In Norse Mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

, Óttar, also known as Óttar the Simple, is a protégé of the goddess Freyja. He appeared in Hyndluljóð

Hyndluljóð

Hyndluljóð or Lay of Hyndla is an Old Norse poem often considered a part of the Poetic Edda. It is preserved in its entirety only in Flateyjarbók but some stanzas are also quoted in the Prose Edda where they are said to come from Völuspá hin skamma.In the poem, the goddess Freyja meets the völva...

 (the Lay of Hyndla), a poem in the Poetic Edda

Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...

. In this tale, Óttar is said to be very pious to the goddesses. He built a shrine of stones, a hörgr

Hörgr

A hörgr or hearg was a type of religious building or altar possibly consisting of a heap of stones, used in Norse paganism...

, and on it made many offerings to Freyja. The goddess answered his prayers and went on a journey to help him find his pedigree. Freyja disguised Óttar as her boar

Boar

Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...

 Hildisvini

Hildisvini

In Norse mythology, Hildisvíni is Freyja's boar which she rides when not using her cat-drawn chariot.It is also said to be Freyja's human lover, Ottar, in disguise, and is the reason why Loki consistently accuses her of being "wanton" by riding her lover in public.It was also the helmet of Áli...

 (the Battle-Swine) and brought him to the giantess Hyndla, a seeress. There, Freyja forced Hyndla to tell Óttar about his ancestors, as well as to give him a memory potion so that he would remember all that he was told.

It has been theorized that the framework of the poem was created for the 12th century poet to produce a list of mythical heroes' names. The poem does not connect much to other poems in the Edda, and is often viewed as a semi-historical work. Viktor Rydberg

Viktor Rydberg

Abraham Viktor Rydberg was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877-1895...

 theorized that Óttar is another spelling of the name Óðr

Óðr

In Norse mythology, Óðr or Óð, sometimes angliziced as Odr or Od, is a figure associated with the major goddess Freyja...

.