Of course, in Scandinavian mythology there are no more evil and cruel creatures than frosty or ice giants. For their gluttony, they also received the nickname "etuna" - gluttons. It was they who often acted as the main opponents of aces and people - not too smart, but vile, cunning and strong, they caused a lot of problems to the inhabitants of both Midgard and Asgard.
Where did the ice giants come from?
Thanks to the Scandinavian legends preserved in Iceland (in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, they were destroyed by deep-rooted Christianity), it is known that their direct ancestor was Imir himself - the first living creature from whose body the whole world was created.
But then there are disagreements. Some experts believe that the ice giants are the children of Ymir, partially exterminated, partially hidden from the wrath of aces. Others say that giants and etuns were not equal in strength. That the giants, being the children of Ymir, were much larger and more cruel. But etuns (or jotuns) became the children of the only not killed giant - Bergelmir, who survived the death of Ymir. Accordingly, they were only weakened descendants of giants and grandchildren of Ymir, therefore it is impossible to reduce them into one category.
In any case, it was the ice giants in the mythology of the ancient Scandinavians who were the main antagonists of the main characters. Many myths are connected with the fact that they tried to steal magical artifacts from the aces (Draupnir ring, hammer Mjolnir, apples Idunn) or goddesses (Idunn, Freyu). Therefore, the confrontation of the higher gods - aces - and giants goes through all the myths.
How did they look
Mostly ice giants were anthropomorphic. First of all, they were distinguished from people and gods by their enormous size and ugliness. However, there were more original specimens.
For example, Trudgelmir had as many as six goals. Grungnir - the prince of the Jotuns - had a heart and a head made of stone. Of course, what the ice giants looked like, they will not be able to show us photos due to their complete absence. Therefore, you have to rely solely on legends and legends.
It is believed that Loki, one of the main characters in Viking mythology, was born as a giant. In the society of aces, they took him for outstanding resourcefulness and intelligence. True, later the gods more than once regretted it. Loki could turn into anyone - from a fly to a mare, who later gave birth to Sleipnir himself, Odin's six-legged horse. But basically he had the appearance of a handsome man with red hair.
Where did you live
To the question of where the ice giants lived, Scandinavian mythology gives a rather definite answer. Their main habitat was Jotunheim. This world (one of nine connected by Yggdrasil) was located on the roots of a mighty ash. That is, he was related to Niflheim and other worlds that have a very unpleasant "climate".
And here also confusion arises. On the one hand, according to legend, it is known that the ice giants lived in Niflheim. On the other hand, the world of Jotunheim, although it was located near Niflheim, was clearly separated from it, while having a name that related it to the Jotuns. This introduces additional difficulties in the attempt to classify the nine worlds and their inhabitants.
According to legend, Jotunheim is located east of Midgard (modern scientists place it beyond the Ural Mountains, in unknown and harsh lands). Utgarde was located here - the main settlement inhabited by giants. Also in this world were the Stone Mountains and the Iron Forest.
However, the aces could not stop the ice giants from climbing out of their worlds. Therefore, they often strove to do harm by stealing magical objects and goddesses. As a result, the aces often visited their lower worlds in order to return their friends and property, and at the same time take revenge on their impertinent eternal opponents.
It is believed that it was in Jotunheim that the Norns were born - three guardians of the times: past, present and future. Only after their appearance did time divide - before that, the future and the past were one. This partly explains many of the misunderstandings and paradoxes inherent in Scandinavian mythology.
The most famous of the giants
It is difficult to say exactly how many giants Jotunheim and Niflheim inhabited (and at the same time Muspelheim too, because the icy giant Surt was his master). But the legends preserved many names of the most prominent personalities.
We have already talked about Loki and Trudgelmir, the ancestors of the Jotuns. It is also worth highlighting Angrboda - the giantess with whom Loki lived for three years. It was she who bore him children - the huge wolf Fenris, the terrible goddess of death Hel, the monstrous snake Yormungand, who encircled the whole Midgard.
Vaftrudnir became known for daring to compete in wisdom with Odin himself. With Gimir, Thor went fishing and almost caught Yormunganda.
Gunnled is a giantess, daughter of Guttung, who kept Honey of poetry, taking it from the dwarves.
There were also many other, slightly less well-known giants, whose names have come down to us in legends and legends.
Conclusion
This concludes the article. In it, we tried to briefly tell who the ice giants were, where they lived, how they looked. And also mentioned the most prominent characters. We hope that after reading the article you will become much better versed in Norse mythology.