Ragnarök
Ragnarök, often referred to as the "doom of the gods," is a significant event in Norse mythology, marking the end of the world as foretold by ancient Vikings and northern Germanic peoples. This cataclysmic series of events is characterized by the deaths of many gods, including Odin and Thor, but it also emphasizes a cycle of death and rebirth rather than a definitive end. Key to Ragnarök is the notion of precursors, such as the death of the beloved god Baldur, which triggers a series of ominous signs, including a prolonged winter known as Fimbulwinter, that precedes the final battles.
As the event unfolds, giants and various formidable creatures, like Fenrir the wolf and Jörmungandr the serpent, clash with the gods in a dramatic battle on the field of Vigrid. Despite heavy losses, including the destruction of the earth and most of humanity, a few gods and two humans survive to repopulate a renewed world, which eventually rises from the sea. This new era is characterized by prosperity and peace, echoing the cyclical nature of life and death perceived in ancient Viking culture. Ultimately, Ragnarök illustrates profound themes of destruction and regeneration, reflecting a worldview where endings lead to new beginnings.
Ragnarök
Ragnarök, also known as doom of the gods, is a series of events that is part of the religion of the ancient Vikings and the northern Germanic peoples. It refers to the events surrounding the end of the world, including the deaths of almost all the gods. However, unlike many other world's end myths, Ragnarök is part of a cycle of death and rebirth. Two humans and several younger gods survive its events and proceed to repopulate the earth.
Precursors to Ragnarök
The ancient Vikings and northern Germanic peoples believed that a variety of warning signs would lead up to the climactic events of Ragnarök. First among these would be the death of the god Baldur. According to myths, Baldur was so beloved by humans and the other gods that it caused him to glow. His death, arranged by the Norse trickster god Loki, would have severely upset the supernatural world.
At this point in the mythology, Ragnarök can still be averted. Hel, the goddess of death and the underworld, offers to return Baldur to the living if every being in the universe cries for him at once. All do, except for the giantess Tokk, who shouts, "Let Hel keep what is hers!" In most sources, Tokk is Loki in disguise.
After these events have taken place, the Fimbulwinter will seize Midgard, the realm of men. The Finbulwinter is a cold, dark winter that lasts several years. No warmth will be found, and summer will not take place during the Fimbulwinter. Poems about the period state that it will be a time of great strife, during which brothers will kill one another for survival.
Near the end of the Fimbulwinter, three roosters will crow. Fjalar, a red rooster, will alert the giants that Ragnarök has begun. A golden rooster, Gullinkambi, will do the same for the Norse gods. A third rooster will tell the dishonored dead to rise. Jormungand, the giant serpent that lives at the bottom of the oceans of Midgard, will begin to make its way toward land. The creature’s immense size will cause giant waves, and the venom that drips from its mouth will stain the land and the sky.
Battles of Ragnarök
Once Ragnarök has officially begun, the giants will march to Vigrid, the fabled field of battle. Surt, the terrifying fire giant, will light the entire world on fire. The wolf Fenrir will stretch his jaws from the earth to the sky and swallow everything he can find. Loki will betray the other gods one final time, and lead an army of the dishonored dead to battle on the side of the giants.
Odin—also known as the All-father and the head of the Norse pantheon—and his most famous son, Thor, will be the first to take the field against their foes. They will lead all the gods, as well as all the warriors who died honorably in battle. Odin will decide to fight Fenrir, while Thor will fight Jormungand. While Odin is fearsome in battle, he is eventually devoured by Fenrir. Another one of Odin’s sons, Vidar, will kill the wolf to avenge his father. Thor will slay Jormungand after a lengthy battle but will be covered in the serpent’s poison. He will walk nine steps before collapsing and dying. Loki and Heimdall, watchman of the gods, will slay each other in an evenly matched duel. Out of all the Norse gods, only Thor’s sons Modi and Magni, Odin’s sons Vidar and Vali, and Odin’s brother Villi survive the battle.
As the rest of the gods are slain by the giants, the earth is damaged beyond repair. It breaks apart, sinking into the sea, and killing almost all of humanity. The sun is swallowed in the sky, and the world is plunged into an age of primordial darkness and stillness. All Nine Worlds of the Norse cosmos are destroyed.
After Ragnarök
Sometime after the final battle of Ragnarök, a new earth will rise out of the sea. This earth is green, lush, and full of good food. Baldur, whose death began the end of the world, will be raised from the dead and summon the surviving gods together. The gods will discuss what happened and what to do next.
Two humans, a man and a woman, will survive Ragnarök by hiding in a forest that Surt’s fire failed to burn. These humans will slowly repopulate the earth, ushering in a new age of peace and prosperity. Food will grow from fields without being sown, and the people will not fight wars.
Eventually, the surviving gods will decide to take on the identities of the old gods. They will even take credit for the deeds of the old gods. In this way, the gods are slowly reborn. Eventually, a new Ragnarök will come, and humanity will die and be reborn again. This cycle will be repeated forever.
The ancient Vikings saw abbreviated versions of this endless cycle in the passing of the seasons, and even in the definite beginnings and ends of their own lives.
In Popular Culture
Ragnarök was depicted in the medieval compilations the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. It later served as inspiration for novels, comic books, and films.
Thor became a popular superhero in the Marvel Comics universe beginning in the 1960s, thanks to American comics creator Stan Lee. Marvel's 2004 comic book Ragnarok follows the Norse myth relatively faithfully, with Loki instigating the apocalypse and Thor using Surtur to wipe out the Nine Worlds. The major difference is that in the comic book, Thor survives, thus enabling the series to continue.
Various Marvel stories were adapted into a successful live-action film franchise about Thor in the 2000s and 2010s. Some aspects of Ragnarök were portrayed in the Marvel blockbuster hit Thor: Ragnarok, directed by Taika Waititi and released in November 2017. Although other Marvel superheroes such as the Incredible Hulk feature prominently, the film remains faithful to Thor being a hammer-wielding thunder god and includes several other Norse gods. Ragnarök is still considered an apocalyptic event to be forestalled.
Thor: Ragnarok departs from Norse myth in a number of fundamental respects, however. Among these are enmities and allegiances. First, Hela, portrayed as the goddess of death, is Thor's opponent and older half sister through their father, Odin, whereas in mythology, she is the underworld goddess and daughter of Loki, who initiates Ragnarök. Onscreen, Odin dies at the outset, releasing Hela, rather than being devoured by Fenrir in battle. Lastly, Loki assists Thor and allies with Heimdall instead of killing him. Other differences between the film and the source mythology have to do with plot points: too few gods appear onscreen, including some destined to die at the Ragnarök of myth; Marvel's Surtur burns only Asgard, not all Nine Worlds; and finally, Thor does not die but accompanies other Asgard survivors on a space odyssey to resettle elsewhere at the end of Thor: Ragnarok.
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