Odin’s parents were Borr and Bestla; his brothers were Vili and Vé; and his wife was Frigg, with whom he had Baldr. Norse sources also name Jörð, Gríðr, and Rindr as mothers of sons of Odin, including Thor, Víðarr, and Váli. The surviving accounts do not present every relationship as one consistent family tree.
The clearest genealogical account comes from Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, while poems in the Poetic Edda preserve additional names and relationships. The outline below distinguishes direct statements in those sources from relationships that are less fully explained.
Odin’s parents and brothers
In Gylfaginning, part of the Prose Edda, Odin is the son of Borr and the giantess Bestla. The same account names his brothers Vili and Vé. These three brothers belong to the earliest generation of the Norse divine family described by Snorri.
- Borr – Odin’s father and the husband of Bestla in Snorri’s account.
- Bestla – Odin’s mother, described in Gylfaginning as a giantess.
- Vili – Odin’s brother, who joins Odin and Vé in the story of the world’s creation.
- Vé – Odin’s brother, who also takes part with Odin and Vili in the creation account.
In that creation story, the brothers kill the primordial giant Ymir and make the world from his body. This episode places the three brothers together as close kin and as agents in the shaping of the world. It does not make them the parents of all the gods: the later divine family includes several different generations and parentages.
Frigg and Baldr
Frigg is Odin’s wife in Snorri’s account, and Baldr is their son. The relationship is also central to the story of Baldr’s death in Gylfaginning: Frigg seeks assurances that things in the world will not harm him, while Odin is identified as his father. The account makes Baldr the clearest child of Odin and Frigg.
- Frigg – Odin’s wife and Baldr’s mother in Snorri’s account.
- Baldr – Odin and Frigg’s son, whose death leads to grief among the gods.
Frigg’s marriage to Odin should not be taken to mean that all of Odin’s children in the surviving sources have the same mother. Snorri and the poems identify other women as mothers of particular sons. The texts offer episodes and genealogical notices rather than a single account that explains every relationship in detail.
Jörð and Thor
Thor is Odin’s son by Jörð, the personification of Earth. Snorri calls Thor the son of Odin and Earth in Gylfaginning. The poem Hárbarðsljóð also has Thor identify himself as Odin’s son. Thor is therefore one of the best-attested members of Odin’s family, although the sources do not describe Jörð in the same way as Odin’s wife Frigg.
- Jörð – Earth and the mother of Thor by Odin in Snorri’s account.
- Thor – Odin and Jörð’s son, known as a powerful god associated with thunder and his hammer.
Thor’s sons Magni and Móði belong to the next generation of the family. Snorri names them as Thor’s sons, making them Odin’s grandsons through Thor. Their place in the wider family is clearer than some of the details about their mothers or other branches.
Other sons named in Norse sources
Several other figures are called Odin’s sons in Snorri’s prose or in Eddic poetry. The passages do not give each son equal attention, and some provide little information about the mother or the circumstances of the birth. The following relationships are stated in the named sources.
- Víðarr – Odin’s son by the giantess Gríðr in Snorri’s account, and a god who survives the final battle in the account of Ragnarök.
- Váli – Odin’s son by Rindr in Gylfaginning; in Baldrs draumar and Völuspá his birth is connected with vengeance for Baldr.
- Týr – Named as Odin’s son in Snorri’s Skáldskaparmál, and described in Gylfaginning as especially brave; Hymiskviða instead makes Hymir his father.
- Höðr – Odin’s son in Snorri’s account and Baldr’s blind brother, who is involved in Baldr’s death.
- Hermóðr – Odin’s son in Gylfaginning, where he journeys to the realm of the dead to seek Baldr’s return.
- Bragi – Odin’s son in Snorri’s Skáldskaparmál, and a god associated with poetry and eloquence.
- Meili – named as Thor’s brother in Hárbarðsljóð, where Thor also calls himself Odin’s son.
These notices support a broad family outline, but they do not establish that every source treated all of these figures in precisely the same way. In particular, a kinship term in a poem may be brief, while Snorri’s prose often supplies a more explicit genealogy. It is useful to retain the source attribution rather than assume that every detail belongs to one uniform account.
Figures whose place in the tree needs care
Not every god associated with Odin is identified as his child. Heimdall, for example, is connected in Norse tradition with nine mothers. Snorri also describes him as born of nine sisters. Those accounts do not provide a basis for placing him among Odin’s children, despite lists that sometimes group many gods under Odin’s name.
The family tree can therefore be summarized by its most explicit links: Borr and Bestla are Odin’s parents; Vili and Vé are his brothers; Frigg is his wife and Baldr’s mother; and Jörð is Thor’s mother. Snorri additionally names Gríðr as Víðarr’s mother and Rindr as Váli’s. Other sons, including Týr, Höðr, Hermóðr, and Bragi, are named as Odin’s children in particular passages. These relationships describe the attestations in the sources, not an exhaustive account of every Norse genealogy.
Frequently asked questions
Who were Odin’s parents?
In Snorri’s Gylfaginning, Odin is the son of Borr and Bestla. Bestla is described as a giantess.
Who was Odin’s wife?
Frigg is identified as Odin’s wife in Snorri’s account. She is the mother of their son Baldr.
Was Thor Odin’s son?
Yes. Snorri identifies Thor as the son of Odin and Jörð, or Earth. Thor also calls himself Odin’s son in the poem Hárbarðsljóð.
Sources
- Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning.
- Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál.
- Poetic Edda, Hárbarðsljóð, Hymiskviða, Baldrs draumar and Völuspá.
- Wikidata (CC0) records for Odin and Thor.
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