With the rise of global transportation and the Internet over the last few decades, the world seems just a little closer together, and the lines dividing countries and cultures have begun to blur. As a generation raised in a time of unprecedented sociocultural integration and exchange, we are privileged beneficiaries of these beautiful differences every day. By continuing to celebrate our differences and cherish our similarities, we can begin to understand each other better and create a more connected and harmonious global community.

While parallels between neighboring cultures have never been uncommon, it is very rare to find shared ideas and traditions that stretch across oceans and continents. One question, however, seems to be consistent no matter the culture or the time period—we want to know where we came from, what our purpose is, and who created the world. This mystery has fascinated humanity since the beginning of time, and while no one can be sure who gets to take the cake just yet, there have been some downright awesome legends. This list will attempt to count down some of the best creation stories, the craziest answers to that all too common question. Perhaps it is here, in this great similarity, that the beauty (and wackiness) of our differences shine the brightest.

10 Viracocha

Like many mythologies, the Incas’ pantheon also had a hierarchy, and Viracocha sat at its head (for good reason). As far as the Incas were concerned, Viracocha was the first deity as well as the maker of all the other gods. In his free time, Viracocha also accomplished other minor feats, such as forming the heavens, Earth, Sun, Moon, and all living beings.

According to the legends, it is thought that humans were his second (way better) experiment, after a first attempt at life resulted in a race of mean rock giants who . . . weren’t very good at listening. And so, with a grand showing of grace and regal bearing, Viracocha drowned them all back into stone form with a huge flood.

On his second attempt, Viracocha opted for the more soft and malleable clay, with which he created the masterpieces that are us. Presumably hoping not to repeat history, he then decided to pass down many gifts, such as clothes, language, agriculture, arts, and animals.^[1] Thanks, Viracocha!

9 Cherokee Creation Myth

In Cherokee lore, the Earth began as a messy blob of darkness and water floating around below Galunlati, the spirit world. The animals, who were partying it up in Galunlati, continued to reproduce until it got a little too crowded, and they needed to find a solution—they wanted to move to Earth.

Wary of hidden dangers and curious as to what lay below the water’s surface, the animals sent the water beetle as a scout to get a feel for the lay of the land. Never one to disappoint, the Christopher Columbus of the spirit world dove down to the bottom and brought back some mud. The magical mud grew and grew, until it became the land we know and love today.

Eager to find a new home, the birds of Galunlati ventured down to Earth, only to find the ground far too soft to settle in. Buzzard, a giant avian fellow, was one of those looking for a dry spot but eventually grew so tired that his wings dragged against the mud, raising the land into mountains and valleys.^[2]

Eventually, the land dried out, and the animals moved down onto our world. Fed up with the darkness, the animals decided to raise the Sun up to give the Earth light. This wasn’t without casualties, though, as many animals were burned red during the valiant effort. (Poor crawfish.) Finally, after everything settled, the humans appeared, and the rest, as they say, is history.

8 Vishnu And Brahma

One of the many Hindu creation stories, this one starts in the void of nothingness. A dark ocean playing host to Shesha, an infinitely giant cobra, washed up against the shores of nothingness. Vishnu, who was sleeping soundly in the shelter of Shesha’s coils, was roused from his slumber by a deep hum.

As the night was shattered, a majestic lotus flower sprouted forth from Vishnu’s belly button, and Brahma, his servant, was born from it. With a single command, Vishnu ordered the creation of the world and then swiftly disappeared.

With a dazzling display of artistry and power, Brahma quelled the wind and sea, split the lotus in three, and created the heavens, Earth, and skies. With the Earth shattering parts out of the way, Brahma spent his time crafting the animals, plants, and humans, until the whole world sang of his creation.^[3]

7 Nyx’s Egg

This Greek myth is likely one of the more familiar stories on this list, at least in part. But few remember Nyx, the black-winged bird who laid the golden egg. (Note that she has also been depicted in a humanlike form.) This golden egg birthed Eros, the god of love. The broken halves of the egg became the sky and the Earth. Naming them Uranus and Gaia, he commanded them to fall in love, and the two second-generation deities had many, many children.^[4]

Then comes the familiar tale of Kronos (aka Cronus), who ate his children in fear of their budding powers—that is until Zeus (who was saved by his mother) led a rebellion to free himself and his siblings from their father’s oppression. In the aftermath, the victorious young deities decorated the Earth and sky with life and stars.

From there came the stories of Prometheus and Pandora’s Box, until the Earth as we know it was made. For a culture so obsessed with science and philosophy as the Greeks, they sure knew how to spin an epic tale.

6 Ymir And Audhumla

Far north of Greece lived the ax-swinging, seafaring Norsemen, who had a crazy creation story of their own. Before the likes of our big-screen favorites Thor and Loki came Ymir, a huge frost giant formed from the dripping ice of Niflheim. Ymir, the first of the giants, slept until a man and woman formed from the sweat of his armpit, and his legs spawned a six-headed child. Thus, the frost giants were born.

