Odin's brother; took part in slaying Ymir and creating the world. Gave humans wit and the power of movement.
Vili (Old Norse Vili) is one of Borr's three sons and brother to Odin and Ve. Together they slew the primordial giant Ymir and created the world from his body: the flesh became earth, the blood seas, the bones mountains, and the skull the vault of the sky. This cosmogonic act is foundational in Norse creation myth and places Vili as one of the three original creator gods. Despite this prominent origin, Vili holds a very limited role in the surviving texts compared to his brother Odin.
In Gylfaginning 9 Snorri recounts how the three brothers also bestowed gifts upon the first humans, Ask and Embla. Vili gave them wit (vit) and the power of movement, while Odin gave spirit and Ve gave outward form and senses. Lokasenna 26 suggests that Vili had a relationship with Frigg during Odin's absence, an accusation Loki levels publicly. This passage is the only Poetic Edda source that names Vili and gives him an action beyond the creation.
Sources in the Eddas
- Gylfaginning 6-9
- Snorri's account of how Borr's three sons slew Ymir and created the world, and gave Ask and Embla life.
- Lokasenna 26
- Loki accuses Frigg of taking Vili and Ve as lovers during Odin's absence.
- Völuspá 17-18
- The seeress tells of the three gods who found Ask and Embla and gave them life's gifts, but names them as Hoenir and Lodurr rather than Vili.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Vili is one of Borr's three sons who slew Ymir and created the world, attested in Gylfaginning.
He gave the first humans wit and the power of movement according to Snorri's account.
Lokasenna 26 names Vili in connection with Frigg's alleged infidelity.
B What we think we know
The relationship between the triad Odin-Vili-Ve and the triad Odin-Hoenir-Lodurr in Völuspá is debated among scholars.
It is uncertain whether Vili and Ve represent separate deities or aspects of Odin.
C What we do not know
It is unknown whether Vili received independent cultic worship or existed solely within a cosmogonic triad.
The etymology of the name Vili ('will') and its ritual implications have not been established.