Tradition: Norwegian Mythology
Alternative Names: Saehrimnir, Sæhrímner
Category: Pig
The Myth
Sæhrímnir is a remarkable creature in Norse mythology that is slaughtered and eaten every night by the Æsir, the gods, and the einherjar, the warriors who dwell in Valhalla. Despite being consumed completely, the animal comes back to life each day, allowing it to provide an endless supply of food for the divine household and the honored dead.
The task of preparing this extraordinary meal falls to Andhrímnir, the cook of the gods. Each night, he slaughters Sæhrímnir and cooks its flesh in the enormous cauldron Eldhrímnir. The feast sustains the inhabitants of Valhalla, and by the following day the creature has been restored to life, ready to be killed and eaten once more. Its continual death and renewal make it a source of inexhaustible nourishment.
Sæhrímnir appears in both the Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, texts recorded in the thirteenth century that preserve older Norse traditions. In the Prose Edda, the creature is explicitly identified as a boar. However, some scholars interpret the earlier Poetic Edda passage as referring to an animal without specifying its exact kind. This difference has led to debate about Sæhrímnir’s identity and the meaning of its name. Some scholars have also suggested that the nightly slaughter and restoration of the creature may preserve traces of ritual animal sacrifice in ancient Germanic religion.
Sources
“Sæhrímnir.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 27, 2026.