Sleipnir
Odin's eight-legged horse
NORSE MYTHOLOGY
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Introduction
Sleipnir is an eight-legged horse in Norse mythology. A steed strongly associated with the god Odin, the chief of the Æsir clan. The Old Norse name Sleipnir translates to „The slippery one“, perhaps referring to his agility and speed.
He is described as being the best of all horses, gray of color and the child of Loki and the horse Svaðilfari. Oddly enough, Loki shapeshifted into a mare to entice the stallion and is the mother of Sleipnir. Which means that Sleipnir has three half-siblings on his maternal side. Those being Hel, the queen of the world of the dead called Niflhel, as well as the great wolf Fenrir and the colossal Midgard serpent.
The birth of Sleipnir
It was in early days of the world that Sleipnir was born. In that time Ásgarðr, the home of the gods, was not protected with a wall. Then a builder comes along and offers the gods to build them a wall. As payment for the work, he wants to have the godess Freyja, the sun and the moon. The gods agree to his terms, if he finishes the wall in one winter. If the work takes any longer than that, he gets nothing for his efforts. The builder agrees to the timeframe, if his horse Svaðilfari can help him. Loki takes the decision on the matter and allows it.
The builder begins and the gods are suprised to see how quick his progress is. The horse actually does two times the work as the builder. Time passes and it draws close to summer. Now the gods see that the builder is actually on track to finish the wall in time. They threaten Loki until he swears to take care of the matter. To see to it that the builder will not finish the wall in time.
In an effort to save his skin, Loki shapeshifts into a mare to entice the builder‘s stallion away from his task. Svaðilfari goes mad for the mare and they run off together. The builder is not able to finish the wall in time and the gods are free from upholding their end of the bargain. However, later Loki bore a foal. It was gray, had eight legs and was the best horse among both gods and men.
Sleipnir: a carrier between worlds
In Norse mythology, there are nine different worlds or realms. On more than one occasion does Sleipnir ride between them in the sources. In two stories he travels to Hel, once with Odin after Baldr has foreboding dreams and he rides to Hel, seeking the wisdom of a dead Völva. The second time is when Baldr is killed. Hermóðr, one of Odin‘s sons, then takes Sleipnir and rides the way to Hel in hope of returning Baldr to Asgard.
In the story of the jötun Hrungnir, Odin rides on Sleipnir to Jötunheim. There he meets Hrungnir, who is impressed with his horse. Odin proclaims that there is no better horse in all Jötunheim. Hrungnir takes offense to his statement, because he believes his horse Gullfaxi is faster. Odin wagers his head on it, and they race until they are back in Asgard. Where Sleipnir comes ahead and is indeed the faster one.
Mentions of Sleipnir in the sources
Sleipnir is mentioned in the Poetic Edda, in the poems Grímnismál, Sigrdrífumál, Baldrs draumar and in the Völuspá hin skamma part of Hyndluljóð. In addition to that, Sleipnir is attested ten times in the Prose Edda (a.k.a Snorri’s Edda), both in the section of Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál. Also, is he named in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, Völsunga saga and Húsdrápa.
