The Creation of the Universe - Norse Mythology

Before there was soil, or sky, or any green thing, there was only the gaping abyss of Ganongagap. This darkness lay between the homeland of elemental fire, Muspelheim, and the homeland of elemental ice, Nilfheim. The flames from Muspelheim and the frost from Nilfheim moved ever closer, and they eventually met in the abyss. As the ice began to melt, the droplets themselves formed Ymir, the first of the giant kind. Ymir was capable of reproducing asexually, and as he slept the sweat from underneath his arms formed two more giants. A third was later born, creating the first family of giants known as the Jotuns. From the ice emerged a cow named Aldumbla. Her milk would nourish Ymir and the other giants, and in return the cow would be nourished by the blocks of ice. Aldumbla's licks uncovered Bori, the first god of the Aesir tribe. Bori would have a son called Bor, who would marry Besla, the daughter of the giant Bolthorn. They later had three half-god, half-giant children. We know them as Odin, Vili and Ve. Odin and his brothers were concerned with how quickly the giants could reproduce, as they severely outnumbered the Aesir. The three brothers decided that their only option was to slay Ymir, and they waited till the giants slept before they began their assault. With all their strength, the brothers were able to overpower and slay Ymir. The blood which spouted from Ymir's body formed rivers, and these rivers drowned all but two giants. The surviving giants, Bergelmir and his wife, fled to the misty land we now know as Jotunheim. The world as we know it in Norse mythology was created from the remains of Ymir's body. Odin and his brothers dragged Ymir's body into the abyss and the nine worlds were created. His blood formed rivers, his flesh and muscles became land, vegetation was formed from his hair, clouds from his brains, mountains from his bones, and his skull formed the sky. Ymir's skull would cover the entire new world, and the gods placed sparks from Muspelheim inside of the skull and these would illuminate the world as stars. They built Asgard on the plains of Idavol and this became the home of the gods, far away from Jotunheim where the giants were allowed to live. The gods eventually formed the first man and woman from the trunks of two ash trees. These humans were to live in Midgard and a fence was built around them to protect them from the giants of Jotunheim. The dwarves were formed when Ymir's body began to rot. The worms which crawled out of the remains became dwarves. The gods became worried that Ymir's rotting body would cause the sky to fall. They sent four dwarves, one in each direction, to hold up the sky. These dwarves were named after the cardinal directions, Nordi for north, Soundri for south, Vestri for west and Austri for east. The remaining dwarves made their home underground and in caves located in Svartelheim. There was a man who had two children so bright and luminous that he named them Sol and Marni. The gods were angered by the man's arrogance and so they took both children away from him. They placed both of the children in the sky and they would become the sun and moon. The Norse myth of creation is one that has many conceptual meanings behind it, one of the most prominent being that life comes from death. The world was not created from nothing as it was in the Judeo-Christian myth. Rather than the gods creating the world, they first had to slay Ymir, who in this case represents the primal chaos as he can reproduce without death or destruction. Ymir's kin, the giants, are constantly attempting to drag the world back into chaotic nothingness, and during the Ragnarok they do succeed in destroying the world. As always, I've been your host, Mythology & Folklore Explained.