Idunn (Iduna) The golden-haired goddess who supplied the Aesir gods with apples that gave them eternal youth.

She was probably an important goddess, but the only myth that survives about Idunn is the one in which she is kidnapped by the giant Thjazzi. In the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson bases his retelling of the myth partially on the poem Haustlong, by mid-ninth- to early-10th-century Norwegian poet Thiodor of Hvini.

Idunn’s Apples

The goddess Idunn supplied the gods with the apples that kept them forever young. One day Idunn and her apples were stolen. According to Snorri, the great god Odin, his brother Hoenir, and Loki, the sly one, went exploring. When they became hungry, they killed an ox, built a fire, and started to cook the meat. But no matter what they did, the meat remained raw and inedible.

A huge eagle landed on a tree nearby and said he would make their fire burn like a furnace to cook the meat if only he could have a share of the food. The hungry travelers agreed to the bargain, the fire burned bright, the meat cooked, and the eagle ate almost all of it in the gulp.

Loki, quick to anger, swiped at the eagle but got carried away in its talons. The eagle dragged Loki over rocks and thorns until he begged for mercy. The eagle would not let Loki go until he promised to deliver to him Idunn and her apples of youth. Loki agreed at once, and the eagle dropped him back to Earth. After Loki limped back to his companions, he did not tell them of his promise to the eagle, who he had realized was the giant Thjazzi in disguise.

Back in Asgard, Loki wasted no time, for he was terrified of the fierce Thjazzi and knew he must somehow keep his promise. Loki ran to the peaceful orchard that Idunn tended with her husband, Bragi. He told her that he had found some apples in Midgard that looked just like hers. He urged her to bring her basket of apples and accompany him to Midgard so they might compare apples.

Idunn was glad to follow Loki. She would be very happy to find more apples for the gods to eat.

As soon as Idunn and Loki were across Bilrost, the Rainbow Bridge, and into Midgard, the giant eagle swooped down, seized Idunn, and carried her away. Once in Thrymheim, his fortress, Thjazzi shut the golden maiden in the highest tower.

Without the magic apples, the faces of the Aesir and Asynjur—the gods and goddesses—began to wrinkle and sag, their rosy cheeks faded, their hair grew white and thin, and their joints stiff and creaky, for these gods and goddesses were ancient. The gods and goddesses met to decide what to do. Everyone was there except Loki. The gods immediately concluded that Loki must have been up to some mischief. They searched for him and found him. Odin ordered Loki to bring back Idunn and her apples under threat to his life.

Loki fled in terror to the goddess Freya to borrow her flying suit of falcon feathers. With this, he flew off to Thrymheim. Fortunately for Loki, Thjazzi had gone fishing, and Idunn was unguarded. Loki used his magic to turn the maiden and her basket of apples into a small nut, which he grasped in his claws and flew toward Asgard. Odin, the all-seeing, caught sight of the falcon from afar and saw that behind him came an enormous eagle—Thjazzi.

Odin commanded that everyone build a great fire at the gates of Asgard.

Just in time, Loki flew over the walls of Asgard. The eagle was so close behind that he got caught in the flames that roared up when the dry kindling was lit. The eagle fell to the ground, and the gods killed him. Then Loki said the magic words, and Idunn stood before them once more, offering her wonderful apples with a happy smile.

It is of particular interest to mythologists that Loki turns Idunn into a nut. This symbol of eternal youth is often found in old Scandinavian burial sites. Idunn may have been a Vanir goddess of fertility, youth, and death. This is the only surviving myth about her.