The Norse Kings Who Traced Their Roots to Ancient Troy

The Strangnas Stone, a runic inscription with an aboriginal attestation of the Norse deity Odin, supposedly a descendant of King Priam of Troy. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0

We mightiness deliberation that determination cannot perchance beryllium a transportation betwixt Greek mythology and the medieval kings of Scandinavia. However, according to respective medieval sources, the Norse kings were really descended from Priam of Troy.

Where does this fable archetypal appear, and what precisely does it claim?

Prose Edda

The superior root substance for this fable is the Prose Edda. This is simply a substance that was written successful the aboriginal thirteenth century, astir apt by the Icelandic student Snorri Sturluson. The Prose Edda provides a elaborate and extended wealthiness of accusation astir Norse mythology and Scandinavian legendary tradition.

Part of the Prose Edda contains an relationship of the root of the Norse gods. It is simply a euhemerized account, meaning that it presents the gods arsenic existent radical who lone came to beryllium worshipped arsenic gods by aboriginal generations.

According to this account, the Norse gods were really descendants of King Priam of Troy. How did they supposedly get to Scandinavia from Troy? The relationship explains however this allegedly happened.

How the Norse gods were descended from Priam of Troy

According to the Prose Edda, King Priam of Troy had a girl named Troan. She joined a king successful Troy named Munon oregon Memnon. Perhaps helium is expected to beryllium identical with the legendary Ethiopian king named Memnon who came to Troy successful the last twelvemonth of the Trojan War, though this is unclear.

In immoderate case, the lad of Troan and Munon was Tror. His sanction besides appears arsenic Thor. The Prose Edda claims that helium lived successful Thrace and became a mighty warrior. His descendants continued for eighteen generations until we yet get to Odin, the celebrated king of the Norse gods.

At this point, the communicative makes it wide that these descendants of Priam were inactive surviving successful the country of the Black Sea. It appears that they had really returned to the onshore person to Troy itself, since the communicative connects Odin with Turkey.

From Troy to the Norse gods

How did Odin spell from the portion of Troy to the onshore of the Norse gods according to this medieval Scandinavian tradition? According to the Prose Edda:

“When Pompey, a Roman chieftain, harried successful the eastbound region, Odin fled retired of Asia and hither to the northbound country.”

According to this portion of the account, Odin fled to bluish Europe aft being driven retired of Asia Minor by the Romans. However, conscionable a spot further connected successful the Prose Edda, we find the pursuing claim:

“Odin had the powerfulness of divination, and truthful had his wife, and from this cognition helium recovered retired that his sanction would beryllium held precocious successful the northbound portion of the world, and honored beyond that of each kings.”

While this mightiness look similar a contradiction, it tin beryllium easy harmonized with the erstwhile claim. It seems that Odin was forced to permission Asia owed to the attacks from the Romans. Nevertheless, owed to his alleged foreknowledge, helium was blessed to determination connected to different lands.

When did this happen?

When did the Norse gods allegedly permission their homeland adjacent Troy? According to the Prose Edda, Odin fled erstwhile the Roman wide Pompey was campaigning successful the east. This tin lone beryllium Pompey the Great, champion known arsenic the force of Julius Caesar.

Pompey’s warfare successful the eastbound historically occurred betwixt 66 and 63 BCE. This chronology for these events is supported by a connection that appears overmuch aboriginal successful the Prose Edda. This aboriginal portion says that Odin had a great-grandson named Frode.

Frode, successful turn, is said to person succeeded his begetter Fridleif astatine the clip erstwhile “Emperor Augustus established bid successful each the world and Christ was born”. This astir apt places Frode’s commencement successful astir the mediate of the archetypal period BCE.

In turn, Frode’s great-grandfather Odin would person been calved successful the 2nd fractional of the 2nd period BCE. This is accordant with the day of c. 66 BCE for Odin being driven northbound by Pompey’s warfare against the east.