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Odin is a well-known figure in Norse mythology. He was said to travel around in disguises, and his depictions in popular culture are no different. Here's how Odin is depicted in the popular book and TV series American Gods.

American Gods is a 2017 TV show adapted from a 2001 book of the same name by British fantasy author, Neil Gaiman.

It centres on a young man named Shadow Moon, newly released from prison, who accepts a job as a security guard for the mysterious Mr. Wednesday and gets swept up into a hidden battle for survival between the Old Gods and the New Gods.

Note: this article contains spoilers for both the book and the TV series. If you haven't read the book or seen the series, I advise you to stop reading now! The spoilers begin right away…

Watching out for Odin

In , Mr. Wednesday reveals that he is, in fact, Odin, the Norse God of war, poetry, death and knowledge – among other things.

In mythology, Odin likes to travel around in disguises, and his depictions in popular culture are often no different. That said, while his reveal in American Gods is a very impressive moment in the show, it isn鈥檛 too much of a surprise if you know what to look for.

In the same way that (or 鈥淲ally鈥� as he鈥檚 called at home in the UK) can be recognised by his stripey red-and-white shirt, round glasses and bobble hat, no matter how well he hides, Odin has some key features that tend to follow him from story to story, be it in books, art, film or music.

Therefore, we spent the weekend digging through Norse mythology and re-watching American Gods to come up with five things to look out for if you suspect a character is Odin.

1. Count the eyes

We鈥檒l start with one of the biggest giveaways of Odin: the man only has one eye.

In mythology, Odin sacrifices , presumably in exchange for the gift of foresight (ironically enough). His pursuit of knowledge doesn鈥檛 stop there either.

He also , the World Tree, for nine whole days and nights to learn the secrets of the runes.

Neither of those experiences seem particularly enjoyable, and I鈥檓 grateful to live in the 21st century, as I can just google something I don鈥檛 know rather than mutilate myself.

However, losing an eye undoubtedly leaves more of a noticeable physical mark than being hung. I have yet to see a depiction of Odin where he still has both of his eyes.

How this missing eye is shown varies in popular culture. In American Gods, Mr. Wednesday replaces his missing eye with a glass one, while in the 2011 movie , Odin wears a shiny, space-pirate-esque eyepatch, and in the 2013 TV series , he just leaves it as a gaping hole.

Funnily enough, American Gods, Thor and Vikings all show Odin as having sacrificed his right eye.Yet, mythology doesn鈥檛 specify which eye Odin lost, and there鈥檚 plenty of artwork depicting Odin as missing his left eye. 

When in doubt however, if a character is missing either eye, there鈥檚 a good chance that it鈥檚 Odin. 

2. A Wednesday connection

Mr. Wednesday: What鈥檚 today?

Shadow: Wednesday.

Mr. Wednesday: Hmm, today is my day.

– American Gods, Season 1, Episode 1

Odin鈥檚 choice to adopt the alias 鈥淢r. Wednesday鈥� in American Gods isn鈥檛 random. While Odin is predominantly a Norse God, he was also known throughout England and Germany as 鈥淲oden鈥�, 鈥淲odan鈥� or 鈥淰otan鈥�.

The word 鈥淲ednesday鈥� comes from the Old English word: 鈥溾��, which means 鈥淲oden鈥檚 day鈥�. The Norwegian word 鈥淥nsdag鈥� (Wednesday) has the same root, coming from the Old Norse word 鈥溾�� or 鈥淥din鈥檚 day鈥�.

Mr. Wednesday is not the only depiction of Odin to reference the god鈥檚 connection to Wednesday. For example, in Dianna Wynne Jones鈥� fantasy novel , Odin goes by 鈥淢r. Wedding鈥� and specifically enters the story on a Wednesday.听

This strategy could also be used to identify other Norse Gods in hiding, as Odin isn鈥檛 the only 脝sir to have a day named after them. Tyr has a similar relationship to Tuesday, as does Thor to Thursday, and Frigg to Friday.听

However, if someone enters the story on a Monday, Saturday or Sunday, then your guess is as good as mine.

3. The name game

Grimnir is one of Odin鈥檚 more well-known pseudonyms. In fact, in American Gods, Mr. Wednesday is outed as 鈥淕rimnir鈥� long before he reveals he鈥檚 Odin. However, .听

In Gr铆mnism谩l (The Lay of Grimnir), he tells King Geirr枚th that he 鈥渉asn鈥檛 had a single name since he first began travelling among men鈥� (einu nafni h茅tumk aldregi, s铆z ek me冒 folkum f贸r), and provides an extensive – yet by no means complete – , including:

Grim, Grimnir, Gangleri, Herjan, Hjalmberi, Thekk, Thrithi, Thuth, Uth, Helblindi, Hor, Sath, Svipal, Sanngetal, Herteit, Hnikar, Bileyg, Baleyg, Bolverk, – deep breath– Fjolnir, Glapsvith, Fjolsvith, Sithhott, Sithskegg, Sigfather, Hnikuth, Allfather, Valfather, Atrith, Farmatyr, Kjalar, Vithur, Oski, Biflindi, Jafnhor, Omi, Gondlir and Harbarth.

