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The Norse Realm of Hel

© Linda Casselman

Previously, we had been looking at several of the realms on the cosmic tree Yggdrasil from Norse mythology. We had a look at the treacherous and icy world of the Frost Giants called Jotunheim, and we took a peek at the homes of the Norse gods, the mighty stronghold in Asgard as well as Vanaheim. This time, let's explore the Norse netherworld of Hel.

Don't be afraid; I'll hold your hand. Hel, you say, that sounds familiar. Indeed it does. Sounds like the Christian land of eternal damnation, Hell, doesn't it? Well, that's because the early Christians, not being very original folks, borrowed the name for their own version of the underworld from the ancient Norsemen. Anyway, let's have a closer look at the Norse version shall we?

First of all, Hel is actually the name of the Norse goddess of the dead. Daughter of the somewhat evil, trickster god Loki and the frost giantess Angrboda, Hel was so hideous that the chief god Odin banished her to the underworld that bore her name. She was a vile queen of the damned, with the head and body of a hag and the thighs and legs of a decomposing corpse.

Once in her underworld realm, Hel reigned so powerfully that when the hero Balder, Odin's own beloved son, was killed accidentally, she refused to restore him to his parents, to the land of the living, proving that even the gods are powerless against death.

From her throne, representing the sickbed or deathbed, Hel presided over her subjects in a dark, cold, dismal land. All of those who had the misery to die of illness, old age, or as a criminal made up her court in Hel. There they suffered a dreary, cheerless existence filled with constant pain, hunger, and cold until the end of that world's cycle in the battle of Ragnarok when all would be destroyed and a new world would emerge.

Indeed, the goddess of death and queen of the netherworld is a frightening figure, and her bleak realm of Hel was certainly nothing to look forward to as one neared the end of one's life on earth. This notion of such a dreadful afterlife must have had a tremendous effect on the ancient Norsemen's psyche, contributing to their success as great warriors. After all, what strong, healthy ancient Norseman wouldn't prefer to be taken up to Valhalla after dying valiantly on the battlefield instead of rotting away in Hel?