The Gods

Aegir - is the god of the seas and oceans. He is worshipped by the sailors and feared as he is the master of the storms. He sometimes takes ships and man to the bottom of the ocean. That's why, before setting sail, every sailor had to bring him a sacrifice. He is married to Ran and has nine daughters with her. His daughters are nine waves. He is famous for his hospitality and every winter, the gods went to his home where he held a banquet. In his home, his floor was covered with gold which shined and he didn't need a fire (which was impossible to start under water). He had two servants called Fimafeng and Eldir. The first was killed by Loki during a feast. Loki also insulted at this feast all the gods. They couldn't do anything to Loki as Aegir's palace was a sacred place where no violence was allowed.

Angrboda - a giantess, is the mistress of Loki. With him, she has three children: the gigantic wolf Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent Jormungand, and the goddess of the death Hel. The children were abducted by the gods causing them lot of trouble.

Audhumla - the cow which led to the creation of the gods and humans. She appeared from the drops which formed when the ice from Nifelheim met with the flames from Muspelheim. She fed herself with salt and hoarfrost from the ice of Niflheim. The giant Ymer fed himself with her milk by drinking it with his three mouths.

Balder - is the god of light, joy, purity, beauty, innocence, and reconciliation. His name means "The Glorious". His wife is Nanna and his son, Forseti, the god of justice. His hall is called Breidablik ("broad splendor"). Most of the legends concern his death. He had a dream which foretold that he would be killed by his blind brother Hod. Her mother, Frigg, made all the things in the world swear not to harm him and all accepted as they all loved him for his kindness. She only forgot to ask the plant called mistletoe the same thing. Loki, found out this and asked Hod, the blind god to throw an mistletoe arrow towards him. Balder died and all the gods mourned for him. Hermod , Balder's brother tried to get him back. He went to the realm of the dead and convinced the goddess of death, Hel, to bring him back on the condition that all the things in the world mourned for him. And they all did except for Loki. That's why Balder was not brought back to life. His body was put on his boat called Ringhorn together with the body of his wife who died of heartache and the boat was set on fire. He is said to have been born again after the final battle Ragnarok.

Bestla - the daughter of the frost giant Bolthorn. She married Bor and gave birth of the three gods Odin, Vili, and Ve.

Bor - the son of Buri, he married Bestla, the daughter of the frost giant Bolthorn. He was the father of Odin, Vili, and Ve.

Bragi - is the god of eloquence and poetry and the patron of poets. He is the son of Odin and Frigg. He has runes carved on his tongue. He lets poets drink the mead of poetry for having inspiration. Also, oaths are sworn by drinking his mead. Kings have to drink of his mead when being crowned. Bragi is married to Idun, the goddess of eternal youth.

Buri - was the first man. He appeared when the cow Audhumla licked the ice giving it the form of a human. His descendants became gods.

Fenrir - is the child of Loki and Angrboda. He is a monster having the shape of a giant wolf. The gods took him and put him in a cage. Only Tyr could feed him. When growing up, He became more evil and the gods tried to tie him with an iron chain. He managed to break free. The dwarfs made a special chain form six elements: the sound of the footstep of a cat; the roots of a mountain; a woman's beard; the breath of fishes; the sinews of a bear; and a bird's spittle. This ribbon called Gleipnir was the only thing that could hold him. Tyr chained him but lost his hand when bitten by the wolf. The gods took Fenrir to the bottom of the earth and chained him to a rock. They also put a sword in his mouth not to bite. At the day of the final battle, he broke free and killed Odin. He was killed by Vidar who avenged his father's death.

Forseti - is the god of justice, the son of Balder and Nanna. He lives in the beautiful palace Glitnir which is his court law. The palace has a roof of silver and pillars of red gold.

Freya - was the goddess of love and fertility, and the most beautiful goddess. She is the patron of crops, birth, a symbol of sensuality. She is the daughter of Njord and the sister of Freyr. She loves music and spring. She married a mysterious god called Od which disappeared. He could be another form of the god Odin. She mourned her husband and her tears changed into gold. She has a magical necklace, the necklace of the Brisings, a magical cloak which allows her to change into a falcon and a chariot pulled by two cats. She lives in the palace called Folkvang ("field of folk") where love songs are always played and her hall is Sessrumnir. She takes some of the slain soldiers to her while the others go to Odin. Women also come to her after death.

