Mani (god)
|
|
In Norse mythology, Mani was the god of the moon and a son of Mundilfari and Glaur. Mani pulled the moon through the sky every night, pursued by the wolf Hati. Lunar eclipses were caused by Hati coming close to catching Mani; children banged pots together and made great noise, hoping to scare Hati away from the moon.
Mani is unusual because lunar deities tend to be female, nearly universally, probably because of the connection between menstruation and the phases of the moon. See also Vidfinn for a hypothesis about the source of the nursery rhyme called Jack and Jill.