In Valhalla he has a table separate from the Einheriar, but he lives only on wine; and the meats set before him he distributes to two wolves which stand by his side. These are _Geri_ the devouring, and _Freki_ the fierce. He learns all that passes on earth, without the trouble of ascending Lidskialf[53], by means of two ravens, which leave Asgard at daybreak, and at dinner time return, to perch on his shoulders, and whisper into his ear all that they have seen. These ravens are—Observation and Memory; both presents from the enchantress Hulda. Hence he is called the raven god. These mythi are for the most part sufficiently obvious. Frigga is a personification of the earth; while Odin himself, in his character of chief god, may represent heaven. Heaven and earth give origin to—thunder (Thor), the summer-sun (Balder), the swift messenger (Hermod), the hospitable board (Braga), and the undaunted defender of nature (Tyr). Skada, the daughter of the giant Thiasse, and a nymph of the mountains, is a personification of the spring winds; but we cannot see the import of the mythos—if, indeed, there were any intended—in regard to Semming. Why Vidar should be the offspring of Grydur is equally dark; but there is propriety enough in making the frost (Rinda) the mother of barrenness. The two wolves at Odin’s side denote his ferocity as the god of battles; and the two ravens, memory and observation, explain his knowledge of the past and present. To that of the future this god had no pretensions; this was reserved to the Norny Skulda, and to a few of the Valas, or prophetesses. Immediately dependent on Odin—the ministers of his will as the god of war—were the three Valkyrs, or choosers of the slain. They also administer to the slain at his banquet.