ODIN, or OTHIN (O. Norse 66inn)  , the chief god of the Northern pantheon . He is represented as an old man with one eye . Frigg is his wife, and several of the gods, including Thor and Balder, are his sons . He is also said to have been the father of several legendary kings, and more than one princely family claimed descent from him . His exploits and adventures form. the theme of a number of the Eddaic poems, and also of several stories in the prose Edda . In all these stories his character is distinguished rather by wisdom and cunning than by martial prowess, and reference is very frequently' made to his skill in poetry and magic . In Ynglinga Saga he is represented as reigning in Sweden, where he established laws for his people . In notices relating to religious observances Odin appears chiefly as the giver of victory or as the god of the dead . He is frequently introduced in legendary sagas, generally in disguise, imparting secret instructions to his favourites or presenting them with weapons by which victory is assured . In return he receives the souls of the slain who in his palace, Valhalla (q.v.), live a life of fighting and feasting, similar to that which has been their desire on earth . Human sacrifices were very frequently offered to Odin, especially prisoners taken in battle . The commonest method of sacrifice was by hanging the victim on a tree; and in the poem Hdvamdl the god himself is represented as sacrificed in this way .

The

worship of Odin seems to have prevailed chiefly, if not solely, in military circles, i.e. among princely families and the retinues of warriors attached to them . It is probable, however, that the worship of Odin was once common to most of the Teutonic peoples . To the Anglo-Saxons he was known as Woden (q.v.) and to the Germans as Wodan (Wuotan), which are the regular forms of the same name in those languages . It is largely owing to the peculiar character of this god and the prominent position which he occupies that the mythology of the north presents so striking a contrast to that of Greece . See TEUTONIC PEOPLES, ad fin.; and WODEN . (H . M . C.) ODO, or EuDES (d. c . 936), king, or duke, of Aquitaine, obtained this dignity about 715, and his territory included the south-western part of Gaul from the Loire to-the Pyrenees . In 718 he appears as the ally of Chilperic II., king of Neustria, who was fighting against the Austrasian mayor of the palace, Charles Martel; but after the defeat of Chilperic at Soissons in 719 he probably made peace with Charles by surrendering to him the Neustrian king and his treasures . Odo was also obliged to fight the Saracens who invaded the southern part of his kingdom, and inflicted a severe defeat upon them at Toulouse in 721 . When, however, he was again attacked by Charles Martel, the Saracens renewed their ravages, and Odo was defeated near Bordeaux; he was compelled to crave protection from Charles, who took up this struggle and gained his momentous victory at Poitiers in 732 .

In 735 the king abdicated, and was succeeded by his son Hunold .