visting Britain than there are in Ireland for example. Yes and as far as I know, the descendants of those Pagan Vikings that interbred with the Anglo-Saxons/Picts of Britain became Christian. Bye bye Norse mythology, hello Greco-Roman religion!

But seriously, I don't know where we're going with this one anymore. It's not like we can deny that Greek mythology is more popular than Norse.




Originally posted by Deadline
and I'm arguing this is because of the Normans. So wait... the Normans who converted to Christianity which originated from the Mediterranean world of Roman/Greek cultures? Or the Norman ancestors who were once Norse Pagan?





Originally posted by Deadline
Like I said if that were the reason it would be more popular in Norway and Iceland, I might be wrong but I doubt it. You might wanna start clarifying your single-sentence responses, because I have no idea what you're referring to here.

Greek people had more good worths (gold)

I found this:
Greek mythology and Roman mythology are almost identical. This is an accepted fact, as it is widely known that the Romans stole the Greek myths. However, it is very interesting to note that the mythology of the Vikings (Norse) has many similarities with the Greek myths. These myths are, by no means, identical to the Greek ones (like the Roman ones are), but there are very distinct commonalities between the two. I see two possible reasons for this besides pure coincidence. The first has to do with the fact that Norse myths were codified during the Viking era: 780 - 1070. This gives the Norsemen many centuries to become exposed to the Greek (or Roman) myths. The Vikings did travel as far east as the Caspian sea, which is further east than both Italy and Greece. The Norse myths were fashioned after the fall of the Roman empire. During the expansion of the Roman empire, the Romans were able to get all the way to Britain, which is farther west than the Scandinavian countries where these myths originated. The Vikings made many expeditions into Britain. So it is a very realistic thought that the Vikings could have been exposed to the stories of the Greek and Roman gods. It is also possible that the Vikings could have extrapolated parts of the Roman stories into their own. The only two existing primary sources of Norse mythology are the Prose (Elder) Edda, and the Poetic (Younger) Edda. These were written about one thousand to eight hundred years ago respectively. The second factor has to do with mythology as an extension of the society that fashions it. I see mythology as an attempt by a people to explain the powerful forces which affect and shape it, that are beyond its control, such as weather, the elements, and nature. I also see gods as being characters that have many similarities with the people within the society. The gods and goddesses are powerful beings capable of super-human powers, but nevertheless are characters fraught with very human frailties and flaws. In this way they created gods that had similarities with the common man in the society. This made the gods more tangible and easier to identify with. I think that this was necessary because they were not yet at the societal maturity level to have a single god on a cosmic plane.

Originally posted by alltoomany
I found this:
Greek mythology and Roman mythology are almost identical. This is an accepted fact, as it is widely known that the Romans stole the Greek myths. However, it is very interesting to note that the mythology of the Vikings (Norse) has many similarities with the Greek myths. These myths are, by no means, identical to the Greek ones (like the Roman ones are), but there are very distinct commonalities between the two. I see two possible reasons for this besides pure coincidence. The first has to do with the fact that Norse myths were codified during the Viking era: 780 - 1070. This gives the Norsemen many centuries to become exposed to the Greek (or Roman) myths. The Vikings did travel as far east as the Caspian sea, which is further east than both Italy and Greece. The Norse myths were fashioned after the fall of the Roman empire. During the expansion of the Roman empire, the Romans were able to get all the way to Britain, which is farther west than the Scandinavian countries where these myths originated. The Vikings made many expeditions into Britain. So it is a very realistic thought that the Vikings could have been exposed to the stories of the Greek and Roman gods. It is also possible that the Vikings could have extrapolated parts of the Roman stories into their own. The only two existing primary sources of Norse mythology are the Prose (Elder) Edda, and the Poetic (Younger) Edda. These were written about one thousand to eight hundred years ago respectively. The second factor has to do with mythology as an extension of the society that fashions it. I see mythology as an attempt by a people to explain the powerful forces which affect and shape it, that are beyond its control, such as weather, the elements, and nature. I also see gods as being characters that have many similarities with the people within the society. The gods and goddesses are powerful beings capable of super-human powers, but nevertheless are characters fraught with very human frailties and flaws. In this way they created gods that had similarities with the common man in the society. This made the gods more tangible and easier to identify with. I think that this was necessary because they were not yet at the societal maturity level to have a single god on a cosmic plane.

not ready for monotheism you mean. All religions borrow from others, either earlier or comparative and this is still true today, it may be stories, archetypes or just symbolism.

I have a belief that most prophets are delusional schitzo's.

