Tyr versus Odin

Long before Odin became the Allfather, or the chieftain of the norse pantheon, it was all about Tyr. 'Tyr' in Old Norse means 'god' already hinting to his status as the 'god to rule all other gods'. 'Tyr' (or 'Tiwaz' in proto-germanic) stems from the same proto-indo-european root as, for instance, 'deus' in Latin, or 'zeus' in Ancient Greek.

Some alternative names of Odin also contain the word 'tyr', for example 'Fimbultyr' is one of the many names of Odin, meaning 'Mighty god'.

As a norse pagan, to me the gods are all aspects of both human life and the universe itself. Each characteristic of a god can either be reflected upon as a part of a person's micro-cosmos (mind, body) or a person's macro-cosmos (the Universe). The Edda's can be taken literally but to me they are a way to explain the deeper meaning of our existence.