How Steppe Warlords Became Norse Gods

Woden's Man Podcast | Episode 002

What if the gods of the Norse world were not originally gods at all?

In this episode, we explore an alternative historical framework for understanding the origins of the Æsir. Rather than viewing names such as Odin and the Æsir as creations that emerged entirely within Scandinavia, we examine evidence suggesting that elite titles, ethnonyms, and prestige identities may have traveled across Eurasia long before they entered the world of Norse mythology.

From Central Asia to the Caucasus and eventually into the Baltic world, we follow the persistent appearance of the "As" name cluster and investigate how frontier confederations preserved prestigious identities long after the original peoples disappeared.

The result is a fascinating possibility: that ...