The Norse gods are the gods the Vikings worshipped before Scandinavia became Christian around the year 1000. They are a quarrelsome, very human family. They make mistakes, break promises, grow old without magic apples and know that one day they will die. That last point sets them apart from almost every other set of gods, and it gives the stories much of their power.
Two families of gods
The gods belong to two groups. The Aesir are the larger family and include Odin, Thor, Tyr and Frigg. They live in Asgard and are mostly concerned with war, rule and wisdom. The Vanir are a smaller group linked with fertility, wealth and the sea, and include Njord and his children Frey and Freya.
The myths say the two families once went to war. Neither side could win, so they made peace and exchanged hostages, which is how Njord, Frey and Freya came to live among the Aesir. After that the difference mattered little, and all of them are simply called the gods.
The main gods
| God | Known for |
|---|---|
| Odin | Chief of the gods. Wisdom, war, poetry, magic and the dead |
| Thor | Thunder, strength and the protection of gods and people |
| Tyr | War, law and justice. Lost a hand binding the wolf Fenrir |
| Baldur | The most beloved of the gods, whose death begins the road to Ragnarok |
| Heimdall | Watchman of the gods, who guards the rainbow bridge and carries the horn Gjallarhorn |
| Loki | Trickster and shape shifter, a giant's son who lives among the gods |
| Njord | The sea, the wind and wealth. Father of Frey and Freya |
| Frey | Fertility, sunshine, rain and good harvests |
| Bragi | Poetry and eloquence |
| Ullr | Archery, hunting and skiing |
| Vidar | The silent god, who avenges Odin at Ragnarok |
| Forseti | Justice and the settling of disputes |
The main goddesses
| Goddess | Known for |
|---|---|
| Frigg | Wife of Odin. Marriage, motherhood and foresight |
| Freya | Love, fertility, magic, and half of those who die in battle |
| Sif | Wife of Thor, famous for her golden hair |
| Idun | Keeper of the apples that keep the gods young |
| Skadi | A giantess who became a goddess. Winter, mountains, skiing and the hunt |
| Hel | Ruler of the realm of the dead that shares her name. Daughter of Loki |
| Eir | Healing |
| Saga | A goddess who drinks with Odin each day, linked with seeing and knowledge |
| Sol | The sun, who drives her chariot across the sky |
| Ran | The sea goddess who gathers the drowned in her net |
Gods, giants and the nine worlds
The gods share the universe with several other kinds of being. The giants, called jotnar, are their great rivals, though the line between the two is thin. Many gods have giant mothers or giant wives, and Loki is a giant's son. There are also elves, dwarves, who are the master craftsmen of the myths, and the norns, three women who shape the fate of every living thing.
All of them live in nine worlds held in the branches and roots of the great ash tree Yggdrasil. The sources never give one tidy list, but the worlds usually named are Asgard, home of the Aesir, Midgard, the world of people, Jotunheim, land of the giants, Vanaheim, Alfheim, the land of the dwarves, icy Niflheim, fiery Muspelheim and Hel, the realm of the dead.
Ragnarok, the end of the gods
The Norse gods know how their story ends. At Ragnarok, after three winters with no summer between them, the wolf Fenrir breaks his chain, the world serpent rises from the sea and the giants march on Asgard. Odin is swallowed by Fenrir. Thor kills the serpent and then dies of its venom. Tyr, Frey, Heimdall and Loki all fall, and the world sinks into the sea.
It is not quite the end. The poems say that a green earth rises again from the water, a few of the younger gods survive, Baldur returns from the dead and two people who hid in a wood come out to begin the human race again.
Which gods did the Vikings really worship
The stories give Odin the highest rank, but the evidence on the ground points to Thor as the favourite of ordinary people. His name appears in hundreds of personal names and place names, and his hammer was worn as a charm across the Viking world. Odin was more a god of kings, warriors and poets. Frey was especially important in Sweden, where the royal family claimed descent from him. Loki, for all his fame in the stories, seems never to have been worshipped at all.
How the stories survived
Nearly everything we know comes from Iceland. The Poetic Edda is a collection of anonymous poems preserved in a manuscript written around 1270. The Prose Edda was written around 1220 by Snorri Sturluson, a chieftain and poet who wanted to explain the old myths to young poets. Both were written down by Christians more than two centuries after the conversion, so we are seeing the old religion through a later lens.
The gods also live on in the English week. Our guide to Norse gods and the days of the week explains how Tyr, Odin, Thor and Frigg gave their names to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Common questions
Who are the main Norse gods?
Odin, Thor, Frigg, Freya, Frey, Tyr, Loki, Baldur and Heimdall are the best known. Odin is the chief of the gods, Thor is the thunder god and protector of humankind, and Freya is the goddess of love.
How many Norse gods are there?
There is no fixed number. The Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson says there are twelve chief gods and a similar number of goddesses, but his own lists do not quite agree with each other, and several dozen gods and goddesses are named in the sources overall.
What is the difference between the Aesir and the Vanir?
They are the two families of Norse gods. The Aesir, including Odin, Thor and Tyr, are linked with war, rule and wisdom. The Vanir, including Njord, Frey and Freya, are linked with fertility, wealth and the sea. The two fought a war, made peace and exchanged hostages.
Who is the most powerful Norse god?
Odin is the highest in rank and the wisest, while Thor is the strongest. Thor seems to have been the most widely worshipped by ordinary people, to judge by place names, personal names and hammer amulets.
Where do we learn about the Norse gods?
Mainly from two Icelandic works of the thirteenth century. The Poetic Edda is a collection of old anonymous poems, and the Prose Edda was written by Snorri Sturluson around 1220 as a handbook for poets.
Last reviewed 12 November 2026