When the builder learned that he had lost, he grew angry and revealed his true form. Asgard’s walls were nearly finished but the gods did not have to pay for the work. The jötunn worked until he nearly collapsed from exhaustion, but without his horse to pull stones and pulleys the work was impossible.Īt the end of the final day of the agreed year, a few stones were left to be fitted into the wall. The stallion ran after the mare and the two horses were not seen for several days. He ran around the fields outside of Asgard until Svaðilfari noticed him. Loki was a shapeshifter, and only a few days before the builder’s year was up he took the shape of an exceptionally well-formed mare. He knew that he would be blamed if Freyja were forced to marry a jötunn mason. Loki, however, would ensure that the work was not finished. Freya was horrified, and furious, to see that he might be able to finish the work before the year was up. The seemingly humble builder was completing his work with almost unbelievable speed. His stallion, Svaðilfari, had supernatural strength and stamina as well. They did not know that the workman was actually a jötunn, or giant, in disguise. He demanded Freyja’s hand in marriage as his payment.įreyja wanted to refuse the offer entirely, but Loki convinced the gods that the man’s task would be impossible. The mason claimed that he could complete the work in a year without any help beyond the use of his horse, but his price horrified the gods. Asgard’s walls had been damaged, so the gods hired a builder to remake the fortifications. Sleipnir originated shortly after the war between the Aesir and Vanir gods ended. Odin’s magical horse was a powerful symbol of his owner’s unique mastery of ancient magic. Instead, Sleipnir was an important part of Norse mythology because of what he symbolized. It wasn’t even due to the unusual circumstances of his famous birth story. Sleipnir’s importance was not just in his speed and agility. Usually shown as a large white stallion, Sleipnir is mentioned more often in written myths than many of the gods he lived among. Odin’s supernaturally fast horse travels between worlds on eight legs. Many animals appear in Norse mythology, but few are as immediately recognizable as Sleipnir.

Sleipnir meaning