Odin or Othin

ODIN or OTHIN, the chief god of the northern pantheon, is represented as an old man with one eye. Frigg is his wife, Thor and Balder, among other gods, are his sons. He is also said to have been the father of several legendary kings. His exploits and adventures are a common theme in the poetic and prose Eddas. Here his character is distinguished rather by wisdom than mar tial prowess, and reference is frequently made to his skill in poetry and magic. In Ynglinga Saga he is represented as reigning in Sweden. In notices relating to religious observances Odin ap pears chiefly as the giver of victory or as the god of the dead. He receives the souls of the slain, who in his palace, Valhalla (q.v.), live a life of fighting and feasting, similar to that which has been their desire on earth. Human sacrifices were frequently offered to Odin, especially prisoners taken in battle. In the poem Hdvamdl the god himself is represented as sacrificed. The wor ship of Odin seems to have prevailed chiefly, if not solely, in mili tary circles. To the Anglo-Saxons he was known as Woden (q.v.) and to the Germans as Wodan (Wuotan). Owing to the peculiar character of this god and the prominent position which he occu pies, the mythology of the north presents a striking contrast to that of Greece. See TEUTONIC PEOPLES, ad fin. ; and WODEN.

ODO

or EUDES (d. 898), king of the Franks, a son of Robert the Strong, count of Anjou (d. 866), is sometimes referred to as duke of France and also as count of Paris. For his resistance to the attacks of the Normans Odo was chosen king by the West ern Franks when the emperor Charles the Fat was deposed in 887, and was crowned at Compiegne in February 888. He defeated the

Normans at Montfaucon and elsewhere, but was soon involved in a struggle with powerful nobles, who supported the claim of Charles, afterwards King Charles III., to the Frankish kingdom. To gain support Odo owned himself a vassal of the German king, Arnulf, but in 894 Arnulf declared for Charles. Eventually, after a struggle of three years, Odo was compelled to come to terms with his rival, and to surrender to him a district north of the Seine. He died at La Fere on Jan. 1, 898.

See E. Lavisse, Histoire de France, tome ii. (1903) ; and E. Favre, Eudes, comte de Paris et roi de France (1893).

ODO

or EUDES (d. C. 736), king, or duke, of Aquitaine, ob tained this dignity about 715, and his territory included the south western part of Gaul from the Loire to the Pyrenees. In 718 he appears as the ally of Chilperic II., king of Neustria, who was fighting against the Austrasian mayor of the palace, Charles Mar tel; but after the defeat of Chilperic at Soissons in 719 he probably made peace with Charles by surrendering to him the Neustrian king and his treasures. Odo was also obliged to fight the Saracens who invaded the southern part of his kingdom, and inflicted a severe defeat upon them at Toulouse in 721. When, however, he was again attacked by Charles Martel, the Saracens renewed their ravages, and Odo was defeated near Bordeaux; he was compelled to crave protection from Charles, who took up this struggle and gained his momentous victory at Poitiers in 732. In 735 the king abdicated, and was succeeded by his son Hunold.