Meanwhile, the melting ice had also formed Audhumla, a godly cow whose milk gave nourishment to Ymir. As Audhumla licked the ice, Buri, the first god, was formed. His grandchildren, born of giant and god, grew tired of the useless giants and decided to kill Ymir. As Ymir died, his blood flooded the land, wiping out all but a two of the frost giants.

The grandchildren then brought the body to Ginnungagap and dismembered each piece of him to form the world.^[5]

5 Rangi And Papa

From the beautiful land of New Zealand comes a wonderfully gruesome tale of fratricide and cannibalism. It all began with Rangi and Papa, the heaven and Earth from which all of creation were born. Alas, they were inseparable, and so heaven and Earth were covered in darkness.

Sick of the darkness and eager for change, their children came together for a discussion. Tu-matauenga, father of the fierce humans, wanted to slay the parents, but Tane-mahuta, father of the forests, wanted to separate them instead, hoping that their father and mother could be the sky over their heads and the earth beneath their feet. Eventually, all but Tawhiri-ma-tea, father of winds and storms, agreed, and they proceeded to carry out their plan.

With gargantuan effort, Tane-mahuta finally managed to separate his parents after a string of his brothers’ failures, and Rangi and Papa cried out in anguish. What would ensue can only be called the most bizarre civil war ever, as the brothers fought over feelings of betrayal or just simply because they found the others weak. Disappointed in his brothers’ cowardice, Tu-matauenga (father of humans) killed them all and ate them, condemning them to an eternal fate as his godly snacks. Only the father of winds and storms survived in the skies, and legend has it that he blows his vengeful gales against the shores to this day.^[6] Well, that sure escalated quickly.

4 Pangu

The Chinese creation legends tend to come in two stages: Pangu, creator of the heavens and Earth, and Nuwa, mother of people and humanity. To this day, songs and poems about Pangu are still sang by the Zhuang people of China.^[7]

As legend would have it, Pangu, in embryonic form, slept and grew within a giant black egg for 18,000 years, all while the chaos of the universe slowly gained a healthy balance of yin and yang. Upon awakening, Pangu found himself in a bit of a predicament—he was stuck as a yin-yang sandwich. With a huff and a puff, he pushed the egg apart, creating the sky and the Earth while cleaving apart the fabric of yin and yang.

The longer he held the sky and Earth apart, the more he grew, spreading the distance further and further every day (exactly 3 meters [10 ft] per day). Though there are many versions of this myth, one of the more popular ones has Pangu die after another 18,000 years, with his body forming parts of the Earth and all of nature within it. The poor guy never even got a break.

3 Nuwa

Nuwa, one of the first deities in Chinese mythology, is said to have existed since the beginning of time. And with an empty, albeit beautiful, world remaining after the death of Pangu, an understandably lonely and bored Nuwa decided to exercise her right to freedom of creative expression, promptly creating life every day for a week. The order goes: chickens, dogs, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, and finally humans.^[8]

On the last day, Nuwa took clay and began to mold it in her image. (This is slightly concerning, as many ancient artworks depict her as a snake with a woman’s head.) After making a few hundred beautiful figures, Nuwa grew tired of the tedious work and decided to expedite the process by swinging around a rope with mud on it. As such, the beautiful clay people became wealthy nobles, while the sorry splatters of mud became the common peasants. (So that’s where discrimination came from.) Another variation of the legend suggests that the rain melted some of the figures before they dried, thereby giving birth to sickness and disease—apparently the casual slip-up of an omnipotent and omniscient being.

2 Izanagi And Izanami

Hailing from neighboring Japan, Izanagi and Izanami were seventh-generation deities in a growing line of kami. The sibling couple were commanded by the older generations of gods to deal with the formless chaos that was the world. Tasked with a monumental mission and equipped with a heavenly jeweled spear known as Ama no Nuboko, they decided to give the messy void a stir with the tip of the godly armament. As the spear was lifted back up, a drop fell off it and formed an island. Izanagi and Izanam decided to settle down and build a palace there.

In an effort to start a family, they did what every deity does when they want to reproduce—circle around a heavenly pillar in opposite directions. When they finally met on the other side of the pillar, Izanami couldn’t help but rejoice in her great fortune, exclaiming “What a fine young man!” to which Izanagi replied, “What a fine young woman!”^[9] It was a picture of serenity and joy, though Izanagi did complain that his sister had stolen his initiative.

Unsure of what to do next, the pair eventually were guided along with the helpful advice of some songbirds, and eventually, a child was born. Unfortunately, the child was born limbless and without bones (apparently gods suffer from inbreeding, too), and the couple were absolutely devastated. After abandoning the child on a boat, they proceeded to try again, alas to no avail.

Discouraged, they went back to heaven to ask for help, where they discovered that Izanami’s impatient greeting was preventing a healthy childbirth. Promptly reattempting the circling ritual, they corrected their previous mistake, and Izanami would go on to birth the islands of Japan and many of nature’s manifestations.

1 The Rainbow Serpent

In the land Down Under, the oral tradition of dreamtime stories still persists to this day. According to the Aboriginals’ beliefs, the stories are the beginning of knowledge, depicting the creation of the world and the great ancestral spirits of the dreamtime.

