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
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.
Originally posted by Darth TruculentYeah, but all that brother-sister lovin' gave birth to the concept of democracy. Norse gods gave us a reason to burn perfectly good boats.
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?
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.
The Norse never had a written language? What do you call the runes then?
And the Norse Mythology must have been popular enough to name the majority of the week days after some of the Gods: Tuesday (Týr's Day), Wednesday (Odin's Day), Thursday (Thor's Day) and Friday (Frigg's Day).
I can see why Greek Mythology would be more popular in much of the Western World (the Anglosphere especially) because of the Greco-Roman dominance historically. However, in Scandinavia, Norse is definitely more popular than Greek and that's not only due to people preferring their own cultural history.
The Roman Empire never reached Scandinavia. This is where Paganism (in this case, the Norse kind) lasted the longest. Sweden was the last of the Western World to be Christianized back in the 12th century. In the backwoods of Sweden, some people still (secretly) worshiped Thor and Odin as late as the 18th and 19th century. Runes were still used in Dalarna, Sweden in the early 20th century. Norse Mythology and Scandinavian Folklore are part of our backbone whether most Scandinavians realize it or not. You find it everywhere, especially around Christmas (called Yule in Scandinavia) and Midsummer as most of our traditions are either directly Norse pagan or of Norse pagan origin.
Re: Why is Greek mythology more popular than Norse mythology?
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