Heimdall the Bouncer

Heimdall: God of Light, Security and Surveillance.

Heimdall is the son of 9 mothers. The tale of his nine mothers is as such:
In the course of a walk along the sea-shore Odin once beheld nine beautiful giantesses, the wave maidens, Gialp, Greip, Egia, Augeia, Ulfrun, Aurgiafa, Sindur, Atla, and Iarnsaxa, sound asleep on the white sand. The god of the sky was so charmed with these beautiful creatures that, as the Eddas relate, he wedded all nine of them, and they combined, at the same moment, to bring forth a son, who received the name of Heimdall.

“Born was I of mothers nine,Son I am of sisters nine.”

The nine mothers proceeded to nourish their babe on the strength of the earth, the moisture of the sea, and the heat of the sun, which singular diet proved so strengthening that the new god acquired his full growth in a remarkably short space of time, and hastened to join his father in Asgard. He found the gods proudly contemplating the rainbow bridge Bifröst, which they had just constructed out of fire, air, and water, the three materials which can still plainly be seen in its long arch, where glow the three primary colours: the red representing the fire, the blue the air, and the green the cool depths of the sea. 

Heimdall has gold teeth, owns the golden-maned horse Gulltoppr, and is the keeper of the horn called Gjallar. Heimdall, referred to as "the whitest of the gods", possesses foreknowledge, keen eyesight and hearing. He keeps watch for the onset of Ragnarök (end of the world) while drinking fine mead in his dwelling Himinbjörg, located where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets heaven.It is Heimdall's duty to prevent the giants from forcing their way into Åsgard. 


Apart from guard duty, Heimdall is the ever-watchful sentinel who waits with his horn to announce the end of the world. When Ragnarok arrives, he'll blow the most amazing note and the last battle will commence. 

Heimdall has been known to sneak off duty under the name Rig and have exciting adventures. One time he also rescued Freyjas precious necklace Brisingamen after it was stolen by Loki.

Apparently there were two seals sitting on a rock, looking at a bright shiny thing by their feet. They nodded a cursory 'Good Morning' to each other and continued to gaze down at what was actually the infinitely precious Brisingamen.

One of these seals was Loki. He'd stolen the necklace and retreated to the safety of an obscure sea-bound rock in the guise of a seal. Blending in with the seal population was proving somewhat difficult, but it was his best chance to avoid detection.

The other seal, having sat quietly on the rock for several hours with hardly a glance in his direction, hauled itself up, brushed itself down and unexpectedly punched Loki in the face. It was Heimdall, come to rescue the necklace. He'd disguised himself as a seal, positioned himself on the rock first and lulled Loki into a false sense of security.
 
Heimdall returned the Brisingamen to Freyja at Åsgard, and Freyja as everyone knows has a special way of showing her gratitude.
 


More mythology to come. 

There is a lot going on this spring! New Books coming out, the A-Z challenge, and for me the big Banzaicon Convention that I will be helping my son with. Hopefully I will soon be filling all of you in on this particular celebration of Japanese Culture. Busy, busy, but I try to get around to all of you and comment when I can. Let me know if you have anything big planned, I would love to hear about it. Almost forgot that tomorrow is my One Year Blogging Birthday and I have a special surprise all planned. Come back tomorrow to see what it is!