Hœnir

Hœnir in an illustration from a 17th-century Icelandic manuscript

In Norse mythology, Hœnir is one of the Æsir. He is mentioned as the one who helped Odin to create humans.

Attestations

In Ynglinga saga, along with Mímir, he went to the Vanir as a hostage to seal a truce after the Æsir-Vanir War. There, Hœnir was indecisive and relied on Mímir for all of his decisions, grunting noncommital answers when Mímir was absent.

In Völuspá, at the creation of the first human beings, Ask and Embla, Hœnir and Lóðurr help Odin. According to the Prose Edda, Hœnir is said to have given reason to man. 'In Gylfaginning, Vili and Vé are mentioned instead. As Snorri Sturluson knew Völuspá, it is possible that Hœnir was another name for Vili. Also according to Völuspá, Hœnir was one of the few gods that would survive Ragnarök.

Hœnir also has a minor role in Haustlöng and Reginsmál. Hoenir crater on Callisto is named after him.

External links

• MyNDIR (My Norse Digital Image Repository) Illustrations of Hœnir from manuscripts and early print books. Clicking on the thumbnail will give you the full image and information concerning it.