The horses that pull the sun chariot across the sky each day.
Árvakr and Alsviðr are the two horses that pull Sól's sun chariot. Their names mean 'the early awake' and 'the all-swift'. They are mentioned in Grímnismál 37, where they are named as the sun's draught animals bearing the burden of the blazing solar disc. The gods are said to have fitted bellows beneath the horses' withers to cool them.
In Gylfaginning 11, Snorri provides a longer description of the sun's chariot and its horses. The element Ísarnkól, 'iron cool', is mentioned in Grímnismál 37 as a protective device built into the harness. The cosmology surrounding the sun's movement is more elaborately developed in the prose than in the poetic source.
Sources in the Eddas
- Grímnismál 37
- Árvakr and Alsviðr are named as the sun's horses. Own translation.
- Gylfaginning 11
- Snorri describes the sun chariot and its horses. Own translation.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Árvakr and Alsviðr are Sól's sun horses, attested in Grímnismál and Gylfaginning.
B What we think we know
The sun chariot motif has parallels in Indo-European solar religions, suggesting a shared heritage.