Ægir

“ ÆGIR is the god of the sea, the Neptune of the Scandinavian mythology. His dwelling was supposed to be on the island of Hlesey, now called Lessoe, in the Cattegat. He is sometimes called Hler Ægir. He is of a benevolent disposition; but his consort Ran, who is of giant race, is otherwise. The etymology of the name Ægir is from the Icelandic verb Ægi, to liquify, inundate, etc.
ALFADER (Father of all) a name given to Odin, as king of gods and men. It is sometimes given to a supreme unknown God, pre-existent and superior to Odin himself. ”

“ In either case, the gods were seeking information by magic as to where they could find plenty to drink. Ægir: a giant who is also the god of the sea; little is known of him outside of what is told here and in the introductory prose to the Lokasenna, though Snorri has a brief account of him, giving his home as Hlesey (Läsö, cf. Harbarthsljoth, 37) . ”

“ Valhalla (J. C. Jones) .
Ægir (the sea) , like his brothers Kari (the air) and Loki (fire) , is supposed to have belonged to an older dynasty of the gods, for he ranked neither with the Æsir, the Vanas, the giants, dwarfs, nor elves, but was considered omnipotent within his realm.
He was supposed to occasion and quiet the great tempests which swept over the deep, and was generally represented as a gaunt old man, with long white beard and hair, his clawlike fingers ever clutching convulsively, as though he longed to have all things within his grasp. ”

“ The Vikings dreaded Hefring, Hrönn, and Bylgja when far out at sea, and Bara when they were approaching the shore. These four waves are those the mariners dread to-day.
They believed that these daughters of Ægir and Ran were seldom partial to men, that the wind awakened them and made them angry and fierce. They called them "The white-hooded daughters of Ægir and Ran." ”

“ Then said Ægir: "I deem that well concealed in secret terms." And again said Ægir: "Whence did this art, which ye call poesy, derive its beginnings?" Bragi answered: "These were the beginnings thereof. The gods had a dispute with the folk which are called Vanir, and they appointed a peace-meeting between them and established peace in this way: they each went to a vat and spat their spittle therein. Then at parting the gods took that peace-token and would not let it perish, but shaped thereof a man. ”

“ First came Odin and Njördr, Freyr, Týr, Bragi, Vídarr, Loki; likewise the Ásynjur: Frigg, Freyja, Gefjun, Skadi, Idunn, Sif. Thor was not there, having gone into the eastern lands to slay trolls. When the gods had sat down in their places, straightway Ægir had bright gold brought in onto the floor of the hall, and the gold gave forth light and illumined the hall like fire: and it was used there for lights at his banquet, even as in Valhall swords were used in place of fire. Then Loki bandied sharp words with all the gods, and slew one of Ægir's thralls, him who was called Five-Finger ”

“ In Hervarar Saga, Gest asks King Heidrek, “Who are those widows who, according to the habits of their fathers, live together, and who seldom are partial to men, &c.?” The latter replies: “They are Ægir’s daughters (the waves) ; they always go three together, and the winds awaken them.”
Egil’s son Bödvar having been drowned, the old father in his grief over his loss composed a poem about him. ”

“ Thor did not come, for he was in Austrveg (eastern lands) . Sif, Thór’s wife, Bragi and his wife Idun were there. Týr was there; he had only one hand. The Fenris-wolf tore off his hand when he was tied. Njörd and his wife Skadi, Frey and Freyja, Vidar, Odin’s son, Loki, Beyggvir and Beyla, the servants of Frey, were there. Many Asar and Alfar were there. Ægir had two servants, Fimafeng and Eldir; shining gold was used instead of lights there; the ale carried itself; there was a great peace-place (grida stad) ” (Lokasenna) .
“A man is called Ægir, or Hler ”

“ Neptune had his dwelling in the coral caves near the Island of Eubœa, while Ægir lived in a similar palace near the Cattegat. Here he was surrounded by the nixies, undines, and mermaids, the counterpart of the Greek water nymphs, and by the river-gods of the Rhine, Elbe, and Neckar, who remind us of Alpheus and Peneus, the river-gods of the Greeks. ”

“ In that ocean home lived the lovely mermaids, who sometimes came up above the waves to sit on the rocks and comb their long golden hair in the sunshine. They had heads and bodies like beautiful maidens, with fish-tails instead of feet.
One day the gods in Asgard gave a feast, and Ægir was invited. He could not often leave home to visit Asgard, for he was always very busy with the ocean winds and tides and storms; but calling his daughters, the waves, he bade them keep the ocean quiet while he was away, and look after the ships at sea. ”

