To save himself from the wrath of the Aesir, Loki came up with a plan that involved transforming himself into a magnificent mare. Afraid they might lose the challenge and blaming Loki, they forced him to correct his mistake. As the deadline drew near it seemed like the giant was almost about to complete the task in good time. But as it turned out the stallion was actually a mighty horse and ended up doing most of the work for the giant. The giant agreed but only if he was allowed to take the help of his horse, Svadilfari.Īt first, the gods were reluctant to agree but eventually accepted as per Loki’s argument that one horse’s help wouldn’t make that much of a difference. Being the cunning gods they were, they made the task difficult for him by stating that he had to complete it in only one season and without any help from any man. So, the Aesir were not willing to give him what he wanted. Let’s take a pose here to note that the disappearing of the sun and the moon is believed to be the conditions that needed to be met for the initiation of Ragnarok, the end of the Norse deities. In return, he asked for the goddess Freya’s hand in marriage, along with the sun and the moon. At the time the realm had not been fortified and the Jotunn offered to build a fortress wall, so mighty, that no one would penetrate it. Shocking right? It started when a giant who was a renowned mason visited Asgard with an offer.

What you should know, however, is that, unlike his siblings, Loki is his mother and not his father. When it comes to Sleipnir’s, we’ve mentioned that he is Loki’s child. He is also believed to have runes written on his teeth.

His hide was as grey as the stormy sky and his main and tail were a darker shade of grey. He is often depicted as having eight legs in total although some speculate that this may have just been to show that he was the fastest horse in all the realms. In terms of appearance, Sleipnir was muscular and mighty. He also appears in the Volsunga saga and Gesta Danorum. He also appears in the Prose edda in the saga Gylfaginning. His special abilities have been mentioned in many myths and sagas including the poems Baldrs draumar, Hyndluljóð, Grímnismál, and Sigrdrífumál in the Poetic Edda. Sleipnir has strength and speed beyond that seen in any horse.

It also seemed that the horse also had children, He is believed to be the ancestor of Grani, who Odin gifted to a hero named Sigurd. Although some accounts mention that Fenrir was the first child of Loki, there is reason to believe that Sleipnir came first. That would make him the brother to Fenrir, Hel, and the giant serpent. But who was Sleipnir outside of being Odin’s pet?Īs it would turn out, Sleipnir was Loki’s child. It, therefore, makes sense that he was the trusty companion of the All-father, the most powerful Norse god there was. He was faster and mightier than any horse in the entire nine worlds. Unlike other horses, Sleipnir could run on land, water, and air. This was based on the horse’s ability to slip from one world to another. The name Sleipnir in Old Norse means ‘the slipper’ or ‘slipping one’. How Did Odin Get Sleipnir And Facts About Him?

Sleipnir parents