Norse gods

In the beginning, Norse legend has it that there was nothing but fire and ice. Slowly these two forces forged two beings: Ymir the giant and Audhumla the cow. Audhumla subsisted by licking the salty ice, while Ymir survived off Audhumla's milk. Eventually the cow's incessant licking freed up a creature from the ice, the god Bor. Bor would father many other deities, but none would be more important than Odin.

Odin was to become the ruler of all Norse gods—as well as the embodiment of all knowledge. This he accomplished by trading his right eye with a giant called Mime in exchange for access to the fountains of wisdom. Later, when Mime was decapitated in battle, Odin anointed the skull with herbs and revived it, keeping Mime's severed head at his side for his invaluable counsel.

While Odin sired many children, it was the consummation of his marriage to the goddess Frigg that produced the greatest diversity of gods, from the stately and eloquent Bragi (god of poetry) to the most powerful of all Norse deities—Thor, god of thunder.

Thor was fearless in battle, owing largely to his choice of weaponry—an astonishingly powerful hammer he called Mjolnir. When thrown, Mjolnir would always return to Thor, but not before casting great swaths of lightning across the northern skies.

When Thyrm, king of all giants in the faraway land of Jotunheim, heard of the hammer he had to possess it. But the vengeance for stealing Thor's hammer would be quick and merciless. Thrym had demanded ransom for the hammer's return—and the ransom was the goddess Freyja, Thor's mother.

Thor was enraged, but Heimdall, guardian of the Rainbow Bridge and keeper of the keenest senses of all gods, had a plan: Thor would wear a woman's dress to Jotunheim, land of the giants, and convince Thyrm that he was Freyja. Thor at first refused but eventually put on one of Freyja's gowns and went to Jotunheim. When a very pleased Thrym presented the hammer in trade to whom he thought was Freyja, Thor swung it so mightily that the great giant was slain in a single blow. No one would again attempt such a ploy on the powerful Thor.

Although ruthless in battle, Thor was a protective warrior, having inherited his war-god status from Tyr (the most heroic and benevolent of all Norse war deities). Thor's rage might be terrible and absolute, but it was generally directed at those who would threaten humankind or the gods.

Baldr, on the other hand, couldn't have been a more different son for Odin than Thor. Temperate and gentle, Baldr was considered the god of beauty and wisdom. But he was plagued with nightmares and fears of death to the extent that his mother, the goddess Frigg, demanded that everyone and every living thing on earth swear to never do him harm. But Frigg forgot to tell the tiny, seemingly insignificant plant mistletoe, and this was to be Baldr's undoing.

As the story goes, the god Loki constructed an arrow of mistletoe, and then tricked Baldr's own brother (the blind war god Hod) into slaying Baldr. For this Loki was imprisoned beneath a giant serpent, which dripped acidic poison down onto his face. (The pain was so intense that Loki's writhing shook the earth, thus creating earthquakes.) Meanwhile, Frigg petitioned Hel, daughter of Loki and goddess of the underworld, to restore Baldr's life. Hel declared that first every thing on earth must shed tears for his death, in the same manner Frigg had demanded they protect him.

It certainly was possible. After all, Baldr was a popular god—the winter goddess Skadi was duped into an unhappy union with another god while trying to win Baldr's hand.

Yet despite his popularity, Hel's declaration never came to pass. Yet Baldr had a son, Forseti, the god of justice. From the elaborately decorated halls of his gold and silver palace, Forseti settled all disputes and continued to uphold the legend of his beloved father, Baldr.

The Norse gods were destined to be destroyed on the day of Ragnarok in battle against their enemies, the giants.