The gods:


The Germanic gods consisted of two families; the Ansen and the Wanen (western Germanic), also known as the Aesir and the Vanir (northern Germanic); the Proto-Germanic names for this two families are Ansiwez (singular: Ansuz) and Wenijiz (singular: Weniz), though the exact name for the Wanen family is still debated.
Both families had bloodrelations with the Frost Giants, especially the Ansen; some gods chose Frost Giants as their husbands or wives and most gods were half Giants themselves, this can also be seen in their genealogy:

Genealogy of the Germanic gods

One of the most interesting aspects of the Germanic gods is that they consist of 2 families instead of one, the Ansen; who are believed to have originally been wargods and skygods, and the Wanen; who are without any exception linked to fertility and nature.
If you look at the genealogy list you can clearly see that the Ansen and Wanen are two separate families, one of the (outdated) explanations for this is that the Wanen are the original northern European gods and that the Ansen are Indo-European gods who were added to the pantheon in a later period.
It is true that the Ansen have much in common with the pantheons of other peoples that have been influenced by the Indo-European culture though the theory that the Wanen are the native gods of northern Europe and that the Ansen are the gods of Indo-European invaders is not longer supported by most historians, there are even signs that most Ansen gods are of non-Indo-European origin and that only some aspects of the Indo-European gods were added to them.
There is much debate about the origin of the names of the two divine families; most researchers agree that the Ansen/Aesir are derived from the Proto-Germanic word "Ansuz", which means "divine", or "god", but the origin of the name Wanen/Vanir is still a bit obscure; it is believed to be derived from Proto-Germanic "Weniz" (friend, hope) though there may also be a connection to the word "illusion" (German: "wahn", Dutch: "waan").

It is believed that the ancient Nordic people used to focus their worship on spirits and fertility gods and that the more "specialized" gods like those of war and justice became more important in later periods, the main gods were probably Thunar, Frey, and earthgoddesses like Freya and Holda, the worship of Wodan as the main god is of a younger date and he is believed to have replaced Tiwaz as the high god.
There are reasons to believe that the gods were seen as incarnations of natural powers like rage, destruction, rain, thunder, etc. this also explains their names; the name of the god Wodan originates from Proto-Germanic "Wôdanaz", which was not only the original name of Wodan but also meant "Raging One" or "Furious One" (German:"Wutende", Dutch:"Woedende"), another example is the god Thunar, his original name was "Thunaraz", which means "Thunderer", in the western Germanic languages he was called "Donar" or "Donner", which has much in common with the modern German word for thunder ("donner") and the modern Dutch word ("donder"), the name of Loki (the god of wildfire) means something like "Flame" or "Blazing One".

Near the city of Nordendorf in southern Germany a runic inscription has been found that is believed to contain the names of three gods, it reads:
               
"Logaþore Wodan Wiguþonar Awa leubwini".
  • The word "Logaþore" may refer to the god Loki, who was also called "Logi", literally translated it means "Fire-Giant", which may be a kenning for Loki.
  • The word "Wodan" speaks for itself, it is the name of the high god Wodan/Odin.
  • The word "Wiguþonar" is probably a kenning for the god Thunar (Donar), literally translated it means "Fighting-Thunder".
  • The word "Awa" is a personal name of someone, possibly the person who made the inscription.
  • The word "leubwini" means "dear friend".
    So the entire inscription may mean; "Loki the Giant, Wodan, (and) Fighting-Thunar; Awa (is your) dearest friend."

    The gods were referred to as "the gods" (Proto-Germanic "Gudoz" (pleural) or "Gudaz" (singular)) or they were named by family ("Ansiwez" or "Wenijiz").
    A common name for all the Ansen, Wanen, spirits, and other supernatural beings is believed to have been "Raginaz", which means something like "divine powers" or "council", a later word was "Regin".
    One of the most interesting things about the Regin, (and especially the gods) is that they all have a human side; just like the Greco/Roman gods they sometimes act as humans; fall in love, marry, have children, be sad/angry/happy, etc.
    The Edda contains a text known as the Hávamál (which means;"Song of the High One") in which the god Odin (Wodan) gives advice to the reader, he speaks openly about his feelings and even tells the reader about his love for a Giantess and her rejection:

    Poetic Edda, Hávamál:

    95. Hugur einn það veit
    er býr hjarta nær,
    einn er hann sér um sefa.
    Öng er sótt verri
    hveim snotrum manni
    en sér engu að una.

    96. Það eg þá reynda
    er eg í reyri sat
    og vætta'g míns munar.
    Hold og hjarta
    var mér in horska mær:
    þeygi eg hana að heldur hefi'g.

