Mythology, Religion & Legend — Power Ranking TOP 100
I wrote a book ranking the most powerful gods, monsters, and heroes from world mythology, religion, and legend! The ranking is heavily influenced by my own perspective, but every placement is grounded in the actual lore and episodes from each mythology, so I think it makes for a satisfying read.
In this post, I’d like to introduce some of the characters featured in the ranking. There are many more beyond the ones mentioned here, so if you’re interested in mythology, religion, or legend, I think you’ll enjoy it!
Rank 62: Ymir (Norse Mythology)
Overview
Ymir is considered the first being to have come into existence in Norse mythology, and can be called the mother of all life in the Norse world — including gods, giants, and every other creature.
Ymir was nourished by the milk of the primordial cow Auðumbla, and from his body he produced numerous giant offspring.
Then, from the salty block of ice that Auðumbla licked, the primordial god Búri emerged. From that point on, the descendants of Ymir’s giants and the descendants of Búri’s gods would interbreed and multiply.
In fact, the distinction between gods and giants in Norse mythology is not clearly defined. Even Odin and his brothers are children of the god Borr and Bestla, a giantess who was Ymir’s granddaughter, so they are technically related to the giants by blood.
Because of this, there is no bloodline-based way to distinguish gods from giants. Instead, the distinction is generally thought to be based on their nature — whether they represent order or chaos.
As the gods and giants grew in number, conflict broke out. Odin, as the representative of the gods, along with Vili (identified with Hœnir) and Vé (identified with Lóðurr or Loki), fought and defeated Ymir.
After the battle, Odin and his brothers used Ymir’s corpse to create the world — his blood became the seas and rivers, his flesh became the earth, and his bones became the mountains.
Why This Ranking
Like Tiamat in Mesopotamian mythology, Ymir plays the unfortunate role of a primordial being who is defeated in battle and then has their body used for world creation.
The fact that when Ymir died, the flood of blood from his body was so immense that nearly all giants drowned in it suggests that his physical size was incomparably vast — far beyond even Yamata no Orochi. However, given that he was killed by Odin and his brothers who had not yet obtained powerful weapons like Gungnir, his combat capability must have been quite low relative to his size, and his immortality was likely not particularly high either.
Taking all of this into account, I judged this position in the ranking to be appropriate.
