Óðinn was called Alfǫðr (‘Allfather’). From his seat, Hliðskjálf, set at the edge of heaven, he watched over the entire world. He had one eye, having traded one for wisdom. And he had a hall, Valhǫll, which was thatched with shields. In that hall he sat, flanked by two wolves, while two ravens whispered all the world's news to him, and there he hosted an army made up of the greatest kings and warriors who have ever lived. In the world's final battle, he will ride ahead of that army in a golden helm and shining armour, wielding a mighty spear.

This is the description we are given of the Norse deity Óðinn by the Icelandic poet and chieftain, Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241). While Snorri's accounts should be treated critically, many of the characteristics that he attributes to Óðinn are reflected in the remaining corpus of written material from which we derive our synthesis of the religion of heathen Scandinavia. These various sources portray him not only as a ruler, but also as a god of poetry and magic, fettering armies, raising the dead, and dealing out his favour, or taking it away. In these late sources it is clear that Óðinn was a god with many roles, and one with many masks.

Behind all of his complexities, however, the Óðinn in the written material is always a god of kings, elite aristocrats, and of their sport: war.