Norse Mythology: Towards Ragnarok

Thanks to popular culture and Marvel movies, we are familiar with the name Ragnarok, or, in other words, the apocalypse. However, do you know what leads to Ragnarok?

Balder, son of Odin and Frigg, is the healer and representative of light and goodness, and his death is the initiator of Ragnarok. In his dream, he sees that he is going to die. Due to this dream, Odin goes to Hel to search for it, and he learns from a seeress that Balder is going to be killed by his brother Hod. In Scandinavian culture, dreams contain messages. Due to this dream, Balder's mother, Frigg, goes and makes an oath with everything in the world, from sharp tools to poisonous animals and plants, not to harm Balder. Everyone agrees to this promise because everyone loves Balder.

After taking oaths, they try to see if anyone breaks their promise, so the gods of Asgard throw something sharp at Balder, but nothing happens to him, so they make a game out of it, and everyone starts to throw things at Balder. While everyone is having fun, Loki, the god of Trickery, gets jealous of Balder. Loki, shapeshifting into an old lady, goes to Frigg and says, Why do these people throw things at this man? Then Frigg tells the old lady about the oaths and that she made a pact with everything except for the mistletoe. Loki, learning Balder's only weakness, makes a dart made from mistletoe and gives it to Balder's blind brother Hod to throw at him. Hod throws the mistletoe and kills Balder. Loki ran away while the gods started weeping. Frigg says that whoever goes to Hel and finds Balder to bring him back will have my love, and Hermod, son of Odin, volunteers. When he goes to Hel to convince her, she says, "You have said Balder is loved by everyone, so if he is dead and alive, everything in the nine realms weeps for him, and I will send him back to Asgard." Everything in the nine realms weeps except for one giantess, Thokk, who says, I do not care about Balder; let Hel hold him. The giantess Thokk was Loki, and because of him, Balder stays in Niflheim.

All the gods are sadly preparing a funeral, then Balder's wife Nanna dies due to sadness, and they put them in his boat and burn them. This is one of the stepping stones that starts Ragnarok.

Resources Cited:

• Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda