Stora Hammars stones

Similar combinations of death with this erotic symbolism occur on other Gotland rune and image stones.

Depicted on the Stora Hammars I stone are six panels with mythological, religious and martial themes, including panels depicting a woman between two men, a sacrifice scene with a Valknut over an altar, a woman standing between a longship manned with armed warriors and another group of armed men, and a battle scene.

[2] The stone includes an image of a warrior about to be hanged in a tree, possibly as a blood eagle sacrifice,[3] with a nearby Valknut (considered to be Odin's cult symbol) apparently giving validity to reports about this type human sacrifice in Norse paganism.

[5] The Stora Hammars III image stone has four panels, the lower of which shows a ship with warriors.

One of the panels has been interpreted as depicting Odin in the form of an eagle taking the mead of poetry,[6] a legend described in section 6 of the Skáldskaparmál.

The Stora Hammars I image stone.
Detail from Stora Hammars I shows a man lying on his belly with another man using a weapon on his back, a Valknut , and two birds, one of which is held by a man to the right.
Detail from Stora Hammars III showing Odin in his eagle fetch (note the eagle's beard), Gunnlöð holding the mead of poetry, and Suttungr.