Norse Pantheon
Hel
Also known as Hela
- death
- underworld
- disease
Goddess and ruler of the underworld realm of the dead (also called Hel or Helheim). Daughter of Loki. Her realm receives those who die of sickness or old age.
About Hel
Mistress of the Underworld
Hel is the ruler of Helheim, the realm of the dead (for those who did not die a warrior's death). She is half living flesh and half rotting corpse.
The Final Host
When Baldur died, Hermod rode to Helheim to beg for his release. Hel agreed only if every living thing wept for him. Because one giantess (Loki in disguise) refused, Baldur remained in her domain.
Origin story
Hel was born to Loki and the giantess Angrboda in the iron forests of Jotunheim, alongside her brothers Fenrir and Jormungandr. From birth, she was marked as different - half of her body was that of a beautiful woman, while the other half was black and decaying like a corpse. When the gods brought Loki's monstrous children to Asgard, Odin cast Hel down into the primordial realm of Niflheim and gave her authority over all those who die of sickness or old age. There she built her hall Eljudnir and awaits the dead with her plate Hunger and her knife Famine. Her realm, also called Hel, became the final destination for the inglorious dead.
Across traditions
Parallel figures
Figures who play a role like Hel's in other traditions.
GreekHadesIllustrationBoth rule an underworld realm that receives the souls of the dead
Compare Hel and Hades side by side
MesopotamianEreshkigalIllustrationBoth are goddesses who preside grimly over a shadowy realm of the dead
Compare Hel and Ereshkigal side by side
JapaneseIzanamiIllustrationBoth are goddesses who, after their own death, become ruler of an underworld realm that receives the dead
Compare Hel and Izanami side by side
Worship and cult
Temples, festivals, and practices recorded for Hel
Not worshipped as a blessing-goddess in the surviving record. She receives the dead who do not go to Odin or Freyja. Offerings to the dead are not the same as a Hel-cult, and the texts do not invent one.
Sacred sites
- No temple; the grave and the road to Hel are the 'precinct'
Family
HelRelationship sources
Prose Edda — Loki parent of Hel
Snorri Sturluson · Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur, The Prose Edda (1916), American-Scandinavian Foundation; Internet Sacred Text Archive transcription · Gylfaginning XXXIV (34)
Questions about Hel's family
- Who are Hel's parents?
- The atlas's kinship records name one parent of Hel: Loki. Ancient accounts do not always agree on divine parentage.
In the atlas
Where Hel appears
Play the myth
Branching retellings featuring Hel: your choices decide the ending.
The Judgment of Paris
Step into the sandals of Paris, prince of Troy. Three goddesses stand before you, each offering a gift beyond mortal dreams. But every choice carries consequences that will echo through eternity.
5-8 min3 endingsThor's Journey to Jotunheim
Accompany Thor, god of thunder, on a perilous journey to the realm of giants. Will you rely on Mjolnir's might, or discover that sometimes wisdom serves better than strength?
8-12 min8 endingsInanna's Descent
Go down to the underworld as Inanna, Queen of Heaven. Each gate will take a piece of your power. Whether you return depends on who you trusted before you left.
6-9 min4 endings
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Prose Edda, Gylfaginning (trans. Anderson)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.
Family relationships come from the atlas's kinship records. Ancient sources often disagree on divine genealogy.
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Genealogy
Family tree
Hel's parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.