The Mythology Book

133

world once every 24 hours. The

gods also took the beautiful brother

and sister, Máni (“moon”) and Sól

(“sun”), and put them in the sky as

well. According to Snorri’s myth,

both Máni and Sól move quickly

across the sky because they are

pursued by wolves. Ragnarök, the

end of the world, will follow not

long after the day when the wolves,

children of a giantess, finally catch

and devour the siblings.

Fortress of Midgard

The gods made the earth circular,

and gave the part around the

shores to the giants as a home.

This was called Jötunheim (from

jötunn, the Old Norse name for the

giants, and heim, meaning “home”).

In the middle of the earth, the gods

used Ymir’s eyelashes to build a

fortress to keep the giants out.

They called this place Midgard.

NORTHERN EUROPE

The gods’ final step was to take

Ymir’s brains and cast them into

the sky to make the clouds. With

this, the gods finished their brutal

creation of the world.

The creation of man

Creation was not truly complete

until the day when Odin, Vili, and

Vé found two driftwood logs while

walking along the seashore. From

these logs, the gods created the

first two humans, giving them life,

consciousness, movement, faces,

hearing, speech, and sight. Finally,

they gave them clothes and named

the man Ask (ash) and the woman

Embla (elm). The gods gave them

and their descendants the realm of

Midgard to live in.

After they had created humans,

the gods created their own realm

of Asgard, high above Midgard.

There, they built their halls, the

most magnificent of which was

Odin’s own Valhalla, a heavenlike

place where dead warriors would

be entertained with feasting. To

link Asgard and Midgard, the gods

built a fiery rainbow bridge named

Bifröst. Humans often fleetingly

glimpse Bifröst in the sky, but only

the gods may cross it. ■

The origin of the gods

Bor

(giant)

Bestla

(giantess)

Fjörgyn

(giantess)

Odin

(god)

Frigg

(goddess)

Vili

(god)

Vé

(god)

Over a dozen sons

by other lovers

Buri

(giant)

Thor

(god)

Baldur

(god)

Then of his brows the

blithe gods made Midgard

for sons of men.

Prose Edda

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