List of Germanic deities

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/list-of-germanic-deities

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the religious tradition?Germanic paganism, a complex of indigenous religions
2. What is the geographical scope?Encompassed Germanic Europe, with regional variations
3. Who were the main gods and goddesses of ancient Germanic people?Ancient Germanic people believed in many gods, including Odin the Allfather, Thor the thunder god, and Freya the goddess of love and war. These deities had personalities and stories that explained the world around them.
4. How did ancient Germans learn about their gods?Their stories came from poems like the Poetic and Prose Edda, Roman histories, runic carvings on objects, and the names of people and places that honored the gods.

Indigenous religions: Belief systems originating from and practiced by the native populations of a region.
Pantheon: The complete set of gods and goddesses of a particular mythology or religion.
Runic inscriptions: Texts or symbols written in runic alphabets, used by ancient Germanic peoples for various purposes.
Onomastics: The study of the origin, history, and use of proper names.