Norse Mythology and Ragnarok
A world made from the body of the giant Ymir, the world tree Yggdrasil running through nine realms, and Ragnarok, the doom of gods and monsters. A chart of the Norse gods and beasts familiar from games and manga.
Drag to move, scroll or pinch to zoom. Tap a circle for details.
The connections in words
- Odin Killed him to make the world → Ymir Odin and his brothers killed Ymir and made earth, sea and sky from his body.
- Odin Won the runes → Yggdrasil Odin hung from the world tree and won the secret of the runes.
- Yggdrasil Realm of the elves → Elves Among the nine worlds is a realm where the elves live.
- Yggdrasil Realm below → Dwarves The dwarves are said to live underground and inside rocks.
- Dwarves Made Mjolnir → Thor Thor's hammer Mjolnir is said to have been made by dwarf brothers.
- Odin Father and son → Thor Thor is Odin's son.
- Loki Father → Fenrir Born to Loki and a giantess.
- Loki Father → Jormungandr A sibling of Fenrir.
- Loki Parent → Sleipnir Said to have been born of Loki in the form of a mare.
- Sleipnir Odin's steed → Odin The fastest horse, ridden by Odin.
- Fenrir Swallows him at Ragnarok → Odin At the end of the world, Fenrir is foretold to swallow Odin.
- Jormungandr Mutual destruction → Thor At Ragnarok, the serpent and Thor kill each other.
- Snorri Sturluson Recorded the myths → Yggdrasil He wrote the Prose Edda in the 13th century, preserving Norse myths.
The Story
- A world made from a giant
First came the primordial giant Ymir. Odin and his brothers killed him and made the earth, sea and sky from his body.
- Nine worlds and the world tree
The world is made of nine realms pierced by the giant ash Yggdrasil. Elves and dwarves each live in their own realm.
- A god who seeks wisdom
Odin gave up an eye for wisdom and hung from the world tree to win the secret of the runes.
- Thor and the magic hammer
Odin's son Thor is the god of thunder, who fights giants with the hammer Mjolnir made by dwarves.
- The children of Loki
The trickster Loki's children are monsters: the giant wolf Fenrir, the world serpent Jormungandr, and the eight-legged horse Sleipnir, who became Odin's steed.
- Ragnarok
At the end of the world comes the last battle of gods and monsters. Fenrir is foretold to swallow Odin, and Thor and Jormungandr to kill each other.
- The man who saved the myths
These stories survive because the 13th-century Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson wrote them down in the Prose Edda.