In the days of the dreamtime, before the Earth had awoken, a rainbow snake slumbered below the surface. All the spirits and the animals lay sleeping beneath the ground. One day, the serpent awoke and broke through the surface, traveling all over the Earth, leaving winding trails wherever she went. Upon her return to her resting place, she called out to the frogs, who had stored water in their bellies during their slumber. After the serpent tickled the frogs’ stomachs, their laughter released water across the world to form rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Out of the water sprouted much life, and the animals woke one by one. The benevolent rainbow serpent then made laws, stipulating clearly that those who followed them well would be granted humanity while the, ahem, cheekier spirits would be unceremoniously turned into rocks and mountains. And so, humans and their tribes were created, and they knew the land was theirs forever.^[10]

A first year student recovering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, I’m really enjoying writing again alongside my physical rehab routine. Really enjoyed researching for this one and can’t wait to get started on the next.

War is hell.

But that hasn’t stopped filmmakers from recreating some of history’s fiercest battles for display on the silver screen. Others prefer to create fictional battles of equally epic proportions.

As one would imagine, a lot of work goes into making a war film. Thousands of little details must be considered to make the bigger picture a success.

Warning: Potential spoilers ahead!

Top 10 Awesome War Movies

10 War Horse

The movie War Horse is based on a novel of the same name, which was published in 1982. A play was also adapted from that novel in 2007. Coproduced by Steven Spielberg, the film was nominated for six Academy Awards after receiving excellent reviews.

The stars of the show, however, were the beautiful horses. The main one, Joey, was played by 14 different horses. Spielberg has experience with these animals. He has kept a stable of steeds at his home for more than 10 years and loved the equine “actors” he got to work with on set.

He even said, “Joey had a sense of what was happening in the scene. Joey added things, as the cameras were rolling, that none of us ever asked for, that brought a performance to [the audience] that we didn’t expect when we set out to make the movie.”

Some of the well-known human actors in the film also brought some war history to the set. For instance, Benedict Cumberbatch’s grandfather, Henry Carlton Cumberbatch, served as a submarine commander in the British Royal Navy during both world wars.^[1]

9 American Sniper

American Sniper is based on the life of Chris Kyle, who was the deadliest sniper in US military history with 160 officially confirmed kills. The movie was a massive box-office success and was nominated for six Oscars. The film won one Academy Award for Best Sound Editing.

The movie reveals Kyle’s struggle to leave the war behind when he returns home to his wife and children. It comes with a rather shocking and tragic ending.

Supposedly, Kyle once said that if a film was ever made about his life, he wanted the filmmaker to be Clint Eastwood and no one else. Kyle got his wish. Eastwood was the director and coproducer of the film. The other producers included Robert Lorenz and Bradley Cooper.^[2]

Cooper, who plays Kyle in the film, had to gain at least 40 pounds for the role. He ate 8,000 calories a day while working out four hours every day for many months. The grueling workouts led to Cooper being able to deadlift 193 kilograms (425 lb), which he did in the film as well.

Cooper also wore Chris Kyle’s actual walking shoes in the film. Afterward, Cooper said during interviews that he was still wearing the shoes at home.

8 Black Hawk Down

The US military raid on Mogadishu in 1993 is depicted in the gritty war film Black Hawk Down, which was released in 2001. Directed by Ridley Scott and produced by both Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer, the film won two Oscars despite a call by the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in California to boycott screenings.

The center believed that Somalis were depicted in a dehumanizing fashion. Some film critics also accused the filmmakers of racism that they claimed was staged openly in the film.

Black Hawk Down was the first war film released after the events of 9/11. The movie effectively showed America that its troops could regroup after a surprise attack, even as the country’s citizens were still reeling from the loss of life when the towers came down.^[3]

7 Full Metal Jacket

“In Vietnam, the wind doesn’t blow. It sucks.”

The tagline for Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket is said to have come from coscreenwriter Michael Herr’s nonfiction book, Dispatches. Supposedly, Herr overheard another soldier utter the line in Vietnam.

The film was released in 1987 and received an Oscar nomination as well as critical acclaim. However, some fans may not know that the term “full metal jacket” doesn’t appear anywhere in the novel, The Short-Timers, on which the movie is based.

Kubrick didn’t want to use the book title because people might assume that the film was about individuals who worked half-days. Instead, he happened upon “full metal jacket” while flipping through a gun catalog and decided to use it.^[4]

Kubrick, who was afraid of flying, ensured that the entire film was shot in England. This meant that a British Territorial Army base was used to film scenes for the Marine boot camp in South Carolina.

An abandoned gas works on the Thames was used to shoot scenes depicting Da Nang, Phu Bai, and Hue. In addition, 200 palm trees were imported from Spain and plastic plants were sent from Hong Kong to create a jungle. Meanwhile, a Belgian army colonel, who was a huge fan of the director, decided to lend Kubrick four M41 tanks for the filming.

6 Inglourious Basterds

This Quentin Tarantino gem was the director’s highest-grossing film at the time of its release in 2009. However, it was surpassed by Django Unchained in 2012 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2019. Unsurprisingly, audiences and critics loved Inglourious Basterds, and it ended up receiving eight Academy Award nominations.

