Three Unbelievable Creation Stories in Norse Mythology You Don't Know

Like any other mythologies, Norse mythology did try to explain many natural things around them with stories. It also consisted of creation stories of other creatures that surely capture our attention. Below are three unbelievable creation stories in Norse mythology. 

The Cosmos Creation 

Indeed, mythology tries to explain how the world came into being. In Norse mythology, the world came from the corpse of the first giant in the universe. 

Long long ago, when it was prior to the time of Norse Pantheon, there was a Norse Big Bang Explosion that gave birth to the first creature in the world. At that time, there were only two worlds: Muspelheim (land of Fire) and Niflheim (land of Ice). When the fire and the ice met in the Ginnungagap the Gaping Abyss, there came the first giant - Ymir. 

The next creature was the Auðumbla which nourished Ymir with her milk. Every day, Auðumbla licked the salty ice for survival and unintentionally, her lickings made the ice melt and from the ice came the first god, Buri. Buri the God fathered Borr who later fathered Odin, Vili, and Ve. 

Odin, Vili, and Ve Vs. Ymir

Somehow, the brothers of Odin teamed up and set out a plan to kill Ymir. 

After days of fighting, the brothers managed to slay the giant. They used the dead body of Ymir to create the world. They turned the giant's blood into the ocean, teeth and bones for the mountains and cliffs, brain for the clouds, skull for the sky, skin and muscles for the soil and land, etc. 

The Birth of Sleipnir

If you are yet to know who Sleipnir of Norse mythology was, Sleipnir was the favorite steed of Odin the Allfather and he was also the son of Loki the Trickster. 

Sleipnir was an eight-legged horse with grey fur. No horse in the Nine Worlds could outrun Sleipnir. He could run through the sky, gallop through the ocean, and through the air. 

What's more interesting about this figure is his parentage. Loki mothered Sleipnir. Indeed, Loki literally mothered Sleipnir the Eight-legged Horse. 

Loki mothered Sleipnir when he shapeshifted into a mare to entertain a stallion in one night. 

The story went back to the time when a giant turned up at Asgard gate asking to build a protective wall for the gods. Of course, he wanted something as a prize for his construction - Freya as his bride, the Sun, and the Moon. Without doubt, this was an unacceptable deal yet Loki persuaded the gods to allow the giant to build by saying that the giant couldn't finish the project in time. 

But what Loki couldn't think of was that the giant had a horse that could work with double efficiency. Deadline approaching, the giant was about the finish the project. This worried the gods and they blamed Loki for this ordering him to solve the problem or else death. 

Loki the Trickster came up with an idea to lure the horse of the giant. He shapeshifted himself into a female horse to seduce the stallion. The moment the stallion saw Loki (in disguise of a mare), he chased after Loki regardless of his master shouting. Deep into the woods, they entertained each other for a night. And this one night resulted in the birth of Sleipnir the Eight-legged horse whom Loki gifted to Odin the Allfather. 

The Birth of Heimdall

In Norse mythology, Heimdall was the guardsman of Asgard. He had a horn from which he made a sound to alarm the gods about who were approaching their kingdom. 

Heimdall could see in all directions and he could see who was approaching from a far distance. His hearing was sharp as he could hear the grass growing up from the land below and the wool growing from the sheep's skin. Heimdall was among the wisest god in Norse Pantheon. He was the one who came up with the idea to rescue the Mjolnir Hammer back.

The interesting story about Heimdall was about his birth. He was the son of Odin and Nine Sea Maidens. Once Odin was wandering along the seashore, he saw nine beautiful maidens were playing nearby. He fell for all of them so hard that he decided to marry them on the spot. And together they produced Heimdall - their son. 

Heimdall was the son of Odin and Nine Sea Maidens

The mothers nourished their son with the strength and endurance of the earth, with the sea's fluid and moisture, with the wind of the sky, the heat and warmth of the sun, and the freshness of the cosmos. This helped Heimdall to grow up incredibly within a short period of time. And he finally entered Asgard to serve along with his brothers.