    97. Billings mey
    eg fan beðjum á
    sólhvíta sofa.
    Jarls yndi
    þótti mér ekki vera
    nema við það lík að lifa.

    98. "Auk nær aftni
    skaltu, Óðinn, koma,
    ef þú vilt þér mæla man.
    Allt eru ósköp
    nema einir viti
    slíkan löst saman."

    99. Aftur eg hvarf
    og unna þóttumst
    vísum vilja frá.
    Hitt eg hugða
    að eg hafa mynda
    geð hennar allt og gaman.

    100. Svo kom eg næst
    að in nýta var
    vígdrótt öll um vakin,
    með brennöndum ljósum
    og bornum viði:
    svo var mér vílstígur of vitaður.

    101. Og nær morgni,
    er eg var enn um kominn,
    þá var saldrótt sofin.
    Grey eitt eg þá fann
    innar góðu konu
    bundið beðjum á.
    95. The mind only knows
    what lies near the heart,
    that alone is conscious
    of our affections.
    No disease is worse to a sensible man
    than not to be content with himself.

    96. That I experienced,
    when in the reeds I sat,
    awaiting my delight.
    Body and soul
    to me was that discreet maiden:
    nevertheless I posses her not.

    97. Billing's lass
    on her couch I found,
    sun-bright, sleeping.
    A prince's joy
    to me seemed naught,
    if not with that form to live.

    98. "Yet nearer eve
    must thou, Odin, come,
    if thou wilt talk the maiden over;
    all will be disastrous,
    unless we alone
    are privy to such misdeed."

    99. I returned,
    thinking to love,
    at her wise desire.
    I thought
    I should obtain
    her whole heart and love.

    100. When next I came
    the bold warriors were all awake,
    with lights burning,
    and bearing torches:
    thus was the way
    to pleasure closed.

    101. But at the approach of morn,
    when again I came,
    the household
    all was sleeping;
    the good damsel's dog
    alone I found tied to the bed.

    The Germanic gods are all mortal, the only thing that keeps them alive are the apples of the Alf Idunna (or Idun); she washes them in the well of youth and gives them to the gods to eat, this allow them to stay young and cheat death.
    Eventually the gods will die at Ragnarök; the end of time in which the world will be destroyed and formed anew, the gods who survive the destruction will form a new pantheon and their new leader will be Vidarr, the son of Wodan/Odin.
    The idea of the gods being mortal and behaving like humans is believed to be of a later origin, perhaps from the early Middle Ages in which most tribes were Christianized and the gods were degraded to fairy tale characters.
    The oldest sources say that the Germanic religion was much more sober and that the gods were seen as powers without human weaknesses or behaviour.

    The gods do not live in the human world (Midgard), the gods of the Ansen family live in Asgard and the Wanen family lives in Vanaheim, some gods also live in other places like the god Frey who lives in Alfheim because he is the leader of the Alfen.
    All of them have palaces and strongholds in those worlds from where they perform their daily "jobs", they were also believed to meddle in human afairs; according to Germanic legends the gods visited the human world several times and even begot children with human women, from this children the Germans were believed to originate.
    The gods sometimes appeared during battles or to give advice to heroes on their quests, places that were said to have been visited by the gods quickly became holy places.

    The Germans worshipped the gods out of gratitude, fear, and respect; they were afraid of their power but appreciated the positive use of those powers in the form of rain, a good harvest, victory during war, a tranquil sea, etc. although the gods were on the side of the humans they still did what they wanted but could be influenced by honouring them; if you gained the favour of a god then that god could decide to give your field some extra rain or to give you some extra luck in live, during war, gods like Wodan or Tiwaz were called upon for victory, disrespect towards the gods was believed to be disastrous and during the Christianization many converted Germanic tribes were afraid that their former gods would revenge themselves on their villages for the treason they had conducted against them.
    The Christianization was speeded up by the demonization of the former gods, this has caused many people to believe that the Germanic gods were dumb, agressive characters who had a connection to Satan while in the original religion they had both "good" and "evil" sides; they could take and grant life, destroy and rebuild, kill and resurrect, this feature was common among ancient gods and many cultures had (or have) gods with the same abilities.
    In Christianity there is a clear line between "good" and "evil", which makes it a very subjective religion; believers are told what they should and shouldn't and almost everything fits into one of the two sides, in Germanic heathenism the line between "good" and "evil" was not always defined; most aspects of our universe were considered neutral since many things could be both destructive and beneficial, it's like politics; what the first person sees as "positive" may be considered "negative" by the other one.
    There were some basic guiding lines that could aid the people in their dilemma's but many decisions were left to the integrity of the believers themselves, as long as they stayed true to their morals.