Norse Mythology · deity

Hel

deitythe deadthe underworld

The ruler of the realm of the dead (Hel), daughter of Loki; she is half-living, half-dead.

Hel · Natalia Zarubina · early 20th c. · Russian symbolist painting · CC BY-SA 4.0

The account

Who they are

Hel is the daughter of Loki and Angerboa, and the ruler of the realm of the dead (also called Hel) [S2]. She is a strange being: half of her body is living and the other half is corpse-like (the color of a dead fish) [S2]. The gods, wishing to get rid of her, cast her into the north with a hall of the dead, where she rules over those who die of sickness or old age (as opposed to those who die in battle, who go to Valhalla) [S2]. Hel is not 'evil' in the Christian sense; she is the ruler of the dead, a necessary part of the cosmic order [S2].

Worth knowing

Ruler of the realm of the dead (Hel) [S2].
Daughter of Loki and Angerboa [S2].
Half-living, half-dead [S2].
Rules over those who die of sickness or old age (not battle) [S2].

Uncertainties & variants

Hel's realm is distinct from Valhalla; the two 'afterlives' are different destinations [S2].

Relationships (3)

Connections

Family & kinship

PARENT_OFLoki — Loki is the parent of Hel.[S2]

PARENT_OFAngerboa — Angerboa is the parent of Hel.[S2]

SIBLING_OFFenrir — Fenrir and Hel are siblings.[S2]

Local graph

Their corner of the divine world

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hierarchical — generations top → bottom, partners side by side

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Myths featuring Hel

1 story

Loki's Children

Loki, in the form of a mare, mated with the stallion Svaðilfari and bore Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Odin. With the giantess Angerboa, Loki fathered the great monsters: the wolf Fenrir, the world-serpent Jörmungandr, and Hel, the ruler of the dead [S2].

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