S2E9: Balder's Ominous Dreams (Part 1)

Between Two Ravens: A Norse Mythology Podcast

In this episode, Shawn and David discuss Balder's Draumar, a poem that is typically found in copies of the Poetic Edda, though not found in the Codex Regius Manuscript. In this short poem, Odin travels to Hel (Niflheim) to find out why his son Balder is having ominous dreams foretelling his own death.
Of course the only way to do this (It is Odin, after all), is to wake a witch from the dead and ask her questions which contain answers he himself isn’t ready to hear. David discusses the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes, their similarities to aspects of Odin in this story, and introduces the idea of Baldur being a Dionysian figure.
The pair also discuss the idea of fate and the significance of Odin trying to change what he knows he cannot. Is Odin's lust for knowledge and power at the expense of everything else proof the gods do not have free will? Is Odin fated by his nature to act as it has been foretold?
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Additional Info/Books Discussed: The Poetic Edda (Crawford, Hackett Classics): https://amzn.to/3JqmsfF
Poetic Edda by Carolyne Larrington (Oxford World Classics; David’s preferred translation): https://amzn.to/3sxITc7