Mythologies from the Globe

Hel   is where all dishonorable dead, thieves, murderers and those gods and goddesses who are not brave enough to go to Valhalla go for afterlife. Helheim is ruled by Hel, daughter of Loki. Helheim is a very grim and cold place, any person who arrives here will never feel joy or happiness again. Hel will use all the dead in her realm at Ragnarök to attack the gods and goddesses at the plains of Vigrid, The end of the world. 

Svartalfheim is the home of the dwarves, they live under the rocks, in caves or underground. The dwarves are masters of craftsmanship, and the gods of Aesir have received many powerful gifts, for instance, the mighty hammer of Thor, Odin's spear and Sif's always growing long golden hair. Svartalfheim is also known as Nidavellir. 

Alfheim  is right next to Asgard in heaven. The light elves are beautiful creatures. They are considered guardian angels. The god Freyr is the ruler of Alfheim. The light elves are minor gods of nature and fertility; they can help humans with their knowledge of magical powers. 

Vanaheim   is the home of Vanir Gods. This is an old branch of gods. The Vanir are masters of sorcery and magic. They are also widely acknowledged for their talent to predict the future. Nobody knows where exactly the land, Vanaheim is located. At the end of Aesir-Vanir war, Njord, Freyr and Freya moved to Asgard as a token of peace.

  Jotunheim  is the home of the giants. They are also called Jotnars. They are sworn enemies of Asgard. Jotunheim consists mostly of rocks, wilderness, and dense forrsts, and it lies in the snowy regions on the outermost shores of the ocean. Because of this, giants live mostly from the fish from the rivers, and the animals from the forest. The giants and the gods are constantly fighting. Loki came from Jotunheim but later accepted in Aesir and lived in Asgard. Jotunheim is separated from Asgard by river Iving which never freezes.

Midgard 'Middle Earth' is located in the middle of the world, below Asgard. Midgard and Asgard are connected by Bifrost, the rainbow bridge. Midgard is surrounded by a huge ocean that is impassable. The ocean is occupied by a huge serpant, The Midgard Serpant, and it is do large that it encircles the world entirely. Ash and Embla were sent to Midgard, after Odin and his two brothers Vili and Ve created them from tree from tree logs.

In the middle of the world, high up in the sky is Asgard. It's the home of the Gods and goddesses. Odin is the ruler of Asgard. He is married to Frigg, Queen of Asgard. Inside the gates of Asgard lies Valhalla, where goes the ones who died in the battle, for their afterlife.

Muspelheim was created at the same time as Niflheim but it was created far to the south of Ginnungagap. Muspelheim is a burning hot place, filled with Lava, flames, sparks and soot. Muspelheim is the home of the fire giants, fire demons and is ruled by the giant Surtr.  Surtr is a sworn enemy of Aesir(Asgardian Gods). Surtr will ride out with his flaming sword in his hand at Ragnarök(the end of the World). Surtr will then attack Asgard.

Niflheim means mist home or mist world, and it is the coldest and darkest region of all realms. It is one of the two first realms and it is placed in the north of Ginnungagap. The eldest spring in the world called Hvergelmir is located here and it is protected by the huge dragon called Nidhug. It is said that all cold rivers come from the spring Hvergelmir. The spring is the origin of all that is living and the place where every living being will go back.

Old Norse text mentions the existence of Níu Heimar, translated to Nine worldsbor realms. These nine realms are Niflheim, Muspelheim, Asgard, Midgard, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim and Helheim, all held in the branches and roots of the World tree 'Yggdrasil'. Many people are familiar by the name of Asgard, but what about the other eight realms and those who live there? The first two realms, Niflheim and Muspelheim were created out of Ginnungagap, the endless void. The rest of the realms were created out of Ymir's (first being) body by Odin and his two brothers. We'll get to know about the realms in the next posts.

When you hear the words ‘Norse Mythology’, you typically begin to think about what you learned from the movies and comics produced by Marvel. The story you know revolves around Thor: The handsome and all-wise, powerful God of Thunder, who takes on his evil blood-brother Loki. You 've also probably heard of Thor’s magical flying hammer, and the rainbow bridge that allows the gods to cross over to different realms. However, Norse mythology goes way deeper than just tales of a superhero conquering all evil in the world and goes beyond Thor and Loki. Norse mythology is the Scandinavian version of how the world came to be and how the gods struggled with the forces of evil and darkness.