Tarantino started on the script for Inglourious Basterds in 1998, but it was shelved because he had to work on Kill Bill and Death Proof. The inspiration to finish the script came from an unlikely avenue in the form of Jason Mraz. Apparently, Tarantino listened to Mraz’s “I’m Yours” on repeat to keep him settled enough to continue writing.

The title of the movie is deliberately misspelled to distinguish it from the 1974 war film, The Inglorious Bastards. Also, Adam Sandler was originally given the role of Donny Donowitz, but he soon dropped out to make Funny People instead.^[5]

Top 10 Wild Facts About Iconic War Films

5 Dunkirk

There is a lot more to the movie Dunkirk than the fact that Harry Styles stars in it.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film portrays the Dunkirk evacuation during World War II. It received eight Academy Award nominations and won three. It was also a huge success at the box office, earning the title of highest-grossing World War II film.

To keep the movie as authentic as possible, it was shot in Dunkirk, France, where the real-life event took place. Nolan ensured that he would carry through the accuracy by reconditioning actual warships, including French Navy destroyer Maille-Breze. Instead of CGI, he used cardboard cutouts of soldiers and vehicles as well as 325 extras.^[6]

And yes, the fact that Harry Styles was on set filming caused problems. Not only did he reportedly always have his own bodyguard around but female fans also invaded the set at any given time just to see Styles in person.

4 Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is a Francis Ford Coppola classic that starred heavy hitters Marlon Brando and Robert Duvall. Even though it got mixed reviews at first, the film received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival before being released in August 1979.

Today, the movie is considered one of the best films ever made. It was even selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Coppola almost wasn’t the director as George Lucas was going to shoot the film as a faux documentary. However, Lucas was too busy with Star Wars and American Graffiti, so he handed the reins to Coppola.

As Apocalypse Now is a war movie, several scenes depict dead bodies. However, one of the props managers on set took things a little too far in his quest to make these scenes look authentic. He sourced human cadavers but was forced to stop after it was revealed that his “supplier” was robbing cemeteries to provide the “stock.”

Also in the name of authenticity, the water buffalo slaughter in the film was all too real. This irked animal rights groups. They didn’t care that the production team had struck a deal with locals that included the tribe’s slaughter of a water buffalo (which had been given to them as a gift) in exchange for the rights to film on their land.^[7]

3 The Thin Red Line

Terrence Malick hadn’t made a film in 20 years when he returned to direct The Thin Red Line. He must have been happy that he did because the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Also, Martin Scorsese said that it was his second-favorite film of the 1990s.

The movie stars a host of big names, including George Clooney, John Travolta, Woody Harrelson, Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, and many more. The role of Private Witt went to Jim Caviezel but was highly sought after by Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and Matthew McConaughey. During the making of the film, some of the lead roles were reduced to smaller characters, including those of Adrien Brody and John C. Reilly.^[8]

Being cautious and indecisive, Malick took over a year to cast all the roles. Supposedly, high-profile actors such as Depp, Pitt, and McConaughey weren’t given parts because Malick wanted fans to believe in the characters and not simply watch the film for its stars.

2 Midway (1976)

The original Midway film, released in 1976, stars Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda. The movie chronicles the drama of a US Navy aviator falling in love with a Japanese girl while leading up to the Battle of Midway. A remake of the film saw the light in 2019.

When the original was released, it became the tenth biggest movie of 1976. (Some sources list it as the ninth biggest film of the year.) In either case, the magic of Sensurround drew crowds to movie theaters. Sensurround used low-frequency Cerwin-Vega speakers that created a “rumbling” sound during battle scenes and seemingly made the entire theater vibrate. It was used for the last time during screenings of Rollercoaster by Universal in 1977.

Made even more exciting by Sensurround, the battle scenes were actually all recycled footage from other films. Scenes were licensed from 1970’s Tora! Tora! Tora!, 1960’s Storm Over the Pacific, 1956’s Away All Boats, and 1944’s Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.

Some of the cast were actual World War II veterans, including Fonda, Heston, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, and Cliff Robertson.^[9]

1 1917

The World War I experiences of director Sam Mendes’s paternal grandfather served as the inspiration for 1917, which was released in 2019. Alfred H. Mendes, a lance corporal at age 17, was tasked with carrying messages across no man’s land.

Many of 1917’s scenes were set in trenches. As a result, the production team dug almost 1.6 kilometers (1 mi) of trenches to get their geography right. Although many technical difficulties had to be overcome during shooting, one of the most annoying issues was a cigarette lighter that just wouldn’t ignite when it was needed during a scene. Almost an entire day’s filming was wasted due to the difficult lighter.

Here’s one of the ickiest details about the filming of 1917. At least 100 extras urinated on a nearby tree simply because the available toilets were so far away from the set. George MacKay, the star of the film, had to sit under that tree with his head against it to shoot the final scene of the movie.^[10]

10 Common Things You Get Wrong About War (Thanks To Hollywood)

For the Vikings, reputation was the most important thing in life. In their eyes, a person’s deeds were the only thing that survived them long after they were gone, so they loved to celebrate the actions of their ancestors and friends while trying to make a name for themselves personally, whether that be by exploring, conquering, raiding, or patronizing the people who wrote the songs: the skalds.