Freyr - is the god of sun and rain and of prosperous crops. He is both a god of peace and one of war and the ruler of the elves. He is the son of Njord. . He is married to the beautiful giantess Gerd who was obliged to marry him. He rides a chariot pulled by the golden boar Gullinbursti which was made for him by the dwarves Brokk and Eitri. He owns the ship Skidbladnir ("wooden-bladed"), which always sails directly towards its target, and which can become so small that it can fit in Freyr's pocket. He also possesses a sword that can fight by itself. He gave the sword to his servant Skirnir to make Gerd marry him but he was killed at the final battle as he had no weapon to fight with.

Frigg - is the wife of Odin and one of the most venerated goddess. She is the goddess of marriage, motherhood, love and fertility. Also, she knows the destiny of every man but never tells it. She is also known very well as the mother of the kindest of gods, Balder, whose death she tried to prevent by asking all the things in the world not to harm him. He only forgot about the mistletoe and an arrow made of this plane killed him. In Asgard, her hall is called Fensalir ("water halls"). She has a messenger called Gna who rides through the sky on the horse Hofvarpnir.

Gerd - is the goddess of earth and fertile soil. She is a giantess, married to Freyr. She is the daughter of Gymir. She is very beautiful and at the beginning didn't want to marry Freyr. Freyr's messenger, Skirnir, threatened her to use the sword of his master and to cover the earth with ice. Gerd finally agreed and married Freyr.

Giants - are the creatures which appeared from the first giant Ymer. They are usually the symbol of evil. They all drowned except two in Ymer's blood when Ymer was killed by Odin.

Hel - is the goddess of death. She is the daughter of Loki and Angrboda. She lives in Helheim, the realm of the dead. She is half alive (having the face of a woman) and half dead. She was thrown in the underworld by the gods. She rules this realm where the wicked and those who died of sickness or old age come. Her hall is in Helheim and is called Eljudnir.

Hemidall - is the god of light and the guardian of the rainbow-bridge Bifrost. He is the son of nine waves. He lives in the hall Himinbjorg (The Cliffs of Heaven) and has a horn called Gjall. The bridge Bifrost is the only entrance to the realm of the gods and Hemidall's task is to keep the giants out of the realm of the gods, Asgard. He has such a keen visual and hearing sense that he can sea one hundred travel days in each direction and can hear the wool growing on sheep. At the final battle day, Ragnarok, he sounds his horn, announcing the coming of the giants. In the final conflict, he kills Loki but dies from the wounds inflicted by this. He gave birth to three types of humans: the serfs, the peasants, and the warriors.

Hermod - is the son of Odin and Frigg. He is the messenger of the gods. When his brother Balder was killed, he accepted the dangerous task of going to Hel, the goddess of the dead, to ask her to bring Balder back to life. He rode on the back of Sleipnir, Odin's steed. When arriving at the gates of Hel, he jumped over them and begged Hel to bring Balder back to life as all the things in the world were upset because of his death. Hel agreed on the condition that all things should weep for Balder's death. Hermod returned home and told everyone what the terms of deal. Loki didn't weep so Balder remained dead. Hermod was known as one of the bravest gods for his deed.

Hoder (Hod) - is the god of darkness and winter. The son of Odin and Frigg, he was blind. Because of this, he was tricked by Loki to kill his own brother, Balder, which he did by throwing at him a mistletoe arrow. He was punished for his deed by Vali who killed him. After the final conflict he was brought back to life.

Idun - the goddess of eternal youth. She is married to Bragi, the god of poetry and she guards the golden apples of eternal youth. The gods ate this apples everyday to stay young. She was once abducted by the giant Thiazi. The gods started to grow old and that's why Loki took Idun back by transforming her into a nut and hiding her into his pocket.

Jarnsaxa - the mistress of Thor and a descendent of the Giants. Mother of Magni, Modi and Thrud.

