The Norse Gods
The Norse Gods
Ymir
The first living being, a hermaphroditic giant
Created from life-giving drops of water
Father of all the giants
Buri
First god
He is the father of Borr (Odin’s father) and grandfather of Odin, Vili and Ve
He was licked out of a block of ice by the divine cow, Audhumla.
Ancestor of all the Aesir
AESIR GODS
Odin
The king of the Aesir Gods
God of war and of death
The Allfather of the Aesir
He was the awe-inspiring ruler of Asgard
He is famous for sacrificing one of his eyes in order to be able to see the cosmos more
clearly and his thirst for wisdom
Frigg
The Queen of the Aesir Gods
Goddess of marriage and motherhood
Odin’s wife and mother of Baldur, Hodr and Hermod
Associated with fertility, household, motherhood, marriage, and domestic matters
She was the only goddess allowed to sit next to her husband
Baldur
The God of Light and Purity
Younger son of Odin and Frigg
A fair, wise, and gracious divine being
Killed with mistletoe
Nanna
Goddess of Joy, Devotion, Peace and Moon
Wife of Baldur and mother of the god Forseti
She dies of a broken heart after Baldur’s death
Forseti
God of Justice and Reconciliation
He is the son of Baldur and Nanna and the grandson of Odin and Freya
He is a law speaker
Forseti often acts as a judge, to decide the outcome of a dispute among the Gods and
Goddesses in Asgard
Hodr
Blind god of darkness and winter
He is the son of Odin and Frigg
He is often depicted with his bow and arrow
He was tricked by Loki into killing his brother Balder
Hermod
Messenger of the gods
He is the son of Odin and Frigg
Known as Hermod the Swift
Vidar
The Silent God of Vengeance
Son of Odin and the giantess Grior
He is an incredibly strong god who is prophesied to survive Ragnarok
He will defeat the giant wolf Fenrir, avenging his father’s death
Vali
Son of Odin and the giantess Rindr
He was born for the sole purpose of avenging Baldur
He is prophesied to survive Ragnarök.
Thor
God of thunder
The defender of Asgard (realm of the gods)and Midgard (human realm)
He was the son of Odin and Jord (Earth)
He was apparently worshiped more than any other god.
Powerful god of thunder who wielded a hammer named Mjöllnir
He commanded storms and rain, and brought lightning and thunder.
Sif
Goddess of grain and fertility
Wife of the thunder god Thor
Sif’s golden hair, which symbolized her connection to the fertility of the land and the harvest
of grain
Thrud
Goddess of strength
Daughter of Thor and Sif, sister of Modi
After her father's death, she inherits his hammer Mjölnir and mantle as the Goddess of
Thunder for herself.
Magni
Eldest son of Thor and Jarnsaxa, and step-son of Sif.
Modi
Son of Thor and Sif
Younger half-brother of Magni and brother of Thrud
Bragi
God of poetry
He was admired for his wisdom, his eloquence, his ability to compose and recite, and his
knowledge of poetry
He was also the god of ceremony and the god of skalds (bards)
Bragi’s wife was the goddess Idun
Idun
Goddess of eternal youthfulness
"ever young" or "the rejuvenating one"
She possesses golden apples that endow immortality and it avoid aging
Eir
Goddess of Healing
means “help” or “mercy.”
She is one of the handmaids of Frigga
She was either a goddess and/or a valkyrie — females that chose who lived and died in
battle — and associated with medical skill
Tyr
God of war, upholder of law and justice
He was best known for sacrificing his arm to Fenrir so that the gods could trap the giant
wolf
Presides over matters of law and justice, more than any other gods
Heimdall
God of Foresight, Surveillance, Order and Foreknowledge
Son of Odin
His dwelling is called Himinbjörg “Sky Cliffs,” connoting a high place ideal for a fortress
known as the ‘shiniest’ of all gods due to him having the “whitest skin”
Carrying a giant horn, Gjallarhorn to warn the gods of an attack
Guardian of the gates of Asgard, he requires less sleep than a bird. His eyesight is so keen
that he can see for hundreds of miles by day or by night, and his hearing is so acute that
he can hear grass growing on the ground and wool growing on sheep
He sat atop the Bifrost bridge and remained forever on alert
VANIR GODS
Njord
Particularly associated with wealth, fertility, the sea and seafaring
Father of Frey and Freja
A saying among the Norse peoples held especially wealthy people to be “as rich as Njord.”
Njord’s home was Noatun (“The Place of Ships”), a bright, warm place on the beach
Skadi
Goddess of skiing
A giantess and goddess in Norse mythology
Wife of Njord, but she is not the mother of Frey and Freja as it was believed that Njord’s
unnamed sister is the mother of the twin
Skadi lives in the highest reaches of the mountains, where the snow never melts. She’s
an avid huntress, and her bow, snowshoes, and skis are her most often-mentioned
attributes
She was once married to the god Njord. However, their marriage was a failure
Freyr / Frey
God of fertility, sunlight and peace
Freyr was a symbol of prosperity and pleasant weather conditions, he is one of the most
respected gods for the Vanir clan
He is hated by none for the reason that their well-being and prosperity depends on his
benevolence
Can be recognize as he is usually riding a bull
Freja
Goddess of love, fertility and beauty
One of the most sensual and passionate goddesses in Norse mythology.
She’s a member of the Vanir tribe of deities, but became an honorary member of the Aesir
gods after the Aesir-Vanir War.
Freya is famous for her fondness of love, fertility, beauty, and fine material possessions
In one of the Eddic poems, for example, Loki accuses Freja (probably accurately) of having
slept with all of the gods and elves, including her brother.
Freya presides over the afterlife realm Folkvang. According to one Old Norse poem, she
chooses half of the warriors slain in battle to dwell there.
Loki
God of mischief
Trickster god and creator of mischief in Norse mythology
A mischievous god who could shape-shift and can take up animalistic forms.
While treated as a nominal member of the gods, Loki occupies a highly ambivalent and
ultimately unique position among the gods, giants, and the other kinds of spiritual beings
He Becomes the enemy of the gods after he arranges the death of Balder
LOKI’S FAMILY RELATIONS
His father is the giant Farbauti
His mother is Laufey
Hel
Goddess of the underworld
Goddess of death
Originally the name of the world of the dead
Jormungand
The great serpent, its name means giant monster who slays Thor during Ragnarok
Fenrir
A monstrous wolf bound by a chain
Supposedly to be released at the great final battle Ragnaok or the twilight of the gods.
The wolf who bites off one of the hands of Tyr and who kills Odin during Ragnarok
Sleipnir
Eight legged horse ridden by Odin
Loki’s fourth child with a stallion Svadilfari where Loki being the female mare
REFERENCES
https://www.centreofexcellence.com/norse-gods-goddesses/
https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/
https://www.realmofhistory.com/2018/01/29/12-norse-gods-goddesses-facts/
https://blog.vkngjewelry.com/en/buri-the-first-aesir-god/
https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Hod/311146#:~:text=Hod%2C%20also%20spelle
d%20H%C3%B6d%2C%20Hoder,and%20perfect%20of%20the%20gods.
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https://www.worldhistory.org/Thor/
https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Sif/313402
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aurgelmir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXheT0i1YTM
https://mjr802.medium.com/eir-norse-goddess-of-healing-242b8d7d8ddc
https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/tyr/
https://www.worldhistory.org/Norse_Mythology/