Editing Æsir (section)

====Proposed origins of a distinction with Vanir====
Despite the inclusion of at least some of the Vanir within the Æsir, some scholars have argued that some differences between the two groups remain, such as the Vanir appearing to have mainly been connected with cultivation and fertility and the Æsir with power and war. Conversely, it has been argued that this division of domains is not reflected in the sources, with the Vanir being instead more associated with kingship and the Æsir with creation.{{sfn|Frog|2021|p=143}}

One idea is that the Vanir (and the fertility cult associated with them) may be more archaic than that of the more warlike Æsir, such that the mythical war may mirror a half-remembered religious conflict. This argument was first suggested by Wilhelm Mannhardt in 1877.{{full citation|date=April 2025}}{{efn|{{harvp|Mannhardt|1877}}{{full citation|date=April 2025}} is described in {{harvp|Dumézil|1973|p={{mvar|xxiii}} }} and {{harvp|Munch|n.d.|p=288}}.{{full citation|date=April 2025}} }} On a similar note, [[Marija Gimbutas]] argues that the Æsir and the Vanir represent the displacement of an indigenous group by a tribe of warlike Indo-European invaders as part of her [[Kurgan hypothesis]].{{sfn|Gimbutas|Dexter|2001}} Another historical theory is that the inter-pantheon interaction may be an [[apotheosis]]ation of the conflict between the [[Roman Kingdom]] and the [[Sabines]].{{sfn|Turville-Petre|1975|p=161}} Given the difference between their roles and emphases, some scholars have speculated that the interactions between the Æsir and the Vanir reflect the types of interaction that were occurring between social classes (or clans) within Norse society at the time.{{sfn|Dumézil|1973|pp=3-4,18}}{{sfn|Turville-Petre|1975|pp=159-162}}

Finally, the noted comparative religion scholar [[Mircea Eliade]] speculated that this conflict is actually a later version of an [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Indo-European myth]] concerning the conflict between and eventual integration of a pantheon of sky/warrior/ruler gods and a pantheon of earth/economics/fertility gods, with no strict historical antecedents.{{sfn|Eliade|1996|loc=Section II (30)}}{{sfn|Turville-Petre|1975|p=162}}{{efn| "In one civilization, and at one time, the specialized gods of fertility might predominate, and in another the warrior or the god-king. The highest god owes his position to those who worship him, and if they are farmers, he will be a god of fertility, or one of the Vanir".{{sfn|Turville-Petre|1975|p=162}}
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