Balder
Balder Europe‘The bleeding god’ of Germanic mythology. Renowned for his good looks and his wisdom, Odin's second son was a northern derivative of Adonis, Attis, Tummuz, and Osiris. The return of the dying Balder would occur in the new world, the green land risen from the sea, after ragnarok, the destruction of the gods.
Balder was killed by a shaft of mistletoe, since time immemorial in Europe a mysterious and sacred plant. Hodr was the blind god who, used as a catspaw by Loki, flung the deadly shaft. When Balder fell, the gods were thrown into confusion and uncertainty, till Frigg suggested that someone ride to hel, the place of death, in order to find out the ransom desired. This dark abode was really a prison, filled with the souls who would fight against the gods at ragnarok. Its queen Hel possessed a palace called Sleetcold, and she tyrannized those who were sent to her, having died of disease, old age, or accident, instead of meeting...
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