World Mythology · Unit 4
Norse Myths
Odin, Thor, Loki, Yggdrasil and Ragnarok
Norse mythology is unusual in that its gods know how the world ends and that they lose. Ragnarok is prophesied, unavoidable, and fought anyway.
The unit covers Odin, Thor and Loki, Yggdrasil and the nine worlds, and Ragnarok itself - including what survives it, which is the part usually left out.
This unit breaks down into 19 short steps and 115 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 19
- Questions
- 115
- Difficulty
- 1-3
What this unit covers
- Ragnarok
- Thor and Mjolnir
- Yggdrasil and the Nine Worlds
- Loki the Trickster
- Odin the All-Father
Where this fits
Independent of the Greek units, and a sharp contrast with them.
Where people slip
Almost everything we have was written down by Christian scholars centuries after the beliefs were current. Snorri Sturluson is the main source and he was not a believer.
How the unit is structured
Norse Myths runs as 19 short steps that unlock in order. 14 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 3 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 115 in the unit altogether.
Loki the Trickster
- Fill the blankLevel 2
1. As punishment, Loki was tied beneath a dripping ____.
- serpentcorrect
- waterfall
- cloud
- candle
A serpent dripped venom on Loki, while his wife Sigyn caught it in a bowl.
- True or falseLevel 2
2. Loki could change his shape into animals.
Answer: True
True. He became a salmon, a mare, a fly and more.
- Type the answerLevel 2
3. Which Norse trickster god was a shapeshifter and troublemaker?
Answer: Loki
Loki is the best known trickster of Norse myth.
- Fact or fibLevel 3
4. Loki's punishment ends only when he breaks free at Ragnarok.
Answer: True
True. He is bound until the last days, then joins the attack on Asgard.
- Multiple choiceLevel 3
5. How did Loki become the mother of the horse Sleipnir?
- He turned into a mare to trick a giant buildercorrect
- He bought the foal from dwarves
- He found it in a cave
- He carved it from wood
He turned himself into a mare to lure away a giant's stallion, and later gave birth to Sleipnir.
- Put in orderLevel 3
6. Put the story of Baldr's death in order.
Answer: Frigg asks all things to swear not to hurt Baldr -> Loki learns that mistletoe made no oath -> Blind Hodr throws the mistletoe dart -> The gods punish Loki
Frigg made everything swear an oath, mistletoe was missed, Hodr threw the dart, and Loki was punished.
Odin the All-Father
- Fact or fibLevel 1
7. Odin was known as the god of wisdom as well as of war.
Answer: True
True. He hunted knowledge everywhere, even at great cost.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
8. Which of these belong to Odin? Pick all that apply.
- Two ravenscorrect
- An eight-legged horsecorrect
- The spear Gungnircorrect
- A chariot pulled by cats
The ravens, the eight-legged horse and the spear Gungnir are all his.
- Guess the numberLevel 2
9. How many ravens brought news to Odin?
Answer: 2 ravens
Two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, flew out each day and returned to his shoulders.
- True or falseLevel 2
10. Odin had only one eye.
Answer: True
True. He gave up an eye in exchange for wisdom.
- Fill the blankLevel 3
11. The warriors who feast in Valhalla and train for the last battle are the ____.
- einherjarcorrect
- jotnar
- draugr
- norns
The einherjar fight all day and feast all night, ready for Ragnarok.
- Multiple choiceLevel 3
12. How did Odin escape with the stolen mead of poetry?
- He turned into an eagle and flewcorrect
- He rode Sleipnir over the sea
- He bargained with Loki
- He hid inside a barrel
He drank it all, turned into an eagle and flew back to Asgard.
Ragnarok
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
13. What happens to the world after Ragnarok in Norse myth?
- A new world rises and life starts againcorrect
- Nothing exists ever again
- The gods rebuild the same world by tomorrow
- The world becomes a desert of gold
A new green world rises from the sea, and life begins again.
- Odd one outLevel 1
14. Which of these is NOT part of Norse myth?
- The Sphinxcorrect
- Yggdrasil
- Valhalla
- Bifrost
The Sphinx belongs to Greek and Egyptian myth. The others are Norse.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
15. Two humans, Lif and Lifthrasir, survive Ragnarok by hiding in a ____.
- woodcorrect
- cave of gold
- ship
- cloud
They shelter in the world tree and repopulate the new world.
