Uploaded June 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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In traditions around the world we see the same mythological trope of a god disguised as a beggar so that he can test mortals. Very often this is based on a moral that one should uphold the ancient tradition of honouring the guest in one's home. The myths usually show the god, who can be Zeus, Shiva, or Odin, punishing the mortals who fail to show them proper hospitality when they visit. What lessons can pagans learn from these myths?

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Art:
Christian Sloan Hall
deathlord.co.uk
Christopher Steininger
shop.smiletitans.com
Ryan Murray
artofryanmurray.com

Music:
Wolcensmen - Sunne (opening theme)
Halindir - The Weave
Khan Kurra - Little Dragon
Chris Zabriskie - Virtues Inherited, Vices Passed On
Kevin Macleod - Dhaka
Doug Maxwell - Bansure Raga
Sean O Rourke - contentment is wealth
Elegiac - Odinn
Borg - The Conquest of Summer
Torulf - Rite of the heart
Chris Zabriskie - Candlepower

Primary Sources:
Atharvaveda
Heimskringla
Homer, The Odyssey
Ovid, Metamorphoses
Orchard, A., (trans) The Elder Edda (2011)
The Rigveda
Sturluson, S., The Prose Edda
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga
Vidyaranya Swami, Shankara Digvijaya

Secondary Sources:
von Glinski, M. L., Simile and Identity in Ovid's Metamorphoses
Murnaghan, S., Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey

00:00 The beggar as god
00:42 Ancient Greece
08:01 India
13:46 Ireland
14:43 Norse
22:15 Conclusion
23:16 Credits