2.4.4 Asgard, the realm of the Gods
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This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
2.4.4 Asgard, the realm of the Gods
Once heaven and earth were formed, it was time to set about the
building of Asgard, the realm of the gods. Here there were many
wonderful halls, in which the gods dwelt. Odin himself lived in
Valaskjalf, a hall roofed with silver, where he could sit in his
special seat and view all the worlds at once. He had another hall
called Valhalla, the hall of the slain, where he offered hospitality
to all those who fell in battle. Each night they feasted on pork that
never gave out, and on mead which flowed instead of milk from the
udders of the goat Heidrun, one of the creatures that fed upon
Yggdrasill. Odin's guests spent the day in fighting, and all who fell
in the combat were raised again in the evening to feast with the rest.
Horns of mead were carried to them by the Valkyries, the maids of
Odin, who had also to go down to the battlefields of earth and decide
the course of war, summoning fallen warriors to Valhalla. Somewhere in
Asgard there was a building with a roof of gold, called Gimli, to
which it was said that righteous men went after death. There were
other realms beyond Asgard, like Alfheim, where the fair elves lived,
and as many as three heavens, stretching one beyond the other.
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