- Build the sentenceLevel 3
16. Build a sentence about the Norse world tree.
Answer: Yggdrasil connects the nine worlds
Yggdrasil connects the nine worlds together.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
17. Which events belong to Ragnarok? Pick all that apply.
- A winter lasting three yearscorrect
- Wolves swallowing the Sun and Mooncorrect
- The world sinking into the seacorrect
- A wedding on Mount Olympus
A three-year winter, wolves swallowing the sun and moon, and the sinking of the world all mark the end.
- Fact or fibLevel 3
18. Norse myth reached us mainly through Icelandic books called the Eddas.
Answer: True
True. The Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda preserve most of what we know.
Thor and Mjolnir
- Spell itLevel 1
19. Spell the name of the Norse god of thunder.
Answer: Thor
Thor is spelled T-h-o-r.
- True or falseLevel 1
20. Thor was the son of Odin.
Answer: True
True. Thor was Odin's son and the strongest of the gods.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
21. The day of the week named after Thor is ____.
- Thursdaycorrect
- Monday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Thursday means Thor's day.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
22. Who stole Thor's hammer and demanded the goddess Freyja as a bride?
- The giant Thrymcorrect
- The dwarf Brokkr
- The wolf Fenrir
- The god Heimdall
The giant Thrym hid Mjolnir and asked for Freyja in exchange.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
23. Which items made Thor even more powerful? Pick all that apply.
- A belt that doubled his strengthcorrect
- Iron glovescorrect
- A hammer that always returnedcorrect
- A cloak of invisibility
Besides Mjolnir he had a belt of strength and iron gloves to grip the hammer.
- Fact or fibLevel 3
24. Norse people wore small hammer pendants as protective charms.
Answer: True
True. Thor's hammer amulets have been found across the Viking world.
Yggdrasil and the Nine Worlds
- Guess the numberLevel 2
25. How many worlds hang on the branches and roots of Yggdrasil?
Answer: 9 worlds
Norse myth describes nine worlds joined by the world tree.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
26. Match each Norse world to what it is like.
Answer: Muspelheim = Fire and heat; Niflheim = Ice and mist; Nidavellir = Home of the dwarves; Vanaheim = Home of the Vanir gods
The nine worlds range from fire and ice to the halls of the gods.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
27. Which gods came originally from the Vanir? Pick all that apply.
- Njordcorrect
- Freyrcorrect
- Freyjacorrect
- Tyr
Njord and his children Freyr and Freyja joined the Aesir after the war between the two families.
- Fill the blankLevel 3
28. The dragon ____ gnaws at a root of Yggdrasil.
- Nidhoggcorrect
- Fafnir
- Ratatoskr
- Garm
Nidhogg chews the tree's root and torments the dead.
- Multiple choiceLevel 3
29. Which world was a land of fire, home of the fire giants?
- Muspelheimcorrect
- Niflheim
- Vanaheim
- Midgard
Muspelheim burned in the south and Surtr ruled there with a flaming sword.
- Sort into groupsLevel 3
30. Sort each being as a god or a giant in Norse myth.
Answer: Thor = God; Freyja = God; Thrym = Giant; Surtr = Giant
Aesir gods and jotnar giants were rivals, though sometimes related.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 13 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Build the sentence
- Choose all that apply
- Fact or fib
- Fill the blank
- Guess the number
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- Spell it
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise Norse Myths
115 questions across 19 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about Norse Myths
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- Who Is Loki in Norse Mythology?The shape shifting trickster who helps the gods and betrays them, and why he is far stranger than a simple villain.August 28, 2026 · 5 min read
- Who Is Thor in Norse Mythology?Meet the thunder god, his hammer Mjolnir, his goats and the old stories that are very different from the modern versions.August 28, 2026 · 5 min read
- What Is Ragnarok in Norse Mythology?The end of the world, the final battle of gods and giants, and the new world that rises afterwards, explained simply.August 28, 2026 · 5 min read
- Who Was Odin in Norse Mythology?The one eyed chief of the gods who traded his eye and hung from a tree for knowledge, and what he was preparing for.August 28, 2026 · 6 min read
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- Mythical CreaturesDragons, unicorns, the phoenix, griffins and sea monsters
- Celtic and Irish MythsThe Tuatha De Danann, Cu Chulainn, Finn MacCool and the Otherworld
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