Suttung (mythology)
Suttung (Old Norse Suttungr, etymology unclear) is a frost giant from whom Odin is said to have stolen the poet's term .
In Old Norse mythology he is the brother of Baugi , son of Gilling and father of Gunnlöd . He owned the mead Odrörir before Odin stole it.
origin
Suttung is said to have guarded the mead , which he had previously authorized from the dwarf brothers Fjalar and Galar . The mead consisted of honey and the blood of the wise Kvasir , whom the two dwarfs killed beforehand. The dwarves mixed both in order to attain the magical power of Kvasir, who was also supposed to bestow wisdom and poetry.
In order to get rid of confidants, the two dwarfs also killed Gilling, Suttung's father, whereupon Gilling's wife broke out in loud wailing . The dwarfs wanted to muzzle her too and then killed her with a stone. As revenge for these atrocities, Suttung set the dwarves out on a cliff washed over by the sea until they handed over the cauldron with the mead as atonement to him.
Suttung boasted about the achievement of the mead in such a way that it was not hidden from the gods, especially Odin, what treasure Suttung was keeping.
Odin decided to go to the land of the frost giants ( Jötunheim ) and get the mead. There he met the frost giant Baugi and persuaded him to drill a tunnel into the mountain in which the mead should be hidden. Odin then turned into a snake and crawled through the tunnel until he got to the other end and there turned into a handsome one-eyed giant.
For three days and nights he was the lover of Gunnlöd, Suttung's daughter, and finally drank some of the mead. Thereupon Odin transformed into an eagle and flew back to Asgard with the mead . Suttung noticed this and also changed into the shape of an eagle and pursued him. Odin managed to get away from him by a narrow margin.
Furthermore, the mead is also referred to as "poet's met". Odin drank from it and has since been seen as the "god of poets". Since then the poet has been in the hands of the gods.