Skadi

Skadi is a giant and at the same time the goddess of skiing, hunting and the personification of all the good things about winter. Her negative counterparts are the frost giants. Thjazi is Skadi’s father and he was killed by Thor. Therefore, she wanted to wipe out all of the Aesir in an act of retribution, but they offered her a deal. To pay their due, they allowed her to choose one of the Aesir for her husband. She agreed on the condition that she would be entertained by one of the gods before. Of course, it was Loki who led the entertainment. He connected the beard of a goat to his scrotum with a piece of string and challenged the animal to a tug of war. Skadi had a laughing fit as she realised how ridiculous the whole spectacle was, for she couldn’t have imagined anyone making such a fool of themself. Thus, her request had been granted. The next step was to choose a husband from the group of gods, but that was more difficult than she had thought, because she was only allowed to see the man’s feet. The rest of their bodies was covered. Everybody knew that Skadi was totally nuts about Balder, but Njörd’s toes were the most irresistible ones for her and so she chose him. Their marriage wasn’t blessed by luck, for he loved the sound of waves breaking against the shore whereas she preferred the noise of the wind in the trees. So, they reached an agreement to spend nine days in Noatun, Njörd’s home by the coast, and the following nine days in the mountains, where Thyrhem, Skadi’s home, is located. Unable to bear being away from home, she eventually left Njörd and returned back home to her high peaks and deep valleys. During their short marriage, Skadi gave birth to Freyja and Freyr.