Odin Consulting, Inc. is named after the Nordic god Odin as a tribute to the Nordic heritage of its founder, Joel Peterson.

According to Norse mythology, Odin was the god of wisdom, poetry, war and death (what a combination) and the king of all gods.

It was Odin who set the lovely goddesses, the Valkyries, to their task of gathering the souls of slain Viking heros in the castle Valhalla to await the final battle against evil at Ragnarok.

Odin made many sacrifices to gain his wisdom including trading one eye for a drink from the well of wisdom (Mímisbrunnr) and hanging for nine days from the world tree to gain immense knowledge. Odin maintained his wisdom and knowledge by dispatching his two ravens Huggin (thought) and Munnin (memory) daily to fly across the world and gather news and information.

Odin was chosen as the namesake for Odin Consulting, Inc. in part because of his role as the god of wisdom but mostly because there are very few Nordic names that are pronounceable and not already being used. In fact, even some of the less pronounceable Nordic names are (or were recently) being used - see Yggdrasil Computing, Inc. named after mythical Yggdrasil, the world tree (a giant ash that links all the worlds).

Learn more about Norse mythology:

Odin links:

• The Odin Page at the Encyclopedia Mythica.
• Wednesday - the day of the week named after Odin.

Norse Mythology Links:

• The Norse Mythology FAQ. - excellent resource for norse mythology.
• Dictionary of Norse Mythology. - good reference.
• Norse Family Tree - traces the norse god lineage all the way to the Kings of England (who claim descent from Odin).