Hel- Norse GodDeity"Queen of the Dead"

Loki's Daughter

Hel was born in Jötunheim, daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboða. When prophecies warned the gods of the destruction her family would bring, Odin seized the three children. He threw Jörmungandr into the ocean and kept Fenrir chained in Asgard. Hel he cast into Niflheim, the cold realm at the roots of Yggdrasil, and gave her dominion over the dead.

It was exile, but she was given a kingdom. Every mortal who died of sickness, old age, or mischance came under her authority. The gods could not easily take it back.

Half Living, Half Dead

One side of Hel's body is a living woman's, fair-skinned and whole. The other side is a corpse: blackened and decayed. Snorri describes her expression as fierce and grim. She looks like what she governs.

Helheim

The road to Hel runs downward and northward for nine days through valleys where no light enters. It crosses the river Gjöll by a golden bridge, Gjallarbrú, guarded by the maiden Móðguðr. Beyond the bridge stand gates so high no living being passes them easily.

Hel's hall is Éljúðnir, "damp with sleet." Her dish is Hungr, Hunger; her knife is Sultr, Famine. Her servants are Ganglati and Ganglöt, Lazy-Walker and Lazy. Nothing moves quickly in her realm.

While Odin's einherjar feast in Valhalla and Freyja's chosen dwell in Fólkvangr, the vast majority of the dead come here. The distinction turns on how one dies, not how one lives.

In the farthest reaches stands Náströnd, the Corpse Shore. The Völuspá describes a hall woven from serpent spines, their heads turned inward so that venom rains on those within. Its doors face north, away from the sun. Here suffer the oathbreakers and the murderers, and the dragon Níðhöggr feeds on their corpses.

Baldr in Helheim

When Loki's machinations killed Baldr with a mistletoe dart, the god's spirit traveled to Helheim. He had not died in battle. His glory counted for nothing.

Hermóðr volunteered to ride after him. He took Odin's horse Sleipnir and rode nine nights through dark valleys until he reached the gates of Hel, which Sleipnir cleared in a single bound. Inside, Hermóðr found Baldr seated in a place of honor: dead, but treated as a guest.

Hermóðr pleaded for his brother's release. Hel set a condition. If all things in the world wept for Baldr, she would let him go.

The gods sent messengers everywhere. Men and giants wept. Stones and metals wept, the way frost weeps from frozen things when warmth comes near. Everything in the world mourned Baldr.

In a cave, the messengers found a giantess named Þökk. She refused. "Let Hel hold what she has." The gods believed Þökk was Loki in disguise.

Hel kept her word. The condition was not met. Baldr stayed.

Ragnarök

At the end, Hel's realm will empty. The dead who have gathered since the first death will rise and board Naglfar, the ship built from the untrimmed fingernails of corpses. Loki will stand at its helm and sail his daughter's subjects against Asgard.