Ask And Embla: First Human Pair Created By Powerful God Odin And His Two Brothers

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - There are many different versions of the creation myth. In Norse mythology, Odin and his two brothers, Vili and Vé, were walking along the beach when they found two lifeless tree trunks, one from an ash and one from an elm.

"Odin, Lodur og Hoenir skabte Ask og Embla." Hœnir, Lóðurr and Odin create Askr and Embla. Image credit: (1895) by Lorenz Frølich. Public Domain

By giving them human shape, the gods created the first pair of humans - a man and a woman and called them Embla ("elm") and Ask (Old Norse Askr, "Ash Tree").

The first humans were fashioned out of driftwood. Odin gave them each a soul and the breath of life; his two brothers gave them the ability to move and intelligence. They were given speech, hearing, feeling, hearts, sight, and humor.

Further, the three gods gave them good-looking clothing and names. From these two descended the whole human race, whose assigned dwelling was within the realm of Midgard (Old Norse 'Midgardr').

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