This day was named for _Woden_,--the same as _Odin_,--and was sacred to
the divinity of the Northern and Eastern nations. He was the Anglo-Saxons'
god of war, "who came to them from the East in a very mysterious manner,
and enacted more wonderful and brilliant exploits of prowess and valor
than the Greek mythologists ascribed to their powerful god Hercules." As
_Odin_, this deity was said to have been a monarch (in the flesh) of
ancient Germany, Denmark, Scandinavia, etc., and a mighty conqueror. All
those tribes, in going into battle, invoked his aid and blessing upon
their arms. He was idolized as a fierce and powerful man, with helmet,
shield, a drawn sword, a _gyrdan_ about his loins, and feet and legs
protected by sandals and knee-high fastenings of iron, ornamented with a
death's head.
[Illustration: THOR--Thursday.]
[Illustration: FRIGA--Friday.]