Nordic Mythology III

Day of issue : 27-03-2008
Number in Sheet : 10
Size : 105 x 70 mm
Value : 120 ISK
Printing process : Offset + 1 pantone litur
Printer : Joh. Enschedé
Designer : Hany Hadaya

The old Nordic gods and other supernatural powers inhabited a mythical realm of their own. However, there were certain places in the Nordic landscape where humans could feel their presence more strongly than in other places, for example cult sites, burial grounds, unusual natural formations or mountain areas. Religious rites could take place beside a sacred tree or a burial place, on perilous mountain journeys or at sea, and create meeting points between the human and supernatural worlds. These were special places; they could be experienced as sacred, salutary or dangerous. This is typical of various places in Snæfellsnes where the sorcerer Bárður Snæfellsás is said to have settled in late 9th century A.D.