The Gods' Last Battles and the Fire
How do the gods' battles end?
In *The Deluding of Gylfi*, Surt rides forward with fire blazing before and behind him. He carries a magnificent sword, which shines more brightly than the sun.
Frey faces Surt. After a fierce struggle, Frey falls. He dies because he no longer has his fine sword. He had given it to Skirnir.
Garm, the dog chained outside a cave, also breaks free. This dog is a fearsome monster. Tyr faces Garm in battle, and each kills the other.
Loki fights Heimdall, and they too kill one another. Then Surt hurls fire over the earth. The flames burn the whole world.
Sources for this story (2)The Gods' Last Battles and the Fire
The gods' deaths appear in chapter 51 of *The Deluding of Gylfi* and stanza 53 of *The Seeress's Prophecy*. In the former, Frey and Tyr die before Thor, while Heimdall and Loki die afterward. This page brings them together after Thor to fit the sequence of scenes.
Því næst slyngr Surtr eldi yfir jörðina ok brennir allan heim.
Then Surt hurls fire over the earth, burning the whole world.
“The Beguiling of Gylfi” Chapter 51
“The Beguiling of Gylfi”Gylfaginning
“The Seeress's Prophecy”Völuspá
Image details
Emil Doepler “Odin und Fenriswolf Freyr und Surt” 1905 Public domain View original image
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