Believed to have been an actual ruler who took the name of the Norse god, Odin, rather an a spurious addition of the god himself to the lineage. Others disagree, saying that the members of this line claimed to be descended from the gods. I tend to believe there was a chieftain who took the name of the god, myself. Afterall, we see this in modern culture, as well, in Latin America, where familes name their sons Jesus, and in the Middle East, where there are millions of men named Mohammed. It isn't hard to believe, in light of this, that there were many Danes who were named Odin, and, especially, Thor, a name that persists to the present.