Ymir facts for kids
Ymir (also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn) is a very important figure in Norse mythology. He is known as the first and oldest giant, the ancestor of all the jötnar (which means giants). His story is told in ancient Norse poems and writings called the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda.
Who Was Ymir?
Ymir was the very first being to exist in the Norse creation story. He came into being in a place called Ginnungagap, which was a huge, empty space before anything else existed. Ymir was a giant made of ice and mist.
How the World Was Made from Ymir
According to the myths, Ymir was eventually killed by three powerful gods: Odin, Vili, and Vé. These gods then used Ymir's body to create the entire world we know!
They used different parts of his body for different things:
- His flesh became the land and earth.
- His blood (or sometimes his sweat) became the oceans and seas.
- His bones were used to form the tall mountains.
- His hair turned into the trees and plants.
- His skull became the sky above us.
- His brains were thrown into the air and became the clouds.
- His eyebrows were used to create a special place called Midgard, which is the world where humans live.
The Birth of Dwarves
After Ymir's death, tiny creatures that looked like maggots appeared in his body. The gods then gave these creatures intelligence and human-like forms, and they became the first dwarves. These dwarves were very skilled at working with rocks and metals, which makes sense since they came from Ymir's rocky body!
