They lived surrounded by the desolation of the frozen sea in a barren land. For centuries, they fought with fierce, endless winters or enjoyed brief but bright summers. They cherished community and equality. They felt almost kin to their gods. They passionately loved freedom and admired their strength and were good and wise leaders of their families. They excelled in shot put, archery, swimming, and sword fighting. When the sea called them, they answered with their swift, flexible ships and ancient knowledge of weather and the element of water. They quickly became the rulers of the watery world, as well as significant stretches of land. They sailed almost all the seas and all the great rivers. Fearless and undaunted in their attacks - they never knew fear - they adapted over time and settled in the places they conquered and loved. They established colonies, became rulers in European countries, geologists, administrators, generals, princes, artists, kings, historians, scientists. In 930, they founded Althingi in Iceland, the oldest parliament in the world. What has impressed historians, archaeologists, and entire societies is the colonization of pre-Columbian America by Viking groups, already in the late 9th century...

Eleni Sarantiti writes a book in which, with a literary perspective, she offers dense knowledge about the fascinating history and actions of the Vikings, reconstructing an unknown side of an entire era of human civilization. The book, a product of study and research, refers to the origin, ancestry, culture, travels, and raids of the Vikings, as well as Scandinavian mythology, eddas, and sagas - and the reader is distanced from the stereotypical view of the Vikings as barbaric and warlike people.