Sif

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This early 20th century depiction of Sif shows her with long blond hair.
This early 20th century depiction of Sif shows her with long blond hair.

Sif ("relative") is, in Norse mythology, a goddess of the Æsir, wife of Thor (Þórr) and mother of Þrúðr, Ullr and Móði. Thor is not the father of Ullr. Sif was not the mother of Magni; this was Thor's son with Járnsaxa.

She has hair of gold which grows just like natural hair, made by the dwarves called "sons of Ivaldi" (Dvalin). Her hair's color may have represented ripe wheat. Loki cut off Sif's hair as a prank, but when Thor found this out he forced Loki to promise to have golden hair made by the Dwarves. Loki uses this event to taunt Sif and, indirectly, Thor in Lokasenna.

Loki succeeded in having such hair made, as well as Freyr's ship Skíðblaðnir and Odin's (Óðinn's) spear Gungnir, all made by the same dwarf, Dvalin. Her name is used to designate the Earth in Skáldskaparmál 87. After Freyja, Sif is the most beautiful of the goddesses. Snorri calls her the Sybill. It is possible that Sif was a goddess of the home, of field and of the crop and she had some power on destiny. Gold was called 'hair of Sif'. Hilda R. Ellis Davidson tells us that her braids of hair was offered to mother earth. Sif appears in the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda as well as in skaldic poetry.

A volcano on the planet Venus is named after Sif. Sif is also a character in the popular comic book The Mighty Thor from Marvel Comics.

[edit] External links

  • Sif - A research and devotional site dedicated to Sif
Norse mythology
List of Norse gods | Æsir | Vanir | Giants | Elves | Dwarves | Valkyries | Einherjar | Norns | Odin | Thor | Freyr | Freyja | Loki | Balder | Tyr | Yggdrasil | Ginnungagap | Ragnarök
Sources: Poetic Edda | Prose Edda | The Sagas | Volsung Cycle | Tyrfing Cycle | Rune stones | Old Norse language | Orthography | Later influence
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The nine worlds of Norse mythology | People, places and things