Widely worshiped by the Germanic peoples of the Middle Ages, Odin, furious lord of ecstasy and inspiration, was the highest of deities and the chief of the Aesir tribe of gods and goddesses. Known as “all-father,” among many other epithets, Odin was usually depicted with one eye and a long beard. He would often be accompanied by his familiars—the wolves Geri and Freki, and ravens Huminn and Muninn—and rode an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir. Befitting his kingly stature, Odin was also a mighty warrior—it was said that he never lost a battle; there were even some who believed he could not lose a battle.

Despite his military prowess, Odin defied many conventions of the warrior-king archetype so highly idealized by the Norse. While Odin kept his court at Asgard—one of the nine realms in Norse mythology—he preferred to wander in the guise of a traveler. He sought knowledge above all else—of his enemies and the future—and courted shamans, seers, and necromancers in order to attain it. He spoke in poetry and riddles and commanded beasts, even taking their forms upon occasion. Though hero gods, such as the mighty Thor, fought with brute strength and bravado, the trickster god Odin dismissed these tools in favor of craft and cunning.

Both version supported and unsupported are included.