Gods & Goddesses
The Æsir and Vanir — Odin, Thor, Freyja, Loki, and the whole divine family of the North.
OdinÓðinn
Æsir god — AllfatherChief of the Æsir and ruler of Asgard: god of wisdom, war, poetry, magic, and the dead, who sacrificed an eye for knowledge and hung nine nights on Yggdrasil to win the runes.
ThorÞórr
Æsir god of thunderGod of thunder, storms, and the protection of mankind; wielder of the hammer Mjölnir and the most beloved and widely worshipped god of the Viking Age.
Loki
Trickster — jötunn-blooded companion of the ÆsirThe shape-shifting trickster of the Norse myths — Odin's blood-brother, cause of both the gods' greatest treasures and their doom, father of Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Hel.
Frigg
Æsir goddess — Queen of AsgardWife of Odin and foremost of the goddesses: goddess of marriage, motherhood, and foresight — she knows every fate but tells none.
Baldr
Æsir god of light and beautyThe bright, beloved son of Odin and Frigg whose death by a mistletoe dart — engineered by Loki — sets the doom of the gods in motion.
Freyja
Vanir goddess of love and warForemost of the goddesses: Vanir deity of love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr magic, and battle — she takes half the slain, and owns the necklace Brísingamen.
Freyr
Vanir god of fertility and kingshipVanir god of fertility, sunshine, fair weather, and prosperity; lord of Álfheimr, owner of the ship Skíðblaðnir and the boar Gullinbursti — doomed for giving away his sword for love.
Heimdallr
Æsir god — watchman of the godsThe ever-vigilant watchman of Asgard who guards the rainbow bridge Bifröst, hears grass grow, sleeps less than a bird, and will blow the Gjallarhorn to announce Ragnarök.
Týr
Æsir god of war and lawGod of war, justice, and oaths, who alone dared feed the wolf Fenrir and sacrificed his right hand in its jaws so the gods could bind it.
Njörðr
Vanir god of the sea and wealthVanir god of the sea, seafaring, fishing, and wealth; father of Freyr and Freyja, sent to the Æsir as a hostage of peace.
Iðunn
Æsir goddess of youthKeeper of the golden apples of youth that keep the gods from ageing; her abduction by the giant Þjazi nearly doomed the Æsir.
Bragi
Æsir god of poetryGod of poetry and eloquence, with runes carved on his tongue; husband of Iðunn and welcomer of heroes to Valhalla.
Höðr
Æsir god — the blind godThe blind son of Odin who, guided by Loki, threw the mistletoe dart that killed his brother Baldr.
Víðarr
Æsir god of vengeance and silenceThe silent god of vengeance who avenges Odin at Ragnarök by tearing apart the wolf Fenrir, and survives into the new world.
Sif
Æsir goddess — golden-haired wife of ThorGolden-haired wife of Thor, associated with the earth and harvest; Loki's theft of her hair led to the forging of the gods' greatest treasures.
Ullr
Æsir god of winter, skiing, and archeryGod of skiing, archery, hunting, and single combat — sparsely attested in myth but anciently and widely worshipped, as Scandinavian place-names show.
Hel
Ruler of the dead — daughter of LokiLoki's daughter, half living woman and half blue-black corpse, cast down by Odin to rule the realm of those who die of sickness and old age.
Skaði
Jötunn goddess of winter and the huntGiantess turned goddess of winter, skiing, and bow-hunting, who marched on Asgard to avenge her father Þjazi and won a place among the gods.
Váli
Æsir god — the avengerSon of Odin born for a single purpose: to avenge Baldr. One night old, unwashed and uncombed, he slew Höðr — and he survives Ragnarök.
Forseti
Æsir god of justiceSon of Baldr and Nanna, god of justice and reconciliation: all who come to his gold-pillared hall Glitnir leave with their disputes settled.
Hœnir
Æsir god — Odin's silent companionThe puzzle among the gods: he helped give the first humans their wits, was traded as a hostage to the Vanir — and proved useless without Mímir to whisper in his ear.
Mímir
The wisest being — keeper of the wellGuardian of the well of wisdom beneath Yggdrasil, where Odin pledged his eye; beheaded by the Vanir, his preserved head still counsels the Allfather.
Magni and MóðiMagni ok Móði
Sons of Thor — inheritors of the hammerStrength and Courage, the sons of Thor who survive Ragnarök and carry Mjölnir into the new world.
Nanna
Æsir goddess — wife of BaldrBaldr's wife, who died of grief at his funeral and was burned on the ship beside him — and who sends gifts back from Hel.
Gefjon
Goddess of the ploughThe goddess who ploughed the island of Zealand out of Sweden with four oxen — her giant sons — in one night, and to whom unmarried women go at death.
Fulla
Goddess — Frigg's confidanteFrigg's handmaiden and keeper of secrets: she carries the queen's coffer, minds her shoes, and knows the counsel no one else hears.
Eir
Goddess of healing'The best of physicians' — the goddess of healing, named among Frigg's maidens and among the helpers on the healing hill Lyfjaberg.
Sigyn
Goddess — Loki's faithful wifeThe wife who stayed: while Loki lies bound beneath a venom-dripping serpent, Sigyn stands over him holding a bowl to catch the poison, forever.
Óðr
God — Freyja's absent husbandFreyja's husband who is always away on long journeys — she weeps tears of red gold for him, and scholars suspect he is Odin under another name.
Hermóðr
Messenger of the gods'The bold': the god who rode Sleipnir nine nights down the Hel-road and leapt the gates of death itself to ransom Baldr.
Kvasir
The wisest being — born of the peaceCreated from the mingled spittle of the Æsir and Vanir at their truce, the wisest of all beings — murdered by dwarves, his blood brewed into the Mead of Poetry.
Jörð
The earth personified — mother of ThorThe earth itself as a goddess: daughter of Night, mistress of Odin, and mother of Thor — which makes the thunder-god half made of the ground he defends.
Gullveig
The thrice-burned witchThe mysterious woman the Æsir speared and burned three times — and three times she was reborn, walking on as the seiðr-witch Heiðr. Her burning ignited the first war in the world.
Vili and VéVili ok Vé
Odin's brothers — co-creators of the worldThe two brothers of Odin who helped slay Ymir, build the world from his body, and give the first humans their gifts — then all but vanish from the myths.
Sól and MániSól ok Máni
Sun-goddess and moon-godA sister who drives the sun and a brother who steers the moon, set in the sky to answer their father's vanity and hunted across it every day by wolves.
Rindr
Goddess, mother of VáliReckoned among the goddesses by Snorri, Rindr is remembered for one grim purpose: she bore Váli to Odin, the one-night-old avenger of Baldr. Every source that tells how Odin won her agrees he took her against her will.