Who Won Ragnarok in Norse Mythology?
Ragnarok was the greatest battle in Norse mythology. Not only did Ragnarok mark the end of Norse Pantheon but it also opens a new chapter for the cosmos. But a question about Ragnarok that remains hard to answer is that who won Ragnarok in Norse mythology? Gods or Giant or other types of creatures in Norse mythology?
What happened in Ragnarok?
Prior to the days of Ragnarok, there were many signs telling all creatures that the time had already come. The first sign was the death of Baldur the beloved God. Baldur was the son of Odin the Allfather and Frigg the wife of Odin. Everyone in the cosmos loved Baldur not only because of his beauty but also his great character. Baldur was so beautiful and shining that even the most beautiful beings in the cosmos bowed down to him. But then he was destined to die to tell the gods that Ragnarok was looming large.
Then the next signs were the battles among humans in Midgard. Brothers fought against one another in Midgard and blood was everywhere. Three consecutive winters came to Midgard without any summers. The sun and the moon were swallowed and this made the cosmos fall into darkness. And when the rooster Gullinbamki crowed and the horn of Heimdall made an alarming sound, everyone knew that Ragnarok was on the threshold.
Loki broke himself free from the cave where Gods had bound him to. Fenrir the Great Monster and also son of Loki tore the magical chain of gods apart and joined his father in this final combat. Another son of Loki, Jormungand the Midgard Serpent rose from the dark ocean in Midgard to poison the Nine Worlds with his terrible breath. And Hel the only daughter of Loki who was the Queen of the Dead sent the ship Naglfar carrying the corpse and the dragon Nidhogg to join Loki's army. They headed to Asgard the home of Aesir gods.
Ragnarok was the last battle in Norse mythology. Because it finally put an end to the glory of Norse Pantheon.
Fenrir swallowed anything that dared to approach him in the path. As the destiny was set, Fenrir finally swallowed Odin the Allfather when they met each other in Ragnarok. Vidar the son of Odin who had been remaining silent and unimportant for the whole mythology now sought revenge to the death of his father. He wore his magical shoe that was created to be used for this moment only. One foot stepped into the lower jaw of Fenrir and one hand held the wolf's upper jaw. Vidar tore apart the mouth of Fenrir slaying him.
Thor God of Thunder and Storm met his sworn enemy in Ragnarok. In this last battle, Thor managed to slay Jormungand with his Mjolnir hammer. But the poisonous venom of Jormungand killed Thor after he had walked seven paces away from the dead serpent.
Heimdall and Loki were destined to kill each other in this final battle.
Freyr God of Summer and Sunshine who joined the battle with the antler was slain by the firing sword of Surtr the giant. After killing Freyr, Surtr the giant wielded his terrible sword and set the whole cosmos in the fire.
The ancient giant of fire finally put an end to the battle by wielding his sword and setting the whole cosmos on fire.
Everything was caught in the savage fire of Surtr. Ragnarok ended and so did the glory of Norse Pantheon.
Who won Ragnarok? Gods or Giants?
It seems like Giants won this battle because they killed nearly all major gods. Odin, Thor, Heimdall, Freyr, Tyr, etc. But in return, Norse gods put an end to the most important villains that waged Ragnarok war, including Loki, Fenrir the Wolf, Jormungand the Midgard Serpent, Garm the Hound.
No good result was produced here. Every type of creatures in Nine Worlds was scattered by the destructive effect of Ragnarok. Gods lost their leading powers. So did the giants. Creatures like the human, elf, dwarves must have been negatively affected by Ragnarok as well. Houses were destroyed and every creatures had to erect their homes once again.
So the my personal answer to the question "Who won Ragnarok" was that "no one". After all, there were survivors from each side. The younger generation of the gods lived on, for example, Magni Thor's son who inherited the Mjolnir hammer, Vidar (son of Odin), Hoenir, Vili, Hermod, Baldur (resurrected from the underworld), Frigg, Freya, etc. Some of the giants were not mentioned as the deceased in Ragnarok like Hel, Surtr, etc. Two humans survived under the protection of Yggdrasil Great Tree of Life. They carried on the mission of repopulating the world.
A new chapter of the world had already begun. The good and the bad still lived together. They started to build a new community for all creatures again just like Odin, Vili, and Ve had done in the creation of the world. The loss was great but the new generation lived on.
