Hymir was a Norse sea-giant — the owner of an enormous brewing-cauldron the gods needed, and the unwilling companion of Thor on the most famous fishing trip in all of myth, when the thunder-god hooked the world-serpent Jörmungandr itself. His tale combines the quest for a giant cauldron with the cosmic struggle between Thor and the great serpent.
The Giant of the Cauldron
Hymir (Old Norse Hymir) was a giant who dwelt by the sea at the edge of the world, the possessor of a vast brewing-cauldron a mile deep — the only vessel large enough to brew ale for all the gods at once. When the sea-god Aegir agreed to host a feast for the Aesir but lacked a cauldron great enough, it fell to Thor and the god Tyr (who was said to be Hymir's kinsman) to journey to Hymir's hall and obtain the giant cauldron. Hymir was a fearsome host, cold and grudging, his beard frozen with ice, and his hall a dangerous place for visiting gods.
The Fishing for the World-Serpent
The visit produced the most famous fishing trip in Norse myth. Thor, ever hungry and ever bold, went out to sea in Hymir's boat to fish, taking as bait the head of one of Hymir's own oxen. Thor rowed far out, past the grounds where Hymir usually fished, despite the giant's growing fear — and there he cast his line, baited with the ox-head, into the deep. And the bait was taken by none other than Jörmungandr, the world-serpent that encircles the earth. Thor hauled with all his divine might, bracing his feet so hard they went through the bottom of the boat, and drew the monstrous serpent up until its venomous head broke the surface and giant and god beheld the great enemy face to face. Thor raised his hammer to strike the killing blow — but the terrified Hymir, fearing the serpent and the chaos, cut Thor's fishing line, and Jörmungandr sank back into the depths, their fated final battle postponed to Ragnarök. Thor, enraged, struck Hymir overboard.
The Winning of the Cauldron
Back at the hall, Hymir set Thor tests of strength — including the smashing of a seemingly unbreakable cup, which Thor at last shattered by hurling it against Hymir's own stone-hard head. Having proven himself, Thor took up the great cauldron (setting it over his head like a vast hood) and departed with Tyr. When Hymir and a host of giants pursued them, Thor turned and slew them with Mjölnir. The cauldron was brought to Aegir, and the gods had their ale at last.
The Host of the Great Fishing
Hymir endures as the sea-giant of the great cauldron and the unwilling witness to Thor's legendary fishing for the world-serpent — the giant whose fear cut the line and denied Thor his prey, postponing the cosmic battle to the end of the world. He embodies the recurring Norse theme of Thor's journeys among the giants, the mix of danger, strength-contest and cosmic struggle, and he is forever bound to the unforgettable image of the thunder-god hauling the world-serpent up from the deep on a fishing line.
On the most famous fishing trip ever told, Thor hooked the world-serpent itself on an ox-head — and only the giant Hymir's terror, cutting the line, saved the great battle for the end of the world.