If you've never read Sebastian Faulkes book a week in December, do. His dissection of Islam is hilarious and so clkever in it, as is the way he juxtaposes the Prophet with a character in an asylum who has invented his own belief system based on... "You will go to hell".
Genius!

Originally posted by Lord Lucien
Yes and as far as I know, the descendants of those Pagan Vikings that interbred with the Anglo-Saxons/Picts of Britain became Christian. Bye bye Norse mythology, hello Greco-Roman religion!

But seriously, I don't know where we're going with this one anymore. It's not like we can deny that Greek mythology is more popular than Norse.




So wait... the Normans who converted to Christianity which originated from the Mediterranean world of Roman/Greek cultures? Or the Norman ancestors who were once Norse Pagan?





You might wanna start clarifying your single-sentence responses, because I have no idea what you're referring to here.

I never argued that Norse mythology was more popular than Greek if thats what you're trying to imply. Anyway don't think this discussion is going anywhere.

Cause it's more interesting /thread

In all honesty, despite what the others told you. It is because of not just influence but culturally. The germanic people all worshipped norse beliefs but by 400 CE the whole norse thing was mostly in Scandinavia. The roman conquests and documentation made for influence I. Their options and culture and they took a lot of their culture from Greeks. English was a poetic germanic language but even now most used words are of germanic origin mostly originated from the German language itself. But in all truths it was the fact that the Greeks traded and spread it, nod the Romans spread hat the Greeks had before them. Now why their more famous I have no idea, not only o the norse have equal power in both male and female gods (I hardly consider a girl spawning from your scalp and upper part of your skull the same as a warrior queen) freya is of equal power to Odin and they are not related in any way. The coolest mythical creatures are norse unless you think the Minotaur is cooler than a dragon, an Orc, elf, werewolf, and troll... So yeah. Also just as a note Loki was not a giant he was a trickster god who takes on whatever form pleases him and he was not related to Thor. And Thor's hammer (I did not write its name cause of autocorrect) was not as small as in the comics or movies but it was by no means a warhammer (really big hammer weapon). Also the only person who cheats on their spouse is in a damaged norse tale which was edited by missionaries who destroyed original texts. In norse the gods got divorces, and there was no incest, or people crossing with wild animals. In fact the religion promoted women being equal to men even in not god stories hence sweden's current equal policy. But in greek myth we on bathed men, shined their armor, washed their clothes and linens, they cooked and if you were a goddess you either had kids with your brother, son, or father (maybe all 3 or a different relative) or you were abducted by one of your family who to say the least took advantage of you. Or you were a man seduced to cheat on your wife or you were a woman seduced to let a male god cheat on his wife. Clearly norse myth was more interesting and creative and had better laws. I suppose one reason we look it the Greeks is the culture's democratic times and the fact that so many texts survive. It's not that the norse's texts were not as good or influencing but that they did not have homer to write the traditions down and the few recorded ones were lost to time itself. I also saw the comment on norse more violent but this is not true, nordic writings came in all types in fact more greek tales are more bloody and gory. or should i say every greek tale has gore but not every nordic one does even if the ones that do are equally so. another big reason is events typically christianization involving the destruction of most nordic records of any kind, including witch hunts which not only hunted so called female women it was actually the executions of satan worshippers, cultists of any kind, european pagans such as the few remaining unconverted norse, and people that believed in any kind of necromantic beliefs which i what the actual witches were. yes men were executed but the earliest ones killed the men as it was courtesy not to harm the women later on they killed the ones the did not kill earlier.Take this from me, I am an expert on influence, historical, and cultures. I know a ton about the norse and well I believe the logical reasons are the influence they had including Rome's + their demorcratic system, and the loss of knowledge and culture of the norse

It is cultural.

Chinese mythology beats them both


/thread

Chinese mythology sucks.

And fantasy tales set in Greek Mythology in the modern book and film mediums has some awesome awesome stuff in it.

Agreed, Mindset, Chinese mythology is terrible compared to Greek and Norse.

Originally posted by Omega Vision
Agreed, Mindset, Chinese mythology is terrible compared to Greek and Norse.


Mindset thinks any mythology where Ion/Doom/Ironfist aren't the main divinity sucks.

You're just racist biscuits

I love greek mythology. I like norse mythology.

I do like roman mythology more than I like norse mythology. but I like christian mythology more than I like roman mythology.

in other words, here's my order:

1. Greek mythology
2. Christian mythology
3. Roman mythology
4. Norse mythology

Originally posted by Adam_PoE
Norwegians are hotter than Greeks.