A lot of the names given to Odin in the sagas are kennings. Kennings are used a lot in Old Icelandic and Old English poetry to instead of a name. For example, a kenning for me might be 鈥渢he small, angry one鈥� (especially before my morning coffee) or 鈥渉ater of liquorice鈥�.听

My favourite kenning ever has to be , which means 鈥渨hale鈥�.

Kennings for Odin range from 鈥淗angadr贸ttinn鈥� (鈥淟ord of the Hanged鈥�, for obvious reasons) to 鈥淏谩gi ulfs鈥� (鈥淓nemy of the wolf鈥� – 鈥渢he wolf鈥� here being Fenrir).

However, his most well-known kenning is 鈥淎llfather鈥�. While Odin is by no means the father of everything, or even the father of all the 脝sir, he presumably received this title for his pivotal role in creating the world.听

4. The company he keeps

鈥淗ey,” said Shadow. “Huginn or Muninn, or whoever you are.”

The bird turned, head tipped, suspiciously, on one side, and it stared at him with bright eyes.

“Say ‘Nevermore,'” said Shadow.

“F*ck you,” said the raven.鈥�

– American Gods, Neil Gaiman

Even if Odin has gone completely incognito – maybe he鈥檚 got a really convincing glass eye and adopted the name 鈥淛ohn鈥� – he can still be identified by his companions.

Namely, his two ravens Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory), two wolves Freki and Geri (whose names both translate to 鈥渢he Ravenous One鈥�), and his eight-legged horse Sleipnir (who is actually Loki鈥檚 son). 

The ravens in particular often accompany Odin throughout popular culture. They act as both his spies and his messengers, flying all over the world before returning to him and reporting everything they have seen.

Odin might also be identified via his sons, as he鈥檚 .

In the Poetic Edda, Thor, Baldr, Vidarr and Vali are explicitly named as Odin鈥檚 sons, while the Prose Edda adds more gods to this lineage, including H枚d, Bragi, Hermod, Heimdall and Tyr (although in Hymiskvi冒a, Tyr is said to be ).听

Finally, as a god of war and death, Odin receives half of the souls of those who died in battle. These souls are transported to either Odin鈥檚 hall Valhalla or Freyja鈥檚 home in F贸lkvangr by beautiful, female creatures called the valkyries.

While the valkyries do not serve Odin specifically, their presence means that there is a 50-50 chance of encountering Odin shortly after.

5. Conning a con man

Ian McShane, the actor who plays Mr. Wednesday, describes his character as 鈥溾��. These may seem like unflattering words to describe a god – but it鈥檚 a pretty accurate description of Odin鈥檚 behaviour in Norse mythology.听

Hanging himself on Yggdrasil and poking out his eye may have made Odin extremely cunning and knowledgeable, but it didn鈥檛 make him a good person. As a taster, his actions in the sagas include:

• Stealing the Mead of Poetry from Suttungr by 鈥渟educing鈥� and subsequently abandoning Suttungr鈥檚 daughter, Gunnl枚d ()
• Becoming so jealous when he hears how Freyja got the magical necklace Brisingamen that he gets Loki to steal it and refuses to give it back until she agrees to perform some ridiculous tasks for him ()
• Fathering a child (Vali) with the specific purpose of killing H枚d (his son) for being tricked into killing Baldr (his other son) by Loki ()
• Tricking Fenrir into being bound simply because the 脝sir got scared of how big he was getting (technically this is a group effort, but since Fenrir kills Odin in Ragnarok, it鈥檚 fair to assume that Odin plays a key part in this) ().

Odin often fixates on what he wants and stops at nothing to get it, no matter how taboo his methods.

For example, he practises seid, which is a type of magic brought to the 脝sir by Freyja.

While there were male practitioners, it was considered seid due to its specific association with the feminine.听

In this respect, Odin has a lot in common with his blood brother Loki, who also shows little regard for social norms, particularly in relation to gender.

However, while Loki is often ridiculed, punished and framed in a negative light, Odin seems to be immune to such judgement, and his position as chief of the 脝sir goes unchallenged.

Therefore if you encounter a character that seems clever and charming, yet simultaneously tricky and untrustworthy, there鈥檚 a very high chance that it鈥檚 Odin鈥� or Loki.

The end?

American Gods was , which ended with the apparent death of Mr. Wednesday (an event that happens about halfway through the book).

However, whether Mr. Wednesday actually is dead is left up to debate (unless you鈥檝e read the book). :听

“How do you know he鈥檚 dead? You never know anything with Wednesday. Maybe Wednesday planned the whole thing. Have you thought about that? Knowing Wednesday, that鈥檚 my question. He鈥檚 dead, but how do you know he didn鈥檛 plot it all? Everything鈥檚 coming full circle again.”

American Gods and Mr. Wednesday might have come to an end, but you can still find Odin alive and well in other Old Norse adaptations – and perhaps even other places. It鈥檚 just a matter of knowing where to look.

What do you think of Odin? Do you have a favourite book or series inspired by Norse mythology? Let us know in the comments.