Hel (Realm) - Mythopedia The realm of Hel was ruled by the goddess Hel, a fierce giantess indifferent to the fates of men There is some debate as to whether Hel was a place of suffering While most accounts depicted the realm as a place where the dead carried on as they had in life, others suggested it was a bleak, horrifying place
Loki – Mythopedia Loki also reproduced with his mistress, Angrboda, a jötunn (possibly a troll) who gave birth to three children: Hel, who ruled the eponymous underworld called Hel, Jörmungandr, the sea serpent of Midgard and arch-nemesis of Thor, and Fenrir, the massive wolf fated to slay Odin during Ragnarök
Niflheim – Mythopedia The Gylfaginning also explained how Odin came to appoint Hel as the ruler of Niflheim His account began with a discussion of Loki and the monstrous children he sired with the giantess Angrboda These children—Fenrir, the giant wolf, and Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent— were threats to both the gods and Asgard itself
Baldur – Mythopedia Lost in sorrow, Frigg asked for a volunteer to travel to the realm of the dead and beg Hel, goddess of the dead, for the release of Baldur Hermod, Frigg’s son and Baldur’s brother, stepped forward to offer his services Riding Sleipnir, he traveled for nine days and nine nights before finally arriving in Hel’s halls
Yan Wang - Mythopedia Yan Wang (閻王) is the King of Hell in Chinese mythology A fearsome deity, he rules over all the other lords of the underworld and determines the punishments the dead must endure before their reincarnation
Poetic Edda: Helreith Brynhildar (Full Text) - Mythopedia After the death of Brynhild there were made two bale-fires, the one for Sigurth, and that burned first, and on the other was Brynhild burned, and she was on a wagon which was covered with a rich cloth Thus it is told, that Brynhild went in the wagon on Hel-way, and passed by a house where dwelt a certain giantess The giantess spake:
Cerberus – Mythopedia Bruce Lincoln, a professor of religion at the University of Chicago, has suggested a connection with Garmr, one of Hel ’s guard dogs in Norse mythology According to Lincoln, both names may have been derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ger-, meaning “to growl ” Such Indo-European etymologies have been met with skepticism, however
Frigg – Mythopedia Hel agreed to release Baldur, but only on the condition that all things weep for Baldur As soon as Hermod had given them the news, the Aesir sent messengers throughout the known world They approached humans and animals, trees and plants, and even inanimate objects such as rocks and stones; all things wept for Baldur
Prose Edda: Gylfaginning (Full Text) - Mythopedia All the champions of Hel follow Loki; and the Sons of Múspell shall have a company by themselves, and it shall be very bright The field Vígrídr is a hundred leagues wide each way “When these tidings come to pass, then shall Heimdallr rise up and blow mightily in the Gjallar-Horn, and awaken all the gods; and they shall hold council together
Freya – Mythopedia Freya was the arrestingly beautiful Norse goddess of blessings, love, and fertility A member of the Vanir tribe known for her skill in divination, she could be both a gentle ruler and a fierce warrior