ORIGIN: Nordic [Icelandic]
TYPE: God of the ocean
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: Viking period (circa 700 CE) and earlier, until Christianization (circa 1100 CE).
SYNONYMS: none known
CENTER(S) OF CULT: None known but probably enjoyed sanctuaries along the west coast of Norway and elsewhere in Nordic regions.
ART REFERENCES: Runic inscriptions; reliefs in metal and stone
LITERARY SOURCES: Icelandic codices; Prose Edda (Snorri); Historia Danica (Saxo)
INFORMATION: A lesser known Aesir god of Asgard concerned with the moods of the sea and their implications for mariners. The river Eider was known to the Vikings as "Aegir's Door." Aegir is also depicted in some poetry as the "ale brewer", perhaps an allusion to the cauldrons of mead which were thought to come from under the sea. (See also the Celtic deites Dagda and Gobniu). There are references in literature to Saxons sacrificing captives, probably to Aegir, before setting sail for home. Linked in uncertain manner to the Goddess Ran he was beleived to have sired nine children, the waves of the se, who were possibly giantesses.