The wolf that chases the sun and at Ragnarök finally devours it.
Sköll is the wolf that drives the sun forward through its pursuit and at the end of the world will achieve its goal and swallow the solar disc. The wolf name Sköll appears in Grímnismál 39, where the text states that a wolf pursues the sun. The account is brief but unambiguous.
In Gylfaginning 12, Snorri expands the account and explains that the sun is chased by a wolf, that the sun is afraid, and that her speed is determined by the wolf's pursuit. Sköll's role at Ragnarök is glimpsed in Völuspá, where the sun goes dark and the stars fall. Sköll and his brother Hati form a pair of cosmic predators threatening the luminaries of the sky.
Sources in the Eddas
- Grímnismál 39
- The wolf Sköll is named as the sun's pursuer. Own translation.
- Gylfaginning 12
- Snorri recounts the sun's flight from Sköll. Own translation.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Sköll chases the sun and devours it at Ragnarök, attested in Grímnismál and Gylfaginning.
B What we think we know
The wolf hunt after sun and moon may reflect astronomical phenomena such as solar eclipses reinterpreted in mythological terms.