The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda
crafts that had not been discovered before, and each one was exalted
with his own handiwork; and so far did they carry their pride, that the
Africans, descended from Ham, harried in that part of the world which
the offspring of Shem, their kinsman, inhabited. And when they had
conquered them, the world seemed to them too small, and they smithied a
tower with tile and stone, which they meant should reach to heaven, on
the plain called Sennar. And when this building was so far advanced that
it extended above the air, and they were no less eager to continue the
work, and when God saw how their pride waxed high, then he sees that he
will have to strike it down in some way. And the same God, who is
almighty, and who might have struck down all their work in the twinkling
of an eye, and made themselves turn into dust, still preferred to
frustrate their purpose by making them realize their own littleness, in
that none of them should understand what the other talked; and thus no
one knew what the other commanded, and one broke what the other wished
to build up, until they came to strife among themselves, and therewith
was frustrated, in the beginning, their purpose of building a tower. And
he who was foremost, hight Zoroaster, he laughed before he wept when he
came into the world; but the master-smiths were seventy-two, and so many
tongues have spread over the world since the giants were dispersed over
the land, and the nations became numerous. In this same place was built
the most famous city, which took its name from the tower, and was called
Babylon. And when the confusion of tongues had taken place, then
increased the names of men and of other things, and this same Zoroaster
had many names; and although he understood that his pride was laid low
by the said building, still he worked his way unto worldly power, and
had himself chosen king over many peoples of the Assyrians. From him
arose the error of idolatry; and when he was worshiped he was called
Baal; we call him Bel; he also had many other names. But as the names
increased in number, so was truth lost; and from this first error every
following man worshiped his head-master, beasts or birds, the air and
the heavenly bodies, and various lifeless things, until the error at
length spread over the whole world; and so carefully did they lose the
truth that no one knew his maker, excepting those men alone who spoke
the Hebrew tongue,--that which flourished before the building of the
tower,--and still they did not lose the bodily endowments that were
given them, and therefore they judged of all things with earthly
understanding, for spiritual wisdom was not given unto them. They deemed
that all things were smithied of some one material.
3. The world was divided into three parts, one from the south, westward
to the Mediterranean Sea, which part was called Africa; but the southern
portion of this part is hot and scorched by the sun. The second part,
from the west and to the north and to the sea, is that called Europe, or
Enea. The northern portion of this is cold, so that grass grows not, nor
can anyone dwell there. From the north around the east region, and all
to the south, that is called Asia. In that part of the world is all
beauty and pomp, and wealth of the earth’s products, gold and precious
stones. There is also the mid-world, and as the earth there is fairer
and of a better quality than elsewhere, so are also the people there
most richly endowed with all gifts, with wisdom and strength, with
beauty and with all knowledge.
4. Near the middle of the world was built the house and inn, the most
famous that has been made, which was called Troy, in the land which we
call Turkey. This city was built much larger than others, with more
skill in many ways, at great expense, and with such means as were at
hand. There were twelve kingdoms and one over-king, and many lands and
nations belonged to each kingdom; there were in the city twelve chief
languages.[5] Their chiefs have surpassed all men who have been in the
world in all heroic things. No scholar who has ever told of these things
has ever disputed this fact, and for this reason, that all rulers of the
north region trace their ancestors back thither, and place in the number
of the gods all who were rulers of the city. Especially do they place
Priamos himself in the stead of Odin; nor must that be called wonderful,
for Priamos was sprung from Saturn, him whom the north region for a long
time believed to be God himself.
[Footnote 5: Dasent translates “hövuðtungur” (chief or head
tongues) with “lords,” which is certainly an error.]
5. This Saturn grew up in that island in Greece which hight Crete. He
was greater and stronger and fairer than other men. As in other natural
endowments, so he excelled all men in wisdom. He invented many crafts
which had not before been discovered. He was also so great in the art of
magic that he was certain about things that had not yet come to pass. He
found, too, that red thing in the earth from which he smelted gold, and
from such things he soon became very mighty. He also foretold harvests
and many other secret things, and for such, and many other deeds, he was
chosen chief of the island. And when he had ruled it a short time, then
there speedily enough became a great abundance of all things. No money
circulated excepting gold coins, so plentiful was this metal; and though
there was famine in other lands, the crops never failed in Crete, so
that people might seek there all the things which they needed to have.
And from this and many other secret gifts of power that he had, men
believed him to be God, and from him arose another error among the
Cretans and Macedonians like the one before mentioned among the
Assyrians and Chaldeans from Zoroaster. And when Saturn finds how great
strength the people think they have in him, he calls himself God, and
says that he rules heaven and earth and all things.
