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From: ins_atrh@jhunix.UUCP (Thomas Richard Holtz)
Newsgroups: net.nlang,net.origins
Subject: Re: Days of the week, Gods
Message-ID: <1379@jhunix.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 6-Dec-85 10:35:00 EST
Article-I.D.: jhunix.1379
Posted: Fri Dec  6 10:35:00 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 8-Dec-85 03:23:12 EST
References: <174@watmath.UUCP> <262@ho95e.UUCP> <674@spar.UUCP> <1328@jhunix.UUCP> <2487@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Reply-To: ins_atrh@jhunix.ARPA (Thomas Richard Holtz)
Organization: Johns Hopkins Univ. Computing Ctr.
Lines: 17
Keywords: Gods, Days of the Week
Xref: watmath net.nlang:3871 net.origins:2694

In article <2487@sdcrdcf.UUCP> barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold) writes:
>I've read that the modern assessment of Odin as unchallenged Chief God of the
>Norse is ...umm...dubious, partly due to the fact that Odin was considered
>the patron of the poets who wrote the Eddas (and also due to the fact that
>it's unlucky to offend a death god).  Certainly worship of Thor was very
>popular, and it was Thor -- not Odin -- who showed up in the names people
>gave their children.

The dubiousness (?) of Odin's Chiefdom lies in what you define as being
Chief of the Gods.  Within the mythos itself, Odin is without question
the Chief of the current ruling race of Gods (Aesir), and Master of the
Universe via the runes on his spear Gungnir.
Within the real world, the gods chiefly worshipped were, according to
most accounts, Thor, Odin, Balder, Frey, and Freya.  Thus, if you define
"Chief of the Gods" as the god most popular with us mortals, Odin would
probably have to step aside for that loud son of his.
                                                            Tom Holtz