Who was Asgard Watchman?
Every realm in the Norse cosmos had a watchman to look for both expected and unexpected guests. Up in the highest branches of Yggdrasil was Asgard the land of Aesir gods. Asgard was the dreamland of many creatures because it was peaceful, sacred, and orderly. To prevent any evil spirit to enter Asgard, there was an Asgard watchman who though did not appear much possessed incredible power. He was Heimdall.
The Origin of Heimdall
Heimdall was one of the Aesir gods who were famous for their mighty weapons and magic. He was the son of Odin and nine mothers. Heimdall was tall, handsome, and he possessed the dazzling smile. He was the god of shining, god of light, and god of white.
Depiction of Norse Heimdall Asgard Watchman
The myth about Heimdall birth was somewhat awkward but still interesting though. One day, when Odin the Allfather was wandering along the beach, he came across a group of nine beautiful creatures. They were nine beautiful giantesses falling asleep on the sand. They were the daughters of sea god Aegir. Odin fell for them so deeply that he decided to marry all of them on the spot. The product of that surprising wedding was the birth of Heimdall. The nine mothers got very special things to nurture Heimdall: the strength of the earth, the moisture of the sea, and the heat of the sun. This incredible diet made Heimdall grow up at an amazing rate and quickly became the man who was the watchman of Asgard.
The Power of Heimdall
Heimdall was famous with three powers: eyes could see at nights, ears could hear the grass grow, and less sleep than birds. The eyes of Heimdall could see for 100 miles away. Some even said that Heimdall got the eyes that could see the future but this still remained a mystery. Heimdall's eyes could see the goings and comings in the Bifrost Rainbow Bridge which connected Asgard and Midgard. The hearing of Heimdall was very accurate. He could hear the grass growing up in the land of Midgard or even the wool growing in the sheep's back.
As the watchman of Asgard, Heimdall got a wonderful horn known as the Gjallarhorn which he used to alarm the gods about the giant army coming to Asgard in Ragnarok. He got a mighty horse and a powerful sword, respectively named Gulltop and Hofund.
The sworn enemy of Heimdall was Loki the Norse trickster. One day, Heimdall spotted Loki stole the necklace of goddess Freya and escaped into the ocean. Heimdall set out to follow Loki into the ocean and managed to capture the trickster back to Asgard. From that moment on, Loki and Heimdall became the sworn enemies. These two was destined to kill each other during the event of Ragnarok.