As such, we thought that a list retelling the grandest deeds of the Viking kings would be a great way to celebrate them (and to bring some entertainment value). After all, it’s what they would have wanted. Here, we learn about ten Viking kings and their epic deeds.

10 Harald Fairhair, The First King Of Norway

Any list covering the greatest achievements of the Viking kings wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Harald Fairhair.^[1] Despite his pseudo-mythical status, most historians now believe that Fairhair did exist but that his exploits were probably not as dramatic as the sagas make them out to be. He was likely a petty king in Southwest Norway who was able to subjugate his neighbors and rule over a large portion of what is now modern Norway.

According to the sagas, the Battle of Hafrsfjord was a crucial moment for Harald’s young kingdom. Dated to sometime between 870 and 900, it was a large battle by contemporary standards and involved many of the petty kings of Norway. The only king mentioned in a source from the time of the battle was Kjovte the Rich, who supposedly fled after Harald’s victory, leaving many of his men to die. The place believed to be the site of the battle is now marked by the Swords in Rock, three 10-meter-tall (33 ft) monuments which represent Harald and the kings he defeated.

Following Hafrsfjord, Harald established the most influential power bloc in Norway, from which he and his successors were able to exert pressure on their neighbors and ultimately form the Kingdom of Norway, which exists to this day.

9 Rurik, The Founder Of Russia

The Rurikid dynasty was one of the longest-reigning lineages in human history: They were kings in Russia from the depths of the Viking age to the reign of Ivan the Terrible centuries later. And it was founded by a Viking.^[2]

The Primary Chronicle of Russia, which was assembled in 1113 from a collection of earlier pieces, tells us the story of Russia’s beginnings. According to the Chronicle, the Slavic people who lived in modern-day Ukraine and Russia invited Rurik and his two brothers to rule over them, thinking they would bring law and order to the tribes. They clearly accepted, but Rurik’s brothers died shortly after, leaving him to rule alone.

In the past, some historians questioned the authenticity of the story told in the Chronicle, but most now accept it as fact. Rurik was a Varangian, warriors who served the Byzantine emperor as their personal bodyguard (and who were nearly all Norse), so he would have been well-respected. There is also evidence of significant Viking influence in the area of modern-day Russia and Ukraine: When Harald Hardrada lost the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, he fled to stay with family in Kiev. The Vikings also had trade routes across Europe, from Baghdad and beyond to the coast of Spain, so it’s not unreasonable to expect the warriors and traders who crossed from Scandinavia to Greece and the Middle East to settle down along the way. Odinist symbols and Scandinavian blacksmithing tools dating back to the Viking age, among other items, have been found in Lagoda and Novgorod, which suggests there was at least some Norse influence in the region, and the Arab traveler Ahmad ibn Fadlan encountered Viking tribes while journeying through the lands of the Rus.

Either way, Rurik was a member of the Norse Varangian Guard who established a small kingdom in modern-day Russia, and his descendants (who were raised as Slavs) continued his legacy, remaining kings and princes in the area until 1612, which is no mean feat.

8 Eric Bloodaxe, The Last King Of Northumbria

Most of us have heard of Eric Bloodaxe, the last Viking king of Northumbria. Beyond his name, however, most of us know little about him, but we assume he must’ve been a great Viking to have earned the nickname “Bloodaxe.”

In fact, the name more likely comes from the connotation of “blood” meaning “family” or “brotherhood,” so an equally accurate translation could be “brotheraxe” or “familyaxe.” This nickname makes sense when we learn that he killed five of his brothers in order to win the throne of Norway!^[3]

He only ruled in Scandinavia for a short time before he was deposed by his last remaining brother, fleeing to Britain without a fight. Why he gave up his kingdom so easily we’ll probably never know, but it might have been because he saw a brighter future for himself in the British Isles. If he did, he wasn’t wrong, because he was easily able to assert control over the kingdom of Northumbria and rule it undisputed until his death in 954.

7 Sictric Caech And The Battle Of Islandbridge

The Vikings have a long history in Ireland—the city of Dublin was actually founded by Vikings to serve as a commercial center for their slave trade. Their actual influence in Inner Ireland ebbed and flowed over the years, and in 902, they were forced out of Dublin by a united army of several Irish kings. Sictric Caech was one of these Vikings.

At first, he went on to rule a small kingdom in the Danelaw, but the Anglo-Saxons had conquered most of the Danelaw by 918 and driven most of the Vikings out of England. Following this, Sictric returned to Ireland, this time at the head of an army. They won some early battles with the Irish kings and staked out a small claim for themselves, but the war was far from conclusive.

Things came to a head at the Battle of Islandbridge in 919.^[4] The Irish king Niall Glundub led a coalition of Northern Irish kings to drive the Vikings back out. Sictric and his army met them on the way. The battle was a crushing victory for Sictric, with five Irish kings and the High King of Ireland himself meeting their ends in the bloodbath. Sictric reigned as the undisputed king of Dublin for another three years, after which he seems to have returned to England by his own choice.

