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132 EELIGiON OF THE NO&THMEN.
of the united powers of Heaven and the Atmosphere.*
Others have referred this contest between
the Msir and the Vanir to a strife between two reli-
gions parties, the Fire-worshipers and Water-wor-
shipers, which •
—
was ' ended by a blending of both
religions; the Water-deities or Yanir, being re-
ceived among the Fire-deities or ^sir, and w5r-
shiped side by side with them.f It might be easier
perhaps to imagine a contest between a wandering,
warlike nation and a peaceful, agricultural, and
sea-faring one, which ended in the union of the two.
The reason why the Yanir were frequently represented
as wise visir Vanir, vis regin—^is unknown.
JSTjorS:]: is the God of the Air and the mild Wind,
and as such, the Patron of Sea-faring and Fishing.
His dwelling is by the sea. in ]Sr6at4n— ^the Shvpmeadow.%
His wife is the Jotun-daughter Ska5il|
the Harm-lrmgmg— ^the Goddess of Winter-storms
* Magnusen; Tranil. O. Edda. I.,p. 114,