6. Once he went to Greece in a ship, for there was a king’s daughter on
whom he had set his heart. He won her love in this way, that one day
when she was out with her maid-servants, he took upon himself the
likeness of a bull, and lay before her in the wood, and so fair was he
that the hue of gold was on every hair; and when the king’s daughter saw
him she patted his lips. He sprang up and threw off the bull’s likeness
and took her into his arms and bore her to the ship and took her to
Crete. But his wife, Juno, found this out, so he turned her (the king’s
daughter) into the likeness of a heifer and sent her east to the arms of
the great river (that is, of the Nile, to the Nile country), and let the
thrall, who hight Argulos, take care of her. She was there twelve months
before he changed her shape again. Many things did he do like this,
or even more wonderful He had three sons: one hight Jupiter, another
Neptune, the third Pluto. They were all men of the greatest
accomplishments, and Jupiter was by far the greatest; he was a warrior
and won many kingdoms; he was also crafty like his father, and took upon
himself the likeness of many animals, and thus he accomplished many
things which are impossible for mankind; and on account of this, and
other things, he was held in awe by all nations. Therefore Jupiter is
put in the place of Thor, since all evil wights fear him.
7. Saturn had built in Crete seventy-two burgs, and when he thought
himself firmly established in his kingdom, he shared it with his sons,
whom he set up with himself as gods; and to Jupiter he gave the realm of
heaven; to Neptune, the realm of the earth, and to Pluto, hell; and this
last seemed to him the worst to manage, and therefore he gave to him his
dog, the one whom he called Cerberos, to guard hell. This Cerberos, the
Greeks say, Herakles dragged out of hell and upon earth. And although
Saturn had given the realm of heaven to Jupiter, the latter nevertheless
desired to possess the realm of the earth, and so he harried his
father’s kingdom, and it is said that he had him taken and emasculated,
and for such great achievements he declared himself to be god, and the
Macedonians say that he had the members taken and cast into the sea, and
therefore they believed for ages that therefrom had come a woman; her
they called Venus, and numbered among the gods, and she has in all ages
since been called goddess of love, for they believed she was able to
turn the hearts of all men and women to love. When Saturn was
emasculated by Jupiter, his son, he fled from the east out of Crete and
west into Italy. There dwelt at that time such people as did not work,
and lived on acorns and grass, and lay in caves or holes in the earth.
And when Saturn came there he changed his name and called himself Njord,
for the reason that he thought that Jupiter, his son, might afterward
seek him out. He was the first there to teach men to plow and plant
vineyards. There the soil was good and fresh, and it soon produced heavy
crops. He was made chief and thus he got possession of all the realms
there and built many burgs.
8. Jupiter, his son, had many sons, from whom races have descended; his
son was Dardanos, his son Herikon, his son Tros, his son Ilos, his son
Laomedon, the father of the chief king Priamos. Priamos had many sons;
one of them was Hektor, who was the most famous of all men in the world
for strength, and stature and accomplishments, and for all manly deeds
of a knightly kind; and it is found written that when the Greeks and all
the strength of the north and east regions fought with the Trojans, they
would never have become victors had not the Greeks invoked the gods; and
it is also stated that no human strength would conquer them unless they
were betrayed by their own men, which afterward was done. And from their
fame men that came after gave themselves titles, and especially was this
done by the Romans, who were the most famous in many things after their
days; and it is said that, when Rome was built, the Romans adapted their
customs and laws as nearly as possible to those of the Trojans, their
forefathers. And so much power accompanied these men for many ages
after, that when Pompey, a Roman chieftain, harried in the east region,
Odin fled out of Asia and hither to the north country, and then he gave
to himself and his men their names, and said that Priamos had hight Odin
and his queen Frigg, and from this the realm afterward took its name and
was called Frigia where the burg stood. And whether Odin said this of
himself out of pride, or that it was wrought by the changing of tongues;
nevertheless many wise men have regarded it a true saying, and for a
long time after every man who was a great chieftain followed his
example.
9. A king in Troy hight Munon or Mennon, his wife was a daughter of the
head-king Priamos and hight Troan; they had a son who hight Tror, him we
call Thor. He was fostered in Thrace by the duke, who is called Loricos.
But when he was ten winters old he took his father’s weapons. So fair of
face was he, when he stood by other men, as when ivory is set in oak;
his hair was fairer than gold. When he was twelve winters old he had
full strength; then he lifted from the ground ten bear skins all at
once, and then he slew Loricos, the duke, his foster-father and his
wife, Lora or Glora, and took possession of Thrace; this we call
Thrudheim. Then he visited many lands and knew the countries of the
world, and conquered single-handed all the berserks and all the giants,
and one very big dragon and many beasts. In the north region he found
that prophetess who hight Sibyl, whom we call Sif, and married her. None
can tell the genealogy of Sif; she was the fairest of all women, her
hair was like gold. Their son was Loride (Hloride), who was like his