6 Sweyn Forkbeard And The Conquest Of England

Sweyn Forkbeard became the first Viking king of all England in 1013, though he only reigned for five weeks before his death—not long enough to even be officially crowned.^[5]

But it is the reasoning behind his invasion that makes him a truly respectable Viking king.

By Sweyn’s time, the Vikings had lived in England for nearly 200 years but had never managed to conquer the entire kingdom. They ruled the northeastern half of England as the Danelaw until the end of Eric Bloodaxe’s reign in 954, when they were driven out. People of Viking descent continued to live in England, however, and the Viking kings across the sea continued to have an interest in their people.

So when the English king ordered the mass slaughter of Vikings living in England in 1002, Sweyn planned his revenge. While he’d been raiding the English coast on and off for a decade or so, now he mustered an invasion force. They landed in 1003, causing widespread destruction and pillaging much of the country in revenge. Ethelred the Unready was forced to pay Sweyn a ludicrous amount of silver to stop the latter from burning his kingdom.

But ten years later, Sweyn was back, this time with an army big enough to seize England. They landed in Kent and rampaged through the countryside, soon reaching London. The English earls, fearing another drawn-out war and already skeptical of their own king, drove Ethelred into exile and declared Sweyn king of England.

While Sweyn’s reign didn’t last long, it did pave the way for another Viking invasion, this one much more permanent.

5 King Cnut And The North Sea Empire

With Sweyn’s death, his son Cnut was left in charge of his father’s army in England. The English lords, however, chose to bring Ethelred back, and Cnut fled to Denmark.

He immediately set about raising a larger army and even asked his brother (and rival), the king of Denmark, for warriors to help him. Poles, Swedes, and Norwegians flocked to his banner, drawn by the promise of loot. Cnut landed in Wessex in 1015 at the head of 10,000 men and laid waste to the country, conquering from Cornwall to Northumbria.^[6]

But London remained defiant under the leadership of the newly chosen English king, Edmund Ironside. The armies of the two kings met at the Battle of Assandun (usually accepted to be modern-day Ashington), where Cnut won a close-fought engagement. English resistance crumbled.

By 1018, Cnut was also king of Denmark following the death of his brother, and he finally conquered Norway in 1028, after years of conflict with various Scandinavian lords. Though they’d originally fought against him, the English were remarkably loyal to Cnut during his reign; he spent much of his 20-year tenure putting down rebellions or fighting enemies in his homeland, leaving England to be governed by his allies, and by his death, nearly all the men on his council were English.

Cnut became one of the most powerful kings in Europe, meeting with the pope and the emperor of Germany on several occasions and fostering economic links between his three kingdoms. While his empire broke apart on his death, he seems to have made little effort in his life to see it continue, abandoning Norway to rebels in the final years of his reign and leaving Denmark to his son Harthacnut and England to his other son, Harold Harefoot. The union of the three kingdoms made Cnut the most powerful king in Europe at the time, however, and his descendants would repeatedly try (and fail) to recreate his successes.

4 Harald Bluetooth’s Ring Fortresses

Before Cnut and Sweyn, however, someone had to turn Denmark into the strong, centralized state that it had to be to go toe-to-toe with England. This king was Harald Bluetooth, Sweyn’s father and long-reigning king of Denmark.

Not all Viking strength came from conquest. Over the course of his 30-year reign, Harald transformed Denmark from a political backwater into a strong medieval state. Harald’s plans for creating a centralized government are best summed up by his Trelleborg ring forts: fortresses built across Danish territory, centered at the fort at Aarhus, in the geographical center of the region. Each one was built to exact standards, with four gates (each facing one of the compass points), a tall wall and ditch around the outside, and an open courtyard with administrative buildings in the middle.^[7] These would have served as both tax collection points and places for Danish kings to muster their armies, laying the groundwork for the conquests of his son and grandson.

The fortresses were all built in locations that were close to the sea, but far enough from it to be safe from sea raids, and alongside Viking land routes, where they would have been both well-connected and highly visible, a powerful symbol of the king’s authority. Their sites seem to have been meticulously chosen to efficiently defend and control the people of Denmark, which was no doubt at the forefront of Bluetooth’s mind after the history of wars in Norway and his father’s difficult reign.

Unfortunately for him, the ultimate threat came from within, when his son Sweyn forcibly deposed him.

3 Harald Hardrada And The Destruction Of Heidaby

Harald Hardrada (Hard-Ruler) is famous in history for being one of the last Viking kings and for unsuccessfully trying to seize the throne of England by force—losing the crucial Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 to Harold Godwinson, which paved the way for William the Conqueror’s ultimate victory.^[8]

This battle, however, came at the end of a long and distinguished Viking career which had taken Harald all around the known world, from Norway to Sicily and Palestine, over the course of 30 years. Perhaps his greatest (or worst) feat was the destruction of Heidaby. Heidaby was a Norse town at the base of Jutland with trade connections across the northern world: It rose to prominence in the late 700s and became the most important town in the Western Viking world.

