Magic Forums

by: NightChaos on Jul 17, 2016

Quick Lesson : #03

Hel (Old NorseHel , Hidden [1] ) is agiantessand goddess in Norse mythology who rules overHelheim, the underworld where the dead dwell.

According to the thirteenth-century Icelandic scholarSnorri Sturluson, shes the daughter ofLokiand the giant Angrboa (Anguish-boding), and therefore the sister of the wolfFenrirand the world serpent,Jormungand. But Snorri cant be taken at face value, and this family tree is likely something he himself invented in the interest of making Norse mythology seem more neat and tidy than it actually was.

Hel is generally presented as being rather greedy and indifferent to the concerns of both the living and the dead, but her personality is little-developed in what survives ofOld Norse literature. Shes mostly mentioned only in passing.

Source extracted from:http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/hel/