Sol and Mani: God of The Sun And The Moon In Norse Myth
How did the Vikings explain the day and night natural phenomena? In Norse mythology, there were two figures whose names were Sol and Mani. Their responsibility in Norse mythology was to pull the sun and the moon across the sky.
Sol (pronounced like "soul") and Mani (pronounced like "Mah-nee") were the names of two obscure figures in Norse mythology. Sol was female and Mani was male. In some accounts, they mentioned that Sol and Mani were the children of the Midgard man who was so boastful about his family. This father was so arrogant that he kept saying his children were as beautiful as the gods. Hearing these boastful words of the man, the gods set out to steal his children. They placed the two beautiful children on the sky and ordered them to daily ride the chariot of the Sun and the Moon across the sky.
The sun and the moon were chased after by Hati and Skoll
In other accounts, it claimed that Sol and Mani had never met each other before. They formed the sister-brother bond. Originally, they didn't know why they were born in the cosmos. Then they met the gods who endowed them with their missions in their life.
Sol and Mani rode on the chariots drawn by the horses to cross the sky. There were two wolves who were believed to be the sons of Fenrir that chased after the chariots of Sol and Mani. Their names were Hati and Skoll which respectively meant "Hate" and "Mockery". But no matter how hard the wolves tried, they didn't manage to catch Sol and Mani until Ragnarok. Legend had it that when Ragnarok broke on the sky, Hati and Skoll swallowed the Sun and the Moon sending the whole world into darkness.
Trundholm sun chariot from Denmark
In Prose Edda, Svalinn rode with Sol and held a shield in her hand. She held a shield between her and Midgard below to prevent Midgard from being destroyed by the flames of the sun.
After Ragnarok, the world was reborn once more time. Although this time, Norse Pantheon had been destroyed and the old Sun and the old Moon were swallowed by Hati and Skoll, a new generation was born. The daughter of Sol who was as beautiful as her mother would take the responsibility that her mother once did.
