Who Is Hel
Hel is a powerful and haunting figure in Norse myth. She is the daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda and is sent by Odin to rule over the realm of the dead. Her domain receives those who die of sickness, age, or misfortune rather than in glorious battle.
Descriptions of Hel often emphasise her half-and-half nature: one side of her body appears as a living woman while the other is corpse-pale or dark and decayed. This divided form reflects her role between life and death, beauty and horror, kinship and separation.
Although she is counted among the giants by birth, Hel rules a realm that even the gods must reckon with. Her decisions in key myths such as the fate of Baldr show the weight of her authority and the finality of the world she governs.
Role and Nature
Ruler of the Dead
Hel governs the souls of those who die ordinary deaths, presiding over halls, fields, and courts beneath the world of the living.
Cold and Distant Realm
Her world is often described as cold, shadowed, and far away, reached by long journeys down and northward.
Child of Chaos
As the daughter of Loki and Angrboda, Hel is tied to forces that unsettle the ordered world of the gods.
Hel in Norse Stories
One of the most important tales involving Hel is the death of Baldr. After Baldr is killed, his soul travels to Helheim. The god Hermod rides to Hel on Odin's horse Sleipnir to beg for Baldr's release. Hel sets a condition: if every being in the world weeps for Baldr, she will let him return.
Almost all creation does weep, but a single giantess (often thought to be Loki in disguise) refuses. Because the condition is not fully met, Hel keeps Baldr in her realm. This choice reinforces the idea that death is final and bound by strict, even if harsh, rules.
At Ragnarok, Hel is associated with the armies of the dead and the forces that rise against the gods. Her realm and lineage underline the sense that the world of the living is always shadowed by an unseen kingdom beneath it.
Quick Facts
Connected Figures
Symbolism
Hel symbolises the unavoidable reality of death and the quiet power of those who rule beyond the reach of ordinary life. Her half-living, half-dead form reminds us that the boundary between worlds is thin, and that even the gods cannot escape the pull of the underworld forever.