various phases of their nature and worship.

Odin, like Jupiter, frequently visited the earth in disguise, to
judge of the hospitable intentions of mankind, as in the story of
Geirrod and Agnar, which resembles that of Philemon and Baucis. The
aim was to encourage hospitality; therefore, in both stories, those
who showed themselves humanely inclined are richly rewarded, and in
the Northern myth the lesson is enforced by the punishment inflicted
upon Geirrod, as the scalds believed in poetic justice and saw that
it was carefully meted out.

The contest of wit between Odin and Vafthrudnir has its parallel in
the musical rivalry of Apollo and Marsyas, or in the test of skill
between Minerva and Arachne. Odin further resembled Apollo in that
he, too, was god of eloquence and poetry, and could win all hearts
by means of his divine voice; he was like Mercury in that he taught
mortals the use of runes, while the Greek god introduced the alphabet.

Myths of the Seasons

The disappearance of Odin, the sun or summer, and the consequent
desolation of Frigga, the earth, is merely a different version of
the myths of Proserpine and Adonis. When Proserpine and Adonis have
gone, the earth (Ceres or Venus) bitterly mourns their absence, and
refuses all consolation. It is only when they return from their exile
that she casts off her mourning garments and gloom, and again decks
herself in all her jewels. So Frigga and Freya bewail the absence of
their husbands Odin and Odur, and remain hard and cold until their
return. Odin's wife, Saga, the goddess of history, who lingered by
Sokvabek, "the stream of time and events," taking note of all she saw,
is like Clio, the muse of history, whom Apollo sought by the inspiring
fount of Helicon.

Just as, according to Euhemerus, there was an historical Zeus,
buried in Crete, where his grave can still be seen, so there was an
historical Odin, whose mound rises near Upsala, where the greatest
Northern temple once stood, and where there was a mighty oak which
rivalled the famous tree of Dodona.

Frigga and Juno

Frigga, like Juno, was a personification of the atmosphere, the
patroness of marriage, of connubial and motherly love, and the goddess
of childbirth. She, too, is represented as a beautiful, stately
woman, rejoicing in her adornments; and her special attendant, Gna,
rivals Iris in the rapidity with which she executes her mistress's
behests. Juno has full control over the clouds