![]() Odin himself made the trip before Baldr’s death to learn the secrets of a dead seeress. Hermoðr’s journey was not the first time Sleipnir had been ridden to Hel. They represented his ability to travel between worlds to contact the dead and receive prophecies of the future. They represented his knowledge as they flew above the world and brought back news of everything they saw.Īs a part of this totemic grouping, Sleipnir represented another aspect of Odin’s power. His most famous totem animals were his ravens, Huginn and Muninn. They kept him safe from physical threats and acted as constant guardians. His wolves, Geri and Freki, symbolized his physical prowess. Scholars have found similar animals in the legends and archaeology of India’s Gondi people, the Buryats of Siberia, and the stories of Hungary’s táltos shamans.Īs a wise shaman, Odin had several totemic animal companions that served different functions in his magic. These are not limited to folklore from the same region. Sleipnir may seem like an incredible and unique animal, but he is actually one of several eight-legged horses of the ancient world. Even with the horse’s incredible speed, it still took Hermoðr over nine days to reach the gates of Hel to bed for Baldr’s release. When Baldr was killed, Odin lent Sleipnir to Hermoðr for his journey to Hel. Only once did he allow someone else to ride his best horse. He could not only traverse any surface, but could also travel between realms as easily as a normal horse traveled down a road.Īlthough the gods mocked Loki for being a mother, Odin son became quite fond of the trickster’s unusual child. Sleipnir’s name meant “slippery,” and he lived up to it. In one, a jötunn named Hrungnir attempts to kill him but he is able to use Sleipnir’s amazing speed to escape back to Asgard. Odin used this ability several times in written legends. It had eight legs that allowed it to run faster than any creature or vessel in the Nine Worlds. The horse was named Sleipnir and it was immediately clear that it was not an ordinary horse. Loki had become pregnant by the jötunn’s horse and during his time away from the gods had become the animal’s mother. When Loki finally returned to Asgard he brought a new horse and presented it to Odin as a gift. It would be several months until they saw him again. The matter of Asgard’s walls was settled, but the gods soon realized that Loki still had not returned. According to many sources, Thor killed him with a blow from his hammer for attempted to defraud Freyja into marriage. When the builder learned that he had lost, he grew angry and revealed his true form. Asgard’s walls were nearly finished but the gods did not have to pay for the work. The jötunn worked until he nearly collapsed from exhaustion, but without his horse to pull stones and pulleys the work was impossible.Īt the end of the final day of the agreed year, a few stones were left to be fitted into the wall. The stallion ran after the mare and the two horses were not seen for several days. He ran around the fields outside of Asgard until Svaðilfari noticed him. Loki was a shapeshifter, and only a few days before the builder’s year was up he took the shape of an exceptionally well-formed mare. He knew that he would be blamed if Freyja were forced to marry a jötunn mason. Loki, however, would ensure that the work was not finished. Freya was horrified, and furious, to see that he might be able to finish the work before the year was up. The seemingly humble builder was completing his work with almost unbelievable speed. His stallion, Svaðilfari, had supernatural strength and stamina as well. They did not know that the workman was actually a jötunn, or giant, in disguise. He demanded Freyja’s hand in marriage as his payment.įreyja wanted to refuse the offer entirely, but Loki convinced the gods that the man’s task would be impossible. The mason claimed that he could complete the work in a year without any help beyond the use of his horse, but his price horrified the gods. Asgard’s walls had been damaged, so the gods hired a builder to remake the fortifications. Sleipnir originated shortly after the war between the Aesir and Vanir gods ended. Odin’s magical horse was a powerful symbol of his owner’s unique mastery of ancient magic. Instead, Sleipnir was an important part of Norse mythology because of what he symbolized. It wasn’t even due to the unusual circumstances of his famous birth story. Sleipnir’s importance was not just in his speed and agility. Usually shown as a large white stallion, Sleipnir is mentioned more often in written myths than many of the gods he lived among. Odin’s supernaturally fast horse travels between worlds on eight legs. Many animals appear in Norse mythology, but few are as immediately recognizable as Sleipnir.
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