SKADI

Old Norse Skaoi in Norse mythology, the giant wife of the sea god Njrd. In order to avenge the death of her father, the giant Thiazi, Skadi took up arms and went to attack the rival tribe of the gods (the Aesir) in Asgard, home of the gods. The Aesir, wanting to appease her anger, offered her the choice of one of their number for a husband, with the stipulation that she choose a god by his legs (or feet) alone. She chose Njrd, thinking that he was the fair god Balder; their marriage failed because Njrd preferred to live by the sea, and Skadi was happier in her father's home in the mountains (Thrymheim). In some sources, Skadi was known as the goddess of snowshoes. Another tradition relates that Skadi later married the god Odin and bore him sons.