an when it is waning.

_Tuesday_ was so called from Tiwes-d[oe]g, which signifies the day of
Tiw, or Tiu, a name for the old Saxon war god Tyr. Other names were
given to it by the Romans and Germans. It was called by the Romans
_Dies Martis, feria tertia_, from its having been dedicated to Mars.
Wormius, Marshall, and Sommes endeavour to prove that the day took its
name from Thisa or Desa, the goddess of justice, the wife of Thor.
Taking the views of any of the authors who have written on the
subject, it is plain that the day was named in honour of some
mythological deity. Tyr did not belong entirely to the Northern
mythology, but was known to the Germans as Ziu or Zio, and to
Anglo-Saxons as Tiv.

Tyr, it will be remembered, was single-handed. When the gods prevailed
on the wolf Fenrir to allow himself to be bound with the bandage
Gleipner, Tyr put his right hand into the wolf's mouth, as a pledge
that he would be loosened. The gods refused to liberate the wolf,
which in revenge bit off Tyr's hand. He and his enemy, the monster dog
Garmr, met their death in the twilight battle of the gods.

The Roman divinity, Mars, was a war god, and seems to have been
originally an agricultural deity. To him propitiatory offerings were
presented, as the guardian of fields and flocks; but as the shepherds
who founded the city of Rome were of a warlike disposition, it is
easily understood how Mars became the god of war.

_Wednesday_ signifies Wodin's-day or Odin's-day. Wodin or Odin, as is
well known, was a great Northern god. He was believed to be the god of
war, who gave victory, and revived courage in the conflict. He was
also worshipped as the god of arts and artists; and to him magnificent
temples were built, and sacrifices offered. He adopted as his children
all those who were slain with swords in their hands; hence the
hardihood and brilliant examples of courage displayed by Northern
warriors. He had two black ravens, that flew forth daily to obtain
tidings of all that was being done throughout the world. His greatest
treasure consisted of his eight-footed steed Sleipner, his spear
Gungner, and his ring Draupner, by which he performed many strange
acts. Frigga was his queen, but he had other wives and favourites, and
a numerous family of sons and daughters. By drinking at Mimir's sacred
fountain, he became the wisest of gods and men. He is reputed to have
possessed every power of witchcraft, prophecy, and transformation; and