She was cast out of Asgard, the home of the gods, shortly after her birth by Odin. It is believed that Hel was the daughter of Loki, the trickster god, and the giantess Angrboda. Helheim is ruled by the goddess of death, Hel. People who passed away of old age or illness were considered to have died without honor and were therefore destined for eternity in the dismal underworld of Hel. ![]() Those who died defending their homes or local lands were also honored, although not as greatly. As a result, those who died in such a manner were guaranteed eternal life in the paradise of Valhalla with Odin. It was on foreign battlefields where the most honorable deaths were achieved. What is the difference between Valhalla and Helheim?Ī great deal of emphasis was placed on dying with honor in Norse culture. Hel, or Helheim, is the name used everywhere else to indicate the land of the dead. Niflhel means “foggy/misty Hel.” or “dark Hel.” Rudolf Simek, Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar, suggests that this notion of a realm separate from Helheim, a place of punishment, is the consequence of Snorri’s Christian conceptions and biases. Niflheim appears in Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda in the Gylfaginning section. ![]() These contradictory accounts make it difficult to give a definitive answer regarding whether Helheim is hot or cold, but for simplicity’s sake, I would say, yes, it’s cold. However, by most accounts, it is a cold dark place. There are some conflicting accounts of Helheim that state that the temperatures are scorching hot and blistering cold. It was not a place of eternal bliss or torment but rather a continuation of life at a different location. In Helheim, the dead participate in the same activities as Viking age men and women: eating, drinking, fighting, sleeping, and so on. What is life in Helheim like?Īlthough the underworld is rarely described in the sources, when it is, it is often portrayed in a positive light.Īs a place where the dead live on in some capacity, it is sometimes portrayed as a land of startlingly abundant life on the other side of death. No other source makes this distinction, and several examples provide evidence to the contrary. Snorri himself contradicts his distinction between Valhalla and Helheim in his version of the story of Baldr, Odin’s son, who is violently killed but is nonetheless carried to Hel. Snorri’s assertion that those who die in battle go to Valhalla, the sublime hall of Odin, while those who die from sickness or old age go to Hel is unrealistic. He was fond of presenting his pre-Christian ancestors as anticipating aspects of Christianity based on the evidence available to him. ![]() Snorri wrote many generations after Norse paganism had been replaced by Christianity and ceased to be a living tradition. Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda describes Helheim as a thoroughly unpleasant place. While the Old Norse sources are far from clear on how one ended up in one of the Norse afterlife realms instead of another, what is evident is that where one goes after death is not a reward for moral behavior or pious belief, nor is it a punishment for immoral behavior or impious belief. However, this notion is a point of contention amongst Norse mythology experts. It has been said that all people who die from illness, old age, or are regarded as cowards or dishonorable by the Gods and Goddesses will end up in the realm of Helheim.Īccording to the Viking Age, if you did not die in battle, you would simply go to Helheim. What is the difference between Valhalla and Helheim?.
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