Primordial gods of ancient German nature cultures include Earth Goddess Erde, Nerthe, Nerthus; and Sky God Ziu. Many of the myths of Germania are lost to the fogs of time. Sonne the Sun Goddess took her place in the sky, created by fires of the Earth and cosmic forces. Her brilliance is so intense a person can go blind looking her in the eye.
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Earth and Sky Gods are common to the mythology of many cultures. The Cult of the Sun in Egypt is the first evidence of solar worship.
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Sun Worship - Cult of the Sun
Evidence of agriculture goes as far back as 4700 - 4600 BCE to Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. With the Sun a central figure in the abundance of the land and progression of seasons, she achieves recognition as a major deity. Among the tribes of early history the Sun is almost always female. The people invoke her warmth and nurturing nature, and try to minimize her powers of destruction.
In the Bronze Age, about 3300 BCE, the vast forests and snowy slopes are home to Proto-Indo-European tribes south of the Danube and a matriarchal agriculture-based people. By 500 BCE the Celts had arrived. Eventually some tribes would scatter throughout continental Europe while others head for Britain or North Africa.
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During the Bronze Age the first signs of trade appear in the Mediterranean. Early Greek myths came into being. Advances in civilization grew in Denmark, Sweden and Norway and the science and lore of metallurgy flourished. The primary being of worship across cultures was the Sun Goddess.
She's depicted by herself or as a couple with moon or sky. The earliest evidence of Sun worship, veneration of the sun or the sun as deity, is 14th century BCE Egypt with the Cult of Aten. A Sun God, Aten is represented by a solar disc. Some historians suggest he's an aspect of Ra. Although his cult didn't last through the centuries, he's responsible for the earliest of Sun myths and dedicated worship of the Sun.
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Gods of Earth and Sky
The first indication of Germanic people occupying the region of future Deutschland was evidence of the Jastorf culture of the late Iron Age. The Jastorf inhabited Denmark, the southern Scandinavian peninsula and north Germany from the 6th to 1st centuries BCE. They expanded to the border of the Celtic tribes to the south.
Around 400 BCE the Celtic tribes vacated in search of greener pastures, and the Germans filled the vacuum left by their departure. From that time, a common culture grew around the Germanic animist perspective. Everything has a spirit or life essence, and the spirits can communicate with humans. The Earth Mother is a common element in mythology across tribes and cultures.
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Her name is die Erde (Earth) in German, as the elemental power of the the Earth. The pronoun 'die' (pr. dee), is female. A Mother Goddess, she's also called Nerthe, Erthe or Nerthus. The Mother Goddess relates to fertility, nurturing, abundance of the earth, good fortune and health.
Blood Sacrifice
In the mystic forests of Germania, the Celts paid homage to Protector God Toutatis and Earth Mother, Matrona. Each family or tribe had its own version but the elemental gods were common to general myth. Blood sacrifice was given these gods for good weather, protection and fertility of the Earth.
The Sky God of the Celts, Taranus, first appears in 48 BCE. Evidence of his culture exists in Britain, Gaul, Hispania and parts of the Danube and Rhineland regions in Germania. According to the poet Lucan sacrificial offerings were made to both Taranus and Toutatis.
Lucan was the grandson of Seneca the Elder, nephew of Seneca the Younger. In Rome he was a friend of the Emperor Nero, receiving properties and admiration. Later they became bitter enemies.
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Blood sacrifice was indeed practiced by pagan tribes including the Celts and Germans and widely discussed in Imperial Rome. It made great dinner conversation. One purpose of blood sacrifice for fertility was to increase the fecundity of the Earth by dousing it with blood, the essence of life itself.
In Northern Scandinavia live the Sámi people. Reference to the Sámi arises in the Germanica of Taticus 98 CE although their ancestors first arrived in the area in 8100 BCE. They paid homage to Beaivi, goddess of the Sun, spring, and sanity. She relates to fertility of plants and animals, particularly reindeer. Beaivi made plants grow so reindeer flourished and reproduced, and brought prosperity to the people.
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On the Winter Solstice, the people sacrifice a white female reindeer or other animals to honor Beaivi. For her festival the meat of the sacrificed animals was tied to sticks, and the sticks were bent into a circle or wreath.
Other reasons for blood sacrifice include good fortune and appeasement of the Gods. Sacrifices range from chicken to human. Blood sacrifice of humans is first described in ancient China and had equivalents in North America, Africa, Europe and most other parts of the world. In Japan, maidens were once buried alive beneath pillars for spiritual fortification of buildings.
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New Mythologies
With the advent of Classical Antiquity (8th century BCE - 5th century CE) blood sacrifice began to fall out of favor. Christianity starts to spread in 47 CE with Apostle Paul preaching in Rome. Civilized Romans abhorred the idea of barbaric blood sacrifice, although entertainment to the death at arenas such as the Colosseum (built 1st century CE) falls under the definition.
In the 1st to 3rd century CE the Suebi people migrated from northern climes to southern Germany, where they're known today as Swabian. With the Alemanni tribes they settled in the area of the Upper Rhine and upper Danube.
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In the Thuringian Forest of central Germania, a decisive battle of 9 CE prevented the Romans from conquering the lands. In 410, Alaric, king of the Visigoths, sacked Rome in a three-day looting and pillaging spree. By 476 CE Rome had fallen to barbarian hordes. Christianity marched through the rubble to explore and convert un-Romanized regions.
Another culture was spreading from the shores of the Baltic and North Sea, from Denmark and the Netherlands up into southern Scandinavia. By the end of Classical Antiquity a distinctive Norse mythology was under way, with the first mention of the God Odin in 5th century CE.
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About three hundred years later, the Age of Vikings began. The first written account of a Viking raid comes from an abbey in the north of England in 793 CE. The Norsemen honored the female Sun Goddess Sól, and brought with them a distinct mythology.
By the end of the eighth century, the Old Gods of Germania had been through a grinder of multiple influences. Nonetheless those we find remain true to their nature.