in, Hermod, Svipdag, Hotherus and others to the
Germanic Hela. When Hermod went to search for Balder, as the Prose
Edda relates, he rode through thick darkness for nine days and nine
nights ere he crossed the mountains. As Gilgamesh met Sabitu, Hermod
met Modgudur, "the maiden who kept the bridge" over the river Gjoll.
Svipdag, according to a Norse poem, was guided like the Babylonian
hero by the moon god, Gevar, who instructed him what way he should
take to find the irresistible sword. Saxo's Hother, who is instructed
by "King Gewar", crosses dismal mountains "beset with extraordinary
cold".[217] Thorkill crosses a stormy ocean to the region of perpetual
darkness, where the ghosts of the dead are confined in loathsome and
dusty caves. At the main entrance "the door posts were begrimed with
the soot of ages".[218] In the _Elder Edda_ Svipdag is charmed against
the perils he will be confronted by as he fares "o'er seas mightier
than men do know", or is overtaken by night "wandering on the misty
way ".[219] When Odin "downward rode into Misty Hel" he sang spells at
a "witch's grave", and the ghost rose up to answer his questions
regarding Balder. "Tell me tidings of Hel", he addressed her, as
Gilgamesh addressed the ghost of Ea-bani.

In the mythical histories of Alexander the Great, the hero searches
for the Water of Life, and is confronted by a great mountain called
Musas (Mashti). A demon stops him and says; "O king, thou art not able
to march through this mountain, for in it dwelleth a mighty god who is
like unto a monster serpent, and he preventeth everyone who would go
unto him." In another part of the narrative Alexander and his army
arrive at a place of darkness "where the blackness is not like the
darkness of night, but is like unto the mists and clouds which descend
at the break of day". A servant uses a shining jewel stone, which Adam
had brought from Paradise, to guide him, and found the well. He drank
of the "waters of life" and bathed in them, with the result that he
was strengthened and felt neither hunger nor thirst. When he came out
of the well "all the flesh of his body became bluish-green and his
garments likewise bluish-green". Apparently he assumed the colour of
supernatural beings. Rama of India was blue, and certain of his monkey
allies were green, like the fairies of England and Scotland. This
fortunate man kept his secret. His name was Matun, but he was
afterwards nicknamed "'El-Khidr', that is to