By the Gods!

fuckyeahvalhalla:

Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is a cycle of four epic operas (or “dramas” to use the composer’s preferred term) by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813–83). The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied. 

The plot revolves around a magic ring that grants the power to rule the world, forged by the Nibelung dwarf Alberich from gold he stole from the Rhine maidens in the river Rhine. Several mythic figures struggle for possession of the ring, including Wotan (Odin), the chief of the gods. Wotan’s scheme, spanning generations, to overcome his limitations, drives much of the action in the story. His grandson, the hero Siegfried, wins the ring, as Wotan intended, but is eventually betrayed and slain. Finally, the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, Siegfried’s lover and Wotan’s estranged daughter, returns the ring to the Rhine maidens. In the process, the Gods and their home, Valhalla, are destroyed.

painting here