Jord - is the goddess of the unpopulated Earth. She was one of the wives of Odin and the mother of Thor and Frigg.

Jormungand - is a giant monster, the son of Loki and Angrboda. He was abducted by the gods and Odin, knowing how dangerous he is, throws him in the sea. Instead of drowning, he grows so big that he fills all the oceans and seas, acquiring the form of a serpent. He was not very smart as from time to time he bit his tail. He is killed by Thor but Thor also dies from the lethal wounds.

Loki - is the son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey. He is the god of mischief. He can change his shape. Originally very handsome, he can become a horse, a falcon, a fly. Although evil, he is sometimes heroic. He is responsible for the death of Balder, the god of light. His wife is Sigyn and his mistress is the giantess Angrboda. He has three sons. For killing Balder, he was punished by the gods by tiding him with three chains: one under his shoulders, one under his loins and one under his knees. A snake spits venom on his face. His wife, Sigyn collects the venom in a bowl but when the bowl is full she has to leave to empty it. Then Loki trembles in pain and causes earthquakes to happen.

Magni - the son of Thor. He was the god of strength and the only god stronger than Thor. He was the only god, beside Thor, able to lift Thor's hammer, Mjollnir. He survived the final battle, Ragnarok.

Modi - the son of Thor. He was the god of battle wrath. He was worshipped by the fierce berserks, warriors that drug themselves not to feel the wounds in battles. His name means "courage".

Nanna - is the goddess of the moon. She was the wife of Balder and mother of Forseti. She died of heartache when Balder died and was burned with him on his funeral boat.

Njord - is the god of sea, wind and fire. He is married to Skadi and his children are Freyr and Freya. He split up with Skadi as they couldn't agree where to live.

Odin - is the leader of all gods. He is also know as Allfather, Ygg, Bolverk or Grimnir. He was the son of Bor and Bestla and the father of of Balder, Hod, Hermod, Tyr, Bragi, Thor and Vidar. He was the god of of war, poetry, wisdom, and death. In Asgard, he had two halls called Gladsheim Valaskjalf and Valhalla. He ruled from Valaskjalf where he had his throne called Hlidskialf. From this throne he could see what happened in the whole universe. In Valhalla, he took all the dead soldiers and prepared them for the final battle (Ragnarok). The soldiers were chosen by creatures called valkyries. Those were beautiful women riding on horses and searching the battle fields for the bravest soldiers. The valkyries only fed themselves with mead from Heidrun, Odin's goat. The dead soldiers were fed with meat coming from the boar Saehrimnir and cooked by Andhrimnir in his magic cauldron called Eldhrimnir. As the boar came to life after every meal, her meat lasted forever. The soldiers practiced after every meal fighting each other. They also came to life every time they died. Odin was also famous for his spear called Grungir which never missed its target, for his bow which unleashed ten arrows every pull and for his ring called Draupnir which multiplied himself ten times every night and with the help of which, Odin tried to bring his son Balder back to life. He had a horse called Sleipnir. This horse had eight legs and was the creation of Loki. Odin also had two wolves, Geri and Freki, and two ravens, Hugin and Munin. The ravens brought him news every day. Odin sacrificed himself for wisdom by giving his right eye when drinking from the well of wisdom, Mimir, and for bringing humans the runes by hanging himself for nine days on the world tree. He died in the final battle called Ragnarok. Fenris-Wolf swallowed him in this battle. He proved a very brave warrior as he accepted to take part in the final battle although he knew he would die.

Ran - is the goddess of storms. She is married to Aegir, the god of the seas and the oceans. Sometimes she comes out of her house on the bottom of the ocean and takes some sailors with her. That's why the drowned persons don't go to Hel or to Odin. She has nine daughters which are the waves.

Sif - is the wife of Thor. She was a goddess of fertility. Appears in few sagas and is known for her golden hair. Loki stole her hair. Thor became angry and swore to kill Loki if he didn't bring the hair back. Loki went to some dwarfs and asked them to spin gold as fine as Sif's hair. Luckily for him, the dwarfs agreed and made a long wave of golden strands. Loki brought it back to Sif.