“ Hilmir, a son of Hálfdan the Old, 228, 229.
Himinbjörg, Heimdallr's dwelling, 31, 40.
Himinglæva, a daughter of Ægir, 219.
Himinhrjódr, an ox, 213.
Hinda-Fell, site of Brynhildr's hall and the Flaring Fire, 155.
Hísing, 223.
Hjadnings, 178, 189-190.
Hjálmberi, a name of Odin, 34.
Hjálmthér, 211.
Hjálprekr, King at Thjód, 153.
Hjalti the Stout-Hearted, one of Hrólfr Kraki's berserks, 171.
Hjaltland (Shetland) , 226.
Hjarrandi, 188, 190.
Hjúki. See Bil.
Hjördís, Sigurdr Fáfnisbani's mother, 153.
Hledjólfr, a dwarf, 26.
Hleidr, 168, 170.
Hlér. See Ægir (2) . ”

“ Ægir’s servant, 174. Eldhrimnir (el-dhrim ́nir) . Kettle in Valhalla, 27. Elf. Water sprite, 179; elf lights, 222; elf locks, 223. Elf. Sigmund buried by, 238; Hiordis marries, 239; second marriage of, 256. Elivagar (el-i-vag ́ar) . Streams of ice from Hvergelmir, 10, 12; Thor crosses, 76; rolling ice in, 168; Thor’s journey east of, 171. Elli (el ́lē) . Thor wrestles with, 72, 73. Else (el ́sa) . Ballad of Aager and, 170. Elves. Light elves, 18; occupation of the, 221–225; Ægir does not rank with the, 171. Elvidner (el-vid ́ner) . Hel’s hall, 168. Embla (em ́blȧ) . The elm or first woman, 19 ”

“ At Ægira there is a handsome temple of Zeus, and his statue in a sitting posture in Pentelican marble by the Athenian Euclides. The head and fingers and toes are of ivory, and the rest is wood gilt and richly variegated. There is also a temple of Artemis, and a statue of the goddess which is of modern art. A maiden is priestess, till she grows to a marriageable age. And the old statue that stands there is, according to the tradition of the people at Ægira, Iphigenia the daughter of Agamemnon: and if they state what is correct, the temple must originally have been built to Iphigenia. ”

“ Crystals are elongated in the direction of the vertical axis, and are blackish green (aegirite) or dark brown (acmite) in colour. Being isomorphous with augite, crystals intermediate in composition between augite or diopside and aegirite are not uncommon, and these are known as aegirine-augite or aegirine-diopside. ”

“ He states that this place is still called Ægiros; but the situation does not the least correspond with the statement of Strabo that Ægiros was between Methymna and Mytilene.
48 In another of these inscriptions a crown is decreed by the tribe
olis to Aristopahanes, son of Aristophon, on account of his public services. There is also mention of a temple of Athene.
49 Froissart, ed. Buchon, xiv. p. 52, et seq. Finlay, History of Byzantine and Greek Empires, 1854, p. 573. 50 For the coins of this family see B. Köhne, Memoires de la Société d'Archéologie et de Niimismatique de St. ”

“ THOR'S FISHING Once upon a time the Æsir went to take dinner with old Œgir, the king of the ocean. Down under the green waves they went to the coral palace where Œgir lived with his wife, Queen Ran, and his daughters, the Waves. But Œgir was not expecting so large a party to dinner, and he had not mead enough for them all to drink. "I must brew some more mead," he said to himself. But when he came to look for a kettle in which to make the brew, there was none in all the sea large enough for the purpose. ”

“ No man dared to speak to him, but when the vessel stopped in the harbour of Athens, he arose, and stared about him.
The shore was dark with people all dressed in mourning raiment, and the herald of the city came with the news that Ægeus the King was dead. For the Cretan captain did not know that he was to hoist the scarlet sail if Theseus came home in triumph, and Ægeus, as he watched the waters, had descried the dark sail from afar off, and, in his grief, had thrown himself down from the cliff, and was drowned. ”

“ Then, foregoing his revenge and fully reinstated in the royal good graces, Ogier, according to a thirteenth-century epic by Adenet, successfully encountered a Saracenic giant, and in reward for his services received the hand of Clarice, Princess of England, and became king of that realm.
[Sidenote: Ogier in the East.] Weary of a peaceful existence, Ogier finally left England, and journeyed to the East, where he successfully besieged Acre, Babylon and Jerusalem. ”

