Patrick Auerbach > Quotes

“the end chaos would burst forth to overwhelm the order that the gods had made and preserved. In Midgard the end would begin with three winters of war and general lawlessness; men would fight without mercy, murder one another and betray their own kin through adultery and with violence. After this would come three years of winter, with the sun’s warmth weakened and terrible winds sweeping the earth so that its people died of hunger. Then the wolves that ran behind the moon and sun would overtake them, and darkness would fall on the land. ​In Asgard Loki would break from his bonds and so would his son, the wolf Fenrir.  In the depths of the sea Loki’s other monster-son, the Midgard Serpent, would rise in anger. The giants out of Jotunheim and the fire-demons out of Muspelheim would come to Loki’s call and attack the gods. The battle would be desperate. Thor would kill and be killed by the Midgard Serpent, and Heimdall the sentry of Asgard would kill and be killed by Loki. Odin would fight against the wolf Fenrir and die, but his son Vidar would destroy the wolf. At the end, when the best part of both armies lay dead, Surt the fire-bearer would come from the burning world of Muspelheim and set Asgard, Midgard and the World Tree itself ablaze. The sea would rise, churned up by the death-throes of the Midgard Serpent, and the ruined land would be drowned. ​But this destruction, while great and terrible, was not quite final. Out of the empty seas land would rise again and green plants would grow there; indeed, fine crops of grain would grow without any man tending them. Balder would return from the dead, Honir would return with the gift of prophecy added to his other strengths, and Thor’s sons would arise carrying their father’s great hammer. Soli would not return from death to drive the chariot of the sun but her daughter, even stronger and lovelier than she, would rise and give light to the worlds again. And a man and a woman, long concealed in a safe place hidden from the ruin, would emerge to drink of the dew and eat of the plants of the field and start the human race again. Some said also that the dead humans in Helheim would be raised to life again, but some said otherwise.”
― Patrick Auerbach, Mythology: Norse Mythology, Greek Gods, Greek Mythology, Egyptian Gods, & Ancient Egypt

“Odin, also called Woden or Wotan, was the god of inspiration and the giver of poetry, wisdom and battle-rage.  Most of the myths describe him as the firstborn and father of the gods, although some older stories give that role to Tyr.”
― Patrick Auerbach, Norse Mythology: Thor, Odin, Loki, and the Other Gods and Heroes

“Ammit was the personification of chaos and disorder; a representation of all that the Ancient Egyptians feared and hated.”
― Patrick Auerbach, Egyptian Gods: The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

“reinterpretations”
― Patrick Auerbach, Greek Gods: The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology

“Breidablikk,”
― Patrick Auerbach, Mythology: Norse Mythology, Greek Gods, Greek Mythology, Egyptian Gods, & Ancient Egypt

“Babi (alt. spelling Baba) is a bloodthirsty Baboon God.”
― Patrick Auerbach, Egyptian Gods: The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

“Midgard was the human world, built by the Aesir Gods. Like Asgard, it was surrounded by a defensive wall. The rainbow bridge Bifrost connected Midgard and Asgard. Humans could only cross the bridge after they died, but the gods could and sometimes did cross into the human world at will. The enclosed land where Midgard’s people lived was completely surrounded by an impassable, serpent-infested sea.   Most”
― Patrick Auerbach, Norse Mythology: Thor, Odin, Loki, and the Other Gods and Heroes

“to Angel Island”
― Patrick Auerbach, Alcatraz: The Surprising History of America's Most Notorious Prison

“believed that after a person had learned enough at”
― Patrick Auerbach, The Celts: Blood, Iron and the Forgotten History of the Celts