Skadi - is a giantess, the symbol of winter. Her father was killed by the gods and when she wanted to avenge his death, the gods proposed her to marry one of them as a reconciliation sign. She was allowed to see the feet of the gods and choose whichever she wanted. She chose the god Njord, an old one, thinking that the feet belonged to Balder. Her marriage with him was not a happy one. Njord lived in his castle Noatun, by the sea but Skadi wanted to live in the castle of her father, Thrymheim, in the mountain. They decided to live nine days by the sea and nine in the mountains. In the end, they separated.

Thor - was the most powerful of the gods. He was the son of Odin and Jord and was married to Sif. He has two sons, Magni and Modi and a daughter called Thrud. He is helped by Thialfi, his servant and the messenger of the gods. He was portrayed as a ferocious man, with red beard and eyes of lightning. He was the protector of both humans and gods. He was the most worshipped of the gods, even more than his father, Odin, as he didn't request any human sacrifices. He had a powerful hammer called Mjollnir which, as a boomerang, returned to him whenever thrown. He needed iron gloves to throw this hammer. He also had a belt called Megingjard which doubled his strength. He was supposed to ride through the sky in a chariot pulled by the goats Tanngrisni and Tanngnost. Whenever he threw his hammer, there was a lightning. He has a hall called Bilskirnir, located in the region Thrudheim ("place of might"). He died on the day of the final battle (Ragnarok) killed by the poison of Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent. He managed to kill this serpent before dying. His hammer, Mjollnir, became the symbol of the believers in Thor and could be found on graves together with the Christian cross.

Thrud - is the daughter of Thor. She was suppose to marry Alvis, a dwarf. However, Thor didn't like Alvis. He knew that he could only survive in darkness so he tricked him to stay out till morning by asking him lots of questions. Alvis didn't realize that it was morning and when the sun rose, he was turned into stone. So, Thrud didn't marry Alvis.

Tyr - is the god of war and courage. He is the son of Odin. He is pictured as a man with a spear in his left hand but he is missing his right hand. He lost his hand when trying to chain the wolf-monster Fenrir or Fenrisulven. He succeeded by tiding him with a special chain but was bit by the monster and lost his hand. Also, at the day of the final battle Ragnarok, he killed the hound Garm, the one who guarded the doors of the realm of the dead. He died of the wound inflicted by Garm.

Ve - is the brother of Odin and Vili, the first gods and the son of Bor and Bestla. Together with his brothers, he killed the giant Ymer and created the cosmos from the different parts of his body. Together with his brothers, he created the first humans, man and woman. He gave them feeling, appearance, and speech. His name means "Holiness".

Vidar - is the son of Odin and the giantess Grid. He is the god of silence and revenge and one of the strongest gods. He avenged Odin's death by killing the wolf Fenrir with his bear hand. He is one of the gods who survived the final battle and will rule in the next world. His hall in Asgard is called Vidi.

Vili - one of the first gods. He was the son of Bor and Bestla and the brother of Odin and Ve. Together with his brothers, he killed the giant Ymer and created the cosmos from the different parts of his body. Together with his brothers, he created the first humans, man and woman. He gave them thought and motion. His name means "will".

Ymer - was the primordial giant. He formed from the drops which formed when the ice from Nifelheim met with the flames from Muspelheim. He fed himself with the milk of the cow Audumla which he drank with hid four moths. One of his legs fathered a son and from under his armpit a man and women grew out. From those more and more giants appeared. Odin didn't like him and that's why, together with his brothers Vili and Ve, he killed him. All the other giants but two drowned in the sea that was formed. Odin formed the world from Ymer's body. He used his flesh for land, his blood for seas and lakes, form the unbroken bones they made the mountains; the giant's teeth and the fragments of his shattered bones became rocks and stones; trees were made from his hair, and the clouds from his brains. Odin and his brothers raised Ymir's skull and made the sky from it and beneath each of its four corners they placed a dwarf. Finally, from Ymir's eyebrow they shaped the walls of a realm, Midgard, the realm of man. The maggots which swarmed in Ymer's flesh became dwarfs that live under hills and mountains.