Skadi Hunting in the Mountains (1901) by H. L. M
Skadi is a giantess and goddess in Norse mythology. Skadi lives in the highest reaches of the mountains, where the snow never melts. She’s an avid huntress, and her bow, snowshoes, and skis are her most often-mentioned attributes. The giants (“devourers”) are predominantly forces of darkness, cold, and death. Skadi fits this pattern and seems to have had particular associations with winter. Her status as a goddess by marriage, however, along with the frequency of her historical worship, seems to suggest that she has a more benevolent demeanor than most of her kin.
Skadi’s father Thiazi was killed for stealing the Goddess Idunn (and therefore the God’s apples of immortality). When her father Thiazi was slain by the gods, Skadi wanted to take revenge. The gods thought it wiser to reconcile and offered her a marriage with one of them. Skadi was allowed to choose a husband, but she could only judge them by their feet, the rest of their bodies were hidden. She chose the loveliest pair, thinking that they belonged to the beautiful and good Balder, but instead got Njord, the Vanir sea-god. However, their marriage was a failure; Njord couldn’t stand the cold and dreariness of the mountains, and Skadi couldn’t stand the light and noise of Njord’s home by the seashore. So after nine nights at each place, they decided to live by them self. Skadi went back to her favorite interest to hunt on skis, and Njord returned to the sea.
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