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Sól, a MythSource painting
Norse

Sól

Álfröðull · Mundilfari's Daughter · Glenr's Wife

01Identity

Sól in Norse tradition

Driving the sun’s course across the sky, Sól governs daylight and the reckoning of days. She is a Norse deity, daughter of Mundilfari and wife of Glenr, and is linked with the sun-chariot and celestial light and heat. Her role includes the sun’s daily movement and the passage of days. Her Norse genealogy and function distinguish her from the Roman Sol and the Greek Helios.

Top questions

The quick answers

  • Who is Sól?

    Sól is a Norse deity associated with sunlight and daylight, the sun's daily course across the sky, the passage and reckoning of days, celestial light and heat.
    Source

    Source

    • Dictionary of northern mythology
    • Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland

  • What is Sól the god of?

    sunlight and daylight, the sun's daily course across the sky, the passage and reckoning of days, celestial light and heat
    Source

    Source

    • Dictionary of northern mythology

  • What family links are recorded for Sól?

    Father: Mundilfari, Spouse: Glenr, 1 sibling.
02Family

Sól’s family, at a glance

Parents above, children below, and the figure’s consorts named in between, the same family data as the fact box, laid out as a chart instead of a field list.

Mundilfari
SólMáni

with Glenr

03The names

The names Sól answers to

Álfröðull

Elf-beam or radiant sun

SourceDictionary of northern mythology

Sunna

The sun; a Germanic sun-name

SourceDictionary of northern mythology

Mundilfari's Daughter

Daughter of the figure Mundilfari

SourceDictionary of northern mythology

Glenr's Wife

Wife of Glenr

SourceTeutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland

Máni's Sister

Sister of the moon-god Máni

SourceDictionary of northern mythology

04The myths

The myths of Sól

2 myths, each traced to its primary text and corpus sources.

Sól and Máni Are Set in the Sky

Sól urges her horses across the sky, driving the chariot of the sun. Arvak and Alsvitli pull it through the heavens. Alsvitli means ‘perfectly wise’. Two pairs of bellows beneath the horses’ bellies cool them as they travel. Máni guides the moon’s course and governs its increase and waning. The chariots move hurriedly because wolves pursue them.

Mundilfari, also written Mundilföri, had two children who were exceptionally beautiful. He named his daughter Sól and his son Máni. The gods judged these names arrogant. In punishment, they took the children into heaven and set them to drive the sun and moon. One account says that Sól drives the sun and Máni drives the moon. Another describes them as guiding the chariots of day and night.

Their mother was a giantess who lived in the forest Járnviðr, east of Midgard. The wolves were her offspring. The moon wolf is called Managarm in one account. He feeds on the flesh of dead men. When he swallows the moon, he will redden the seat of the gods with blood. This is said to occur at the destruction of the world.

Another account names Hati Hrodvitnisson as Máni’s pursuer and Skoll as Sól’s pursuer. Hati runs after the moon, while Skoll snaps and growls behind the sun. At Ragnarök, both wolves catch their quarry.

Sól and Máni Are Set in the Sky, a MythSource painting of the scene

In the modern world

No modern rework confirmed yet.

3 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the NorthlandT1
  2. 2the ancient sourcesT1

    Quote

    “Mundilfari’s beautiful children, Sól and Máni, are set by the gods to guide the sun and moon while wolves pursue the heavenly bodies.”

    the ancient sources

  3. 3Treasury of Norse MythologyT1

Sól’s Last Ride and Her Daughter’s Succession

Sól drove swiftly across the sky, almost as if she feared her destroyer. She could make no more haste, yet she could not escape the wolf close behind her. His name was Skol. He ran after her, and one day he would overtake her. Ganglere asked who caused her this toil. Har answered that two wolves pursued the heavenly bodies. The second was Hate, son of Hrodvitner. He bounded before the moon and sought to catch it, as Skol sought to catch Sól. Har said that Hate would also succeed at last.

A hag dwelled east of Midgard, in the forest called Jarnved, or Ironwood. Witches called the Ironwood witches lived there. The wolves were her offspring. In another telling, they were sons of a giantess witch who lived in Ironwood Forest. The wolf Skoll pursued Sól, while Hati Hrodvitnisson pursued the moon.

At Ragnarök, Skol caught Sól and devoured her. Before this happened, Sól gave birth to a daughter. The daughter survived the burning of the world. She followed her mother’s course across the sky after the gods had died. Hate’s pursuit of the moon continued until he caught it.

Sól’s Last Ride and Her Daughter’s Succession, a MythSource painting of the scene

In the modern world

No modern rework confirmed yet.

3 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1Treasury of Norse MythologyT1
  2. 2the ancient sourcesT1

    Quote

    “Sól is caught and devoured by Skol at Ragnarök, but her daughter survives and continues the sun’s course after the world’s renewal.”

    the ancient sources

  3. 3The Prose EddaT1

The film

The Underdrawing video on Sól embeds here once it publishes.