e the parents of all the giant race. In the
North the giants were called by various names, each having a particular
meaning. Joetun, for instance, meant "the great eater," for the giants
were noted for their enormous appetites as well as for their uncommon
size. They were fond of drinking as well as of eating, wherefore they
were also called Thurses, a word which some writers claim had the
same meaning as thirst; but others think they owed this name to the
high towers ("turseis") which they were supposed to have built. As the
giants were antagonistic to the gods, the latter always strove to force
them to remain in Joetun-heim, which was situated in the cold regions of
the Pole. The giants were almost invariably worsted in their encounters
with the gods, for they were heavy and slow-witted, and had nothing
but stone weapons to oppose to the AEsir's bronze. In spite of this
inequality, however, they were sometimes greatly envied by the gods,
for they were thoroughly conversant with all knowledge relating to
the past. Even Odin was envious of this attribute, and no sooner had
he secured it by a draught from Mimir's spring than he hastened to
Joetun-heim to measure himself against Vafthrudnir, the most learned
of the giant brood. But he might never have succeeded in defeating
his antagonist in this strange encounter had he not ceased inquiring
about the past and propounded a question relating to the future.

Of all the gods Thor was most feared by the Joetuns, for he was
continually waging war against the frost and mountain giants,
who would fain have bound the earth for ever in their rigid bands,
thus preventing men from tilling the soil. In fighting against them,
Thor, as we have already seen, generally had recourse to his terrible
hammer Mioelnir.

Origin of the Mountains

According to German legends the uneven surface of the earth was due
to the giants, who marred its smoothness by treading upon it while
it was still soft and newly created, while streams were formed from
the copious tears shed by the giantesses upon seeing the valleys made
by their husbands' huge footprints. As such was the Teutonic belief,
the people imagined that the giants, who personified the mountains
to them, were huge uncouth creatures, who could only move about in
the darkness or fog, and were petrified as soon as the first rays of
sunlight pierced through the gloom or scattered the clouds.

This belief led them to name one of their prin