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Gods and Myths of Northern EuropeWe are never told that Idun’s golden fruit grows upon a tree of the gods, but she seems to have them in a box or bowl, so that she and her treasures could be carried off together. The symbol of the apple of the gods is in any case an ancient one, which must have originated in the Near East, the area from which the cultivated apple-tree came. Its cultivation in northern Europe goes back at least to the time of the Romans, but in the north the native variety of the fruit is small and bitter. In the figure of Idun – given as wife to the god of inspiration and poetry – we must have a dim reflection of an old symbol: that of the guardian goddess of the life-giving fruit of the other world. 2. Mimir and Hoenir Mimir is called the wisest of the Aesir. Snorri describes him as the guardian of the spring beneath the World Tree in the territory of the frost-giants. Elsewhere he is said to have been given as a hostage to the Vanir and killed by them, after which Odin preserved his head and consulted it in all times of perplexity and danger ...» |
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