Woden synonyms

Those offered to Odin (Woden) were generally, if not always, men, from the time of Tacitus onwards.

The Danish king " Scyld Scefing," whose story is told in the opening lines of the poem, and his son Beowulf, are plainly identical with Sceldwea, son of Sceaf, and his son Beaw, who appear among the ancestors of Woden in the genealogy of the kings of Wessex given in the Old English Chronicle.

From Woden also most of the anglo-Saxon royal families traced their descent.

By the Romans he was identified at an early date with Mercurius, whence our name "Wednesday" (Woden's day) as a translation of dies Mercurii.

There is evidence, however, that deities similar to Woden were known to some of the ancient peoples of central Europe, e.g.