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Jötunheim

12 questions · Mythology

In Norse mythology, Jötunheim is the land of the giants (Jötnar), the ancient adversaries of the gods. It is a wild, inhospitable region beyond Midgard, full of frost, rock and danger. Many threats to Asgard come from here, yet several gods and goddesses also stem from this race. Jötunheim embodies the chaos against which the gods constantly struggle. Its stronghold Utgard was the setting of trials in which even Thor was deceived. The uneasy bond between gods and giants runs through nearly every Norse myth. Jotunheim is the stage for the best Thor stories: in the stronghold of Utgard, the sorcerer-king Utgard-Loki fooled the thunder god thoroughly: Thor drank from a horn secretly connected to the sea, and wrestled the old woman Elli, whom no one defeats, for she is old age itself. At the giant Hymir's he fished up the Midgard Serpent; from the giant Thrym he retrieved his stolen hammer disguised as a bride. The border between gods and giants is more porous than one might think: the wise giant Mimir guards the well of wisdom for which Odin sacrificed an eye; the giantess Gerd became the wife of the god Freyr; and Odin stole the precious mead of poetry from the giant Suttung in eagle form. Jotunheim is chaos: but a chaos the gods keep taking things from.

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6 of 12 questions with answers

Who inhabits Jötunheim?

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The giants

The ancient adversaries of the gods.

💡 Did you know? Some are frost, others fire giants.

What is the landscape of Jötunheim like?

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Wild and inhospitable

Full of frost, rock and danger.

💡 Did you know? It lies beyond the human world of Midgard.

Which god do the giants often oppose?

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Thor

The thunder god often battles them.

💡 Did you know? With his hammer Mjölnir he slays many.

What does Jötunheim stand for in the order of worlds?

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For chaos

It is the counterpole to the order of the gods.

💡 Did you know? At Ragnarök the giants storm against Asgard.

What is the giants' enchanted stronghold called?

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Utgard

There Utgard-Loki fooled the thunder god Thor.

💡 Did you know? All the trials were illusions.

What did Thor unknowingly drink from in Utgard's drinking contest?

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From the sea

The horn was secretly connected to the ocean.

💡 Did you know? His gulps were said to explain the tides.

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