Eodan And Shadow

In Poul Anderson's The Golden Slave, Eodan is the historical original of Odin. In Neil Gaiman's American Gods, Shadow is a son of Odin.

Eodan lies in his saddle blanket, becomes the wind, blows across the earth, searches for a ghost, passes above many old skulls, searches over glaciers and down to the sea, passes the hound at the gates of hell, circles hell and shakes his spear beneath its black walls, then realizes that hell was deserted long ago, returns centuries later to the upper world in spring, passes the grave mound of a warrior named Eodan on the edge of the world where the wind is forever blowing (compare Dagobert), sees a flower of spring, hears the earth turning among a blaze of stars, sees seasons pass and returns to the light.

Shadow hangs on a tree, dies, is conducted to a hereafter by Ibis and judged by Anubis, passes into nothing and then returns, revived by the goddess, Easter.