Ægir

Illustration of Ægir, Rán, and his nine daughters brewing beer.

Ægir is a jotun and the king of the seas in Norse mythology. He is a personification of the power of the ocean. He is also known to throw elaborate feasts for the Æsir. In Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál, Ægir is identified with Gymir and Hlér who lived on the island Hlésey, present-day Læsø. The prosaic headline for the Lokasenna says that his hall is a place of a shrine lit with brilliant gold and where ale gushes down.

Gymir is also the name of the giant father of the beautiful maiden Gerð (Frey's wife) as well as the husband of Aurboda. Another link between the Æsir and the sea giants can be found in Hymir, who is said in the Hymiskviða to be the father of Tyr. Ægir is said to have had nine daughters by his wife, Rán. His daughters were called maidens of the waves . They were called Bára, Blóðughadda, Bylgja, Dúfa, Hefring, Himinglæva, Hrönn, Kólga, and Unnr. The names reflect different characteristics of ocean waves.

Ægir is one of the sons of Fornjót, a giant and king of Finland, and brother of Logi (fire, flame) and Kári (wind). In the Lokasenna , he hosts a feast for the gods where he serves them fermented mead in a huge cauldron that had been provided by Thor. The story of how Thor wins the cauldron is told in the Hymiskviða.

Ægir has two servants, Fimafeng (killed by Loki) and Eldir.

Names

Ægir's name is sometimes romanized as "Aegir" or "Aeger". The common Swedish form is Ägir.

It is also called the brewer, because the white foam of the rough sea is reminiscent of the foam produced in the manufacture of beer. However, it seems that Ægir is a good-natured god, and that it is Rán and his daughters who cause most of the oceanic disasters.