Mythology Explained

The Elder GODS Drowned the GIANTS in Blood & Built the World - Norse Mythology Explained


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Hey everyone,

Welcome to Mythology Explained. In today's video, we're going to be taking a look at the Norse creation myth, from the primordial void, to the creation of the first gods and the first giants, to the creation of the world, to the creation of the first man and the first woman.

Let's get into it.

From Ginnungagap, the primordial void that existed before all else, spawned two worlds, the first two of the nine realms. These were Muspelheim and Niflheim. Muspelheim, the land of fire, was created to the south of Ginnungagap, and Niflheim, the realm of ice, was created to the north of Ginnungagap. The heat and fire of Muspelhiem emanated into the great void from the south, and the ice and cold of Niflheim extended their frozen tendrils into the great void from the north. Frost and fire met in the middle. The ice began to melt, and from the droplets quickened the first giant, Ymir, and the giant cow, Audhumbla.

Ymir was the asexual progenitor of the frost giant race. When he drifted off into sleep, he began to sweat, and then two giants, one male, the other female, were propagated under his left arm; and Ymir's legs joined together in a sort of union to create a third offspring, another son, Thrudgelmir, who was the father of Bergelmir, an important frost giant we'll circle back to later in the video. Ymir's three offspring were the first frost giants, so the entirety of the frost giant race is descended from them.

Audhumla, the cosmic cow, was the other being to emerge from the droplets produced where the fire of Muspelheim met the frost of Niflheim. Four rivers of milk ran from her udders, and it was these flows of milk on which Ymir subsisted. Audhumla found her own nourishment by licking salty blocks of ice. And as the cow fed, something peculiar began to happen: each time the cow licked the ice, it melted a little, and the more the ice melted, the more exposed the man frozen inside became. This man was Buri, the first god. Hi son, Bor, took the giantess Bestla as his wife, and by her he sired three sons, Odin, Vili, and Ve

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