Yeah right, most Scandinavian men either look very feminine or very ugly. Especially Norwegians who look no different from the British. How is having pasty pink skin hotter than olive toned, tall dark and handsome. Most people with that type of skin almost aways tan themselves extensively. Almost no women like blonde men, not even blonde women themselves.

Compare the Italian football players to the Norwegian ones.

And to the one guy that said "Greeks were once fair nordics" that is such nordicist garbage right there. Germanic influence in all of the southern nations was insignificant. Both historical accounts & genetic data disagrees with such idealogy. No southern european population looks like Iraqis or Afghanis, if they do they are not ethnic. They have changed little in appearance since ancient times. Not to mention Blonde hair didn't even evolve in any "Germanic nation" it is thought to have come out of the east. Which is why Finland is the most blonde country, and the further west you go the blondness decreases. Should we start calling every dark olive toned German, Brit, or Scandinavian like David Gandy, Collin Farrel, or Gerard Butler, Julien Hedquist, Christian bale...Southern european influenced? or every Scandinavian with small almond eyes asian influenced? lol

There is no evidence that states the ancient Italic groups or Greeks couldn't have light eyes or different shades of hair. And fair Southern Europeans almost never look like fair northern europeans, they often have totally different phenotypes. But on topic, the reason is because Greek mythology is much more interesting and more about it is known, plus they along with Romans founded much of western. While Scandinavians didn't do much for the west but raid a few countries.

None of those mythologies gave us Dragon Ball Z so why do we even care?

Originally posted by Bentley
None of those mythologies gave us Dragon Ball Z so why do we even care? Shut up, Nappa.

Originally posted by Crostic
Yeah right, most Scandinavian men either look very feminine I prefer feminine-looking guys though.

Originally posted by NemeBro
I prefer feminine-looking guys though.

This guy reminds of me that anime, Asian-supremacist weirdo.

Originally posted by Bentley
Chinese mythology beats them both


/thread
Originally posted by Bentley
Mindset thinks any mythology where Ion/Doom/Ironfist aren't the main divinity sucks.
Monkey King>>..(times infinity)..>>Doom/Ironf Fist/Jeremy Renner the unholy trinity.

Chinese mythology sucks. Indian mythology is >>> Chinese.

Slavic is my favorite. Vampires, werewolves, rusalky, domovoy, baba yaga, etc.

Greek mythology is taught in middle school, at least it was in my day, which was admittedly a while ago.

I think that Greek mythology is pretty easy to understand. Each god is in charge of one thing, so it's pretty much putting round peg in round hole, educationally wise. Once you get deeper into Greek mythology, lines start to blur and you find out that Aphrodite wasn't really the goddess of love, at least not exclusively.

Most other mythologies are so much more complicated, it's hard to boil them down to a 12-year-old's power of memory/learning pace. But that's the fun part of being grown-up.

Originally posted by TheGodKiller
Monkey King>>..(times infinity)..>>Doom/Ironf Fist/Jeremy Renner the unholy trinity.

I'm sure Mindset didn't wake up this morning wanting to slap a mofo. You'd be wise to not become a reason for that thought.

Norse Mythology has dozens of Metal bands and a couple of different metal genres... Hell yeah.

I believe that a 'twilight of the Gods' would occur in Greek Mythology as well. Asklepios god of doctors was killed by Zeus, so the Immortals can kill lesser Immortals.

Why would a Twilight of the Gods occur in Greek Mythology!? Well, Cronus and his Titans were left inside the earth to engineer socioeconomic crises upon human civilization, causing them to forsake Zeus and his Pantheon, they left humans to endure the cold Iron Age that ensued. Zeus' obliviousness to this fact, culminated with Cronus' wanton destruction of Zeus' precious humanity would result in Gaia being scorched by industry. She'd probably turn to the Alpha Greek God, the OG, the one who was once the most aggressive of them all, and the most powerful as he was the first masculine Greek Deity and Gaia's equal. She would turn to her one and only Uranus, heal him (she created him) so that he has the balls (literally) to throw his weight around, and start anew, with better offspring this time he'd take a host of new Immortals and slaughter close to a thousand Gods and Titans up from Olympus and down to Tartarus before taking down the human industrial infrastructure that has poisoned Gaia. Just like humanity starts anew after Ragnarok. Very similar.

Greek mythology is better.

The real answer is: The Renaissance

but Sym beat me to it 7 pages ago...

Originally posted by Oliver North
The real answer is: The Renaissance

but Sym beat me to it 7 pages ago... We Italians are more heavily influenced by Greek mythology, tis true.