Harald, who was king of Norway at the time, was trying to subdue Denmark and add it to his realm, and he sought to weaken Denmark by raiding its coast. His campaign took him to Heidaby, which refused to willingly submit to him. In response, he drove burning ships into the harbor, setting it alight. The flames spread rapidly across the whole town. Snorri Sturlason writes that Harald’s men sang: “All Heidaby is burned down! Strangers will ask where stood the town. In our wild humor up it blazed, and Svein looks round him all amazed,” (albeit in Old Norse, of course).

The town of Heidaby never recovered and fell from importance. It was finally brought to an end by a Slavic raid in 1066, which wiped it off the map for good.

2 Sweyn II Of Denmark And The Last Viking Invasion Of England

The death of Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 is usually considered the end of the Viking age, and many people call Hardrada the last Viking king. The truth is hardly ever that simple, however.

Following William’s conquest of England, the Godwin family were deposed but not defeated. They continued to harass the new kingdom from the sea, and in 1069, Sweyn II of Denmark decided to back one of the Anglo-Saxon pretenders.^[9] Why he did so is not 100-percent clear, but it may have been related to his lifelong rivalry with Hardrada. After all, Hardrada had died trying to seize England, so what better way to one-up your rival once and for all than to succeed where he failed?

Sweyn was successful, too, seizing a good portion of Northern England and holding it from William, but in true Viking fashion, he was ready to seize the advantage and turned on his Anglo-Saxon ally when William offered to pay him a large sum of money to go back to Denmark; without Sweyn’s support, the rebellion crumbled, and England remained Norman. The Vikings were never able to conquer England again.

1 Olaf III, The Last Viking King

This brings us to our last epic Viking king, and the man who some consider the real last Viking king, Olaf III—who was known as Olaf the Peaceful. While not as warlike or bloodthirsty as the other Viking leaders on this list, Olaf was a great politician who effectively created the modern state of Norway.^[10]

Olaf may have been swayed by his involvement in his father Harald’s invasion of England in 1066. While he was not present at the battle where his father died—he remained with the ships—he was a great proponent of peace during his reign, and Norway didn’t go to war for a quarter of a century, putting him at stark contrast with his father, who was always either adventuring or trying to expand his domains.

Olaf deliberately transformed Norway into a more “normal” continental European country: he drew the Norwegian church into line with the pope’s teachings and reorganized the dioceses of Norway, and it’s also believed he was the first Viking king who learned to read. He built a European-style court around himself, introducing medieval aristocratic culture to Norway. During his reign, urban growth flourished, and the town of Bergen was founded, which went on to become the capital of medieval Norway. Many Norwegian laws were officially put down in writing for the first time in Olaf’s reign.

The Vikings are remembered for being some of the most powerful warriors in history who sailed the open sea to conquer new lands. They believed in gods and goddesses, all of which deeply influenced their lifestyle. For the Vikings, they were never forced to pray to any particular god or goddess. Most people would gravitate toward their favorite god and pray to the ones whose personalities resonated with them the most.

Norse mythology is strange, to say the least, and it’s full of interesting characters. The Vikingsnever wrote their history down, so the stories were passed along by word of mouth. So we may never know the original stories told of the Norse gods, but that won’t stop us from learning about these fascinating tales of magic, power, and scandal…

Freya

Goddess of beauty, love, sex, and fertility. Conversely, Freya (or Freyja) is also often associated with war and death. She was known for being a free spirit who slept around with a lot of the gods, including Odin. Freya lives her best life as an independent woman riding around on a chariot pulled by cats.

Freya rules over the 9th realm called Folkvangr, which is considered to be a beautiful version of the afterlife set aside for civilians, whereas the brave Viking warriors got to spend their time with Odin in Valhalla.

Balder

Balder (or Baldr, or Baldur) is the son of Odin and Frigg, and is the god of light, joy, and innocence… So, basically, he was the Norse version of Mr. Rogers. As you might imagine, he isn’t actually very powerful, because you can’t weaponize love and happiness, unless you’re a Care Bear. Either way, humans loved Balder. But since people love to talk about death and destruction far more than rainbows and kittens, most stories about Balder are about the way he died.

Balder kept having nightmares about his death, so his mother, Frigg, made it so that no living creature could harm a hair on his head. The other gods didn’t mind that she was the helicopter parent of the century. They thought this was great, actually, because it meant they could stab Balder and throw things at him without fear of actually killing him.

Loki was very jealous of this immortality, so he transformed into Balder and appeared before Frigg, asking if there was any kind of loophole that would kill him. She told him that mistletoe would do him in. So Loki found some mistletoe, and tricked Balder’s disabled brother, Hod, into throwing mistletoe at him. Hod assumed it would just bounce off like everything else he lobbed at Balder’s head, but the mistletoe pierced his heart.

Frigg

Wife of Odin, Frigg is the goddess of motherhood and marriage. However, you may remember that we mentioned that Freya and Odin had a fling. Well, don’t worry, Frigg got her revenge by sleeping with Odin’s brothers, Ve and Vili. Frigg resides in the hall called Fensalir, and is often depicted sitting by her husband’s side. She has the power to see anyone’s future, but unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to stop Loki from killing her son.

