Sun goddess. Drives the sun chariot, pursued by the wolf Skoll.
Sol (Old Norse Sól) is the goddess who drives the sun chariot across the sky. According to Gylfaginning 11 and Vafþrúðnismál 23 she is the daughter of Mundilfari and sister of Máni (Moon). The gods were angered by Mundilfari's presumption in giving his children such names and set Sol to guide the sun's horses. The chariot is drawn by the horses Arvakr ('the early riser') and Alsvid ('the all-swift'), and beneath their shoulders the gods placed bellows to cool them.
Sol is constantly pursued by the wolf Skoll (Grímnismál 39), who seeks to devour her. At Ragnarok the wolf finally catches the sun and swallows it (Völuspá 57, Gylfaginning 12), but before her destruction Sol bears a daughter as radiant as herself, and this daughter drives her mother's course in the renewed world after Ragnarok (Vafþrúðnismál 47).
Sources in the Eddas
- Gylfaginning 11-12
- Snorri describes Sol as Mundilfari's daughter who drives the sun chariot, pursued by Skoll.
- Vafþrúðnismál 23, 47
- Sol is named as Mundilfari's daughter; stanza 47 tells that she bears a daughter before being swallowed.
- Grímnismál 39
- Skoll chases the sun and Hati the moon; both wolves pursue their quarry.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Sol drives the sun chariot, pursued by the wolf Skoll (Grímnismál 39, Gylfaginning 11-12).
She bears a daughter who continues her course after Ragnarok (Vafþrúðnismál 47).
B What we think we know
Whether Sol was regarded as a proper goddess with a cult or as a cosmological function is debated.
C What we do not know
Whether the Sol figure has roots in a common Indo-European sun goddess (compare Vedic Surya) has not been established.