Odin the Allfather: Why Odin Was God of Inspiration?

In Norse mythology, Odin was among the most complicated figures. His mind was complicated and his deeds were unpredictable. But we dwell deep enough into this figure, we realize whatever Odin did had a reason. The more complicated he was, the more interesting he became. 

Odin had many titles. He was the god of war, wisdom, sky, death, poem, eloquence, and inspiration. In this piece of writing, we shall discuss why Odin was called the god of inspiration. 

Inspiration is defined as a process of being stimulated to do or to feel something. And if Odin was considered a god of inspiration, the thing that he probably offered to people around him was knowledge. 

Odin the Allfather was God of Inspiration

In Norse mythology, there were two times that Odin shared his wisdom to others. The first time was his acquisition of runes and the second time was his acquisition of Mead of Poem. 

To gain the ability to read runes, Odin had to make an extreme sacrifice. He had to hang himself on the Yggdrasil Tree of Life for nine days and nine nights. He would eat no food and drink no wine. He was stabbed in the chest and no one could help him. And after nine days of sacrifice, Odin finally gained the ability to read runes. Runes were sacred letters that carried within themselves the secret of the universe and they were sometimes called the Wheel of the Universe. Odin didn't keep runes for himself only. Instead, he shared his knowledge of runes to the world. Then, Odin became the only one who introduced runes to the world. 

Odin never kept the knowledge for himself only. Rather, he inspired others by spreading his knowledge. 

The second time was when Odin retrieved the Mead of Poetry back. Mead of Poetry was made from the blood of Kvasir the wisest being created by the gods. But Kvasir was murdered by two dwarves and they brewed his blood to make the Mead of Poetry. Long story short, the Mead ended up under a mountain and guarded by Gunnlod the giantess. Odin with all his wits could finally bring back the Mead of Poetry after entertaining Gunnlod for three nights. 

Odin kept all of the Mead in his mouth and spilt it into vats when he came back to Asgard. He didn't consume every drip of the Mead. Instead, he shared it to all the gods. 

Odin in the form of an eagle spitting the Mead of Poetry into the vats. 

It was wonderful to have an infinite source of wisdom and knowledge. But if you don't share it to anyone, it will mean nothing and it is powerless because it cannot affect the world. From surviving texts of Norse mythology, we realize that not only did Odin welcome knowledge in whatever form it might take but he also wanted to use his wisdom and knowledge and created a change to the world by spreading it.