Many scholars believe that Freya and Frigg both originate from the same story of just one female goddess, and the stories were split apart at some point in history. This would actually make a lot of sense, considering that Freya is the ruler of another afterlife, just like Odin.

Loki

Loki is the son of a frost giant (yeah, the movies were accurate there), and the trickster god. Loki gets into a lot of trouble, and tangles webs of his misdeeds. Any time Loki sees something going well for other people, he can’t help by try to ruin their lives out of jealousy. He pops up in story after story, kind of like every supervillain in a ’90s cartoon (or, ya know… an entire cinematic universe… ). However, whenever he screws something up, he is forced by threats of violence until he fixes the problems he created in the first place. He becomes a catalyst for change in the otherwise peaceful lives of the gods.

Loki fathers several monstrous creatures, and even once gave birth to an 8-legged horse, and gave it to Odin as a present. He is also the father of the goddess named “Hel.” As her name suggests, she is the ruler of the underworld. You may remember her from Thor: Ragnarok being portrayed as his sister, Hela, however. So… they were a little less accurate on that one.

Tyr

Before Odin came on the scene, the god Tyr was one of the earlier figures in Norse mythology as the god of war. In Roman mythology, there are similar stories told of Tyr’s conquests, only they change his name to the god “Mars.”

As you might imagine, Tyr is always incredibly brave, and he once saved the word from a giant wolf creature named Fenrir. This was an abomination fathered by Loki and a frost giant. Ugh, Loki. Are there any shenanigans to which he won’t get up?

Anyway, Tyr used magical cord to bind Fenrir’s legs, and he put his hand into the wolf’s mouth as a sign of trust and good faith. However, once Fenrir realized that Tyr had trapped him forever, he bit off his hand. On the day of Ragnarok, or the Apocalypse, Tyr was supposed to guard the gates of Hell, and he fulfilled his duties by holding a spear of justice in his one good hand.

Sif

Sif is like the Norse version of “Mother Earth,” and she is the beautiful blonde wife of Thor. If you’re a fan of the MCU, you may know her as part of “Lady Sif and the Warriors Three” but… well, that’s not exactly how things shake out for her in actual mythology. Again, no one likes to talk about stories of singing to birds and planting trees, so everyone always talks about the day Loki gave her a bad haircut.

Loki got jealous of how fabulous Sif looked, so decided to chop her hair off until she was completely bald. Tragically, not everyone can pull off a bald head as well as Simon Whistler, so Thor threatened to kill Loki if he didn’t fix it. Loki had to get the help of magical dwarves who crafted magical, glowing gold hair that now grew naturally out of Sif’s head.

Bragi

God of poetry and wisdom, Bragi is yet another one of Odin’s sons. He is known for taking a cup and speaking some inspirational words. If you need a best man to give a great toast you at your wedding, Bragi’s your guy.

They say that Bragi’s tongue was covered in Norse runes that gave him the power to always say the most eloquent words. He supposedly gave the power of art and poetry to human beings. There was a tradition to drink out of “The Cup of Bragi” when a king died, and words were said in his honor.

Forseti

Forseti is the son of Balder, the god of rainbows and cupcakes we mentioned earlier in this list. It would seem that Foresti didn’t take after his dad’s carefree spirit so much, and he decided to practice law, instead. As the Norse god of justice, Foresti acts as the judge in serious matters in Asgard. Kind of like Judge Judy, but with a much smaller paycheck and — we’re just guessing here — much worse television ratings.

He lives in a giant courthouse called Glitner that shines with golden pillars and silver ceilings. Forseti acts like the mediator and listens to the arguments between the gods, and makes the final decision of who is right and wrong.

Odin

Odin is the chief god in Norse mythology, and he is often called the “father of the gods.” From his throne in the world of Valhalla, Odin can witness what happens in all 9 worlds of the universe. He only needs wine to survive, so he drinks it all day, every day. Kind of like your Aunt Kathy.

Odin sends his pet ravens to spy on the world and bring him news and secrets, and he also has two loyal wolves who protect him. His weapon of choice is a spear called “Gungnir,” which is guaranteed to never miss its target.

Aside from being a powerful warrior, Odin is known for his wisdom. He hung himself on the World Tree with his own spear for 9 days, in order to gain an immense amount of knowledge through powerful songs and runes. We won’t judge but, like… he could have just used Wikipedia.

Thor

Last and certainly not least, we have the god of thunder, Thor. With red hair and glowing eyes, Thor is known for being one of the most powerful gods. He’s also said to be nearly as handsome as Chris Hemsworth. Thor was also one of the most popular for the Vikings, by far, because he would supposedly answer their prayers without requiring any kind of human sacrifice.

Thor carries his mighty hammer, “Mjolnir,” which comes to him when he calls, and he also has a belt that doubles his strength. His power allows him to channel thunder at will while he rides along in his goat-drawn chariot with his furry friends named Gap-Tooth and Tooth Grinder.