“ They told him: "Your son shall live very happily till the age of fifteen, when he will be in danger of losing his life, and hardly be able to escape, but if his good destiny should preserve him beyond that time, he will live to grow very old. It will be," said they, "when the statue of brass, that stands upon the top of the mountain of adamant, is thrown down into the sea by Prince Agib, son of King Cassib, and, as the stars prognosticate, your son will be killed fifty days afterwards by that prince." ”

“ To gaze at Ogier as he took his way
Through the thronged place; and quickly too he gat
Unto the place whereas the Lady sat,
For men gave place unto him, fearing him:
For not alone was he most huge of limb,
And dangerous, but something in his face,
As his calm eyes looked o'er the crowded place,
Struck men with awe; and in the ancient days,
When men might hope alive on gods to gaze,
They would have thought, "The gods yet love our town
And from the heavens have sent a great one down." ”

“ I then began to mount the steps, which were so narrow, rugged, and hard to get up that, had the wind blown ever so little, it would have thrown me down into the sea. But at last I got up to the top without any accident.
I passed the night under the dome; and in my sleep a grave old man appeared to me, and said, 'Hearken, Agib; as soon as thou art awake, dig up the ground under thy feet: thou shalt find a bow of brass, and three arrows of lead, that are made under certain constellations, to deliver mankind from the many calamities that threaten them. ”

“ Agilo was a Frank nobleman, and in Domesday we fall 324upon an undoubted Agilward and Egelmar, and on what are probably their contractions, Aylward and Aylmer, afterwards Aymar; but both these are contractions of other names, and cannot always be referred to the awful god of the sea. Agilard, Agilulf, and Agilbert were Frank forms, the last Eilbert in German; Egilhart is Eilert, or Eilo, in German; Eilert, Ayelt, or Ayldo, in Frisian. And the Spanish Gothic Egica is another of the progeny of the old sea giant. Oht is a word also meaning terror. [117] ”

“ When yet but a very young man, Ægeus, King of Athens, journeyed off to Trœzene, where he fell in love with and married a pretty young princess by the name of Æthra. For some reason, which mythologists do not make known, the king was forced to return alone to Athens; but ere he departed he concealed his sword and sandals beneath a stone, bidding his wife remember, that, as soon as the strength of their son Theseus permitted, he must raise the rock, appropriate sword and sandals, and come and join him in Athens, where he should be introduced to the people as his son and heir. ”

“ In its primary meaning, a goat-skin. The primitive inhabitants of Greece used the skins of goats and other animals for clothing, and defence. At a later period the Ægis became a protective mantle; the shield of Minerva, beneath which the goddess sheltered those whom she wished to protect from the enemy’s missiles. Later still the Ægis denoted the breastplate of a divinity, in especial that of Jupiter or Minerva, as opposed to the lorica, which was the breastplate of a mere mortal. The ægis bore in its centre the Gorgon’s head, of which the serpents were arranged round the border. ”

“ And the Ogre does wear such big holes in his stockings, and his feet are so large, that, though my hand is not a small one, I cannot fill out the heel with my fist, and then who's to darn it neatly I should like to know?"
"If I had a basin big enough to fill out the heel, I think I could do it," said the little maid.
The Ogress scratched her big ear thoughtfully for a minute, and then she said:
"To lose a chance is to cheat oneself. Why shouldn't this one darn while the others boil? Yes, I think you shall try. ”

“ Tristan comforted the beast, fondling the muzzle, stroking the sleek neck. He knotted the bridle over a bough, caught Ogier’s white stallion, and tethered him also.
Next he took dead Ogier by the heels, dragged him out of the pool of sunlight where he lay into the shade of the solemn trees. For Ogier he felt no pang of pity; the man was a mere mountain of flesh, fit food for worms and ravens. Nevertheless, he covered the face with the broken shield, unbuckled Ogier’s girdle, and picked up his sword. So much done, he went down to the river, and washed the blood from his hands and face. ”

“ Thus Ogier and Tristan followed him that day from Agravale, two stalwart exemplars of the Church Militant. The Bishop rode a mouse-coloured mare, trapped with red harness and a saddle of carved ivory. He wore a plain black robe with a sable hood and a black mask over his face. Ogier rode a great white stallion, a huge beast, the only horse in Agravale who could bear his bulk. Tristan, with his red shield strapped between his shoulders and the episcopal white surcoat over his hauberk, rode beside Ogier on this saintly pilgrimage. ”