Earlier sources describe Helheim as located beneath one of the three roots of Yggdrasil, the world tree, with the other two roots leading to Jotunheim, the realm of the giants, and Midgard, the world of men. The goddess of the underworld guarded the realm of the dead, and the goddess of...
TheCreationofHumanity:AskandEmbla Yggdrasil:GiantAshTreeoftheWorld TheTreeofLifehadthreemainregions:Asgard(top,gods),Midgard(middle,humans),andtheroots.TherootscontainedNiflheim(realmofthedead)andJotunheim(landofgiants.)Dwarvesandelvesalsoexistedinthismythicworld.Bifrost BifrostistherainbowbridgefromAsgardto...
Ill-fated twin brother of Balder, and the god of darkness. Both Hod and Balder await Odin’s death at Ragnarok, as it’s said that they will rule in his stead when the realm of the dead opens and the world is regenerated. Thor Thorwas Odin’s most widely-known son and the husband ...
Apart from word of mouth, most of what we know about the Norse myths comes from a book written by the 13th-century Icelandic scholar and chieftain Snorri Sturluson. He combined the poems of the Elder Edda (Poetic Edda) and the Younger Edda (Prose Edda) into one book, which forms the ...
So, Odin rode Sleipnir and went to the realm of the dead to speak to an oracle to tell if the dream was true. The oracle there said that it was true, so Odin had to return to tell his wife the news. Despite Frigg’s magical attempts to save their son, Loki managed to kill him...
Hell is related to the concept of the underworld. In the myths of many ancient cultures, the underworld was the mysterious and often gloomy realm of the dead. Although usually imagined as a dark underground kingdom associated with caves and holes in the earth, hell was not always a place ...
Jotunheim - realm of the giants Alfheim - realm of the elves Svartalfheim - realm of the dwarves Muspelheim - fire realm Niflheim - ice realm Hel - a realm of the dead and the Underworld There is also Valhalla, believed to be a hall for dead warriors and a part of Hel. Creation and...
She shares half of the fallen warriors with Odin, who takes them to his hall of Valhalla, while she takes the other half to her hall of Sessrumnir, located in the realm of Fólkvangr. She is also the goddess of the dead, as she receives the souls of those who die of old age, ...
He is the watchman of the gods and guards Bifrost, the only entrance to Asgard, the realm of the gods. It is Heimdall's duty to prevent the giants from forcing their way into Asgard. He requires less sleep than a bird and can see a hundred miles around him, by night as well as by...
Jotunheim, the home of the giants, known as Jotuns, the mortal enemies, and also frequent lovers, of the Aesir gods. Finally, there isHelheim, the realm of the dead that do not find themselves among the fallen warriors in Valhalla. It is ruled over bythe giantess Hel,the daughter of ...