Odin at the Well of Wisdom
Classical Stories · No. 45 — What the king of the gods paid for one drink of wisdom.
- Classical Stories
- 33 min
- Ages 8–13
- 7 chapters
About this audiobook
Odin, ruler of the Norse gods, is hungry above all things for wisdom and knowledge of what is to come. He journeys to the well of Mimir, whose waters hold deep understanding, and asks to drink — and the price is one of his eyes, dropped into the well forever. He pays it without hesitation. But he wants more: the secret of the runes, the sacred letters that carry all knowledge. To win them he wounds himself and hangs for nine nights and nine days on Yggdrasil, the great world-tree, giving 'himself to himself,' taking neither food nor water, until at last the runes reveal themselves to him in a cry.
Why it's worth a listen
The one-eyed king of the Norse gods was not born one-eyed. This is the story of how Odin gave an eye for a single drink from the well of wisdom, and then hung nine nights on the world-tree, wounded and alone, to win the secret of the runes — the writing that holds all knowledge. A strange, austere myth about the terrible price of understanding.
A question to keep
What would you give up to truly understand — and is any price too high for wisdom?
Chapters
- The Sky-Traveler and the Ravens
- The Roots of the World-Tree
- The Price of a Drink
- The Silent Letters
- Nine Nights on the Great Ash
- The Cry in the Dark
- A Question to Keep