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How were the Aesir and Vanir divided in Scandinavian mythology?
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Germanic religion and mythology
Battle scenes and ships depicted on a memorial stone from Gotland, Sweden, late 8th century. In the third panel from the top, a warrior is being hanged in a tree as a sacrifice to Odin, whose cult is represented by an eagle and a twisted knot.
In Scandinavian mythology, the gods are broadly divided into two distinct tribes: the Aesir and the Vanir.1
The Aesir are characterized as warlike deities, whereas the Vanir are primarily associated with wealth, health, fertility, and commerce. According to myth, these two groups engaged in a war that ended in a stalemate, leading them to establish peace and exchange hostages.213
As part of this reconciliation, prominent Vanir deities—including Njörd, his son Freyr, and presumably his daughter Freyja—came to live among the Aesir and were integrated into their hierarchy. In exchange, the Vanir received the gods Hoenir and Mimir. The peace ritual between the two tribes also resulted in the birth of the poet-god Kvasir.213