Odin is the father of Hermóðr the Bold, who rode to Hel to plead for Baldr's release in the Prose Edda.
⚠ Snorri calls Hermóðr 'son of Odin' in Gylfaginning, but the Eddic poems do not confirm this parentage. Some scholars suggest Hermóðr may have been a mortal hero later elevated to Odin's lineage.
The Æsir are the principal tribe of Norse gods who dwell in Asgard, including both native members and Vanir hostages received after the Æsir-Vanir War, as catalogued in Gylfaginning.
Hermóðr rode Odin's horse Sleipnir to Helheim to plead for Baldur's release. Hel agreed on condition that all things weep for Baldur, but the giantess Þökk refused.
Hermóðr rode to Hel to beg for Baldur's return, and though the dead god could not follow, Baldur pressed Draupnir into Hermóðr's hand as a token for Odin — so the ring that Odin had laid on his son's pyre came back to the living.
Hermóðr rode to Helheim to plead with Hel for Baldur's release. Hel set the condition that all things must weep for Baldur, and when Þökk refused, she kept her word and held him.
When Hermóðr rode to Hel to plead for Baldur's return, Nanna entrusted him with gifts for the living — a linen robe for Frigg and a gold ring for Fulla.
Hermóðr borrowed Sleipnir from Odin to ride to Helheim and plead for Baldur's release. The eight-legged horse carried him through dark valleys for nine nights before leaping the gates of Hel.
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