JÖTNAR (giants) constitute a supernatural tribe in Scandinavian mythology. Since the tribe includes fire giants and ice giants, the concept may have originated in the observation of natural phenomena. Giants are natural spirits and among the original inhabitants of the world. In Germanic cosmogony, life originated from the body of the primeval giant Ymir, who was eventually dismembered to create the world. A fire giant, Surtr, helps bring about the end of the current world age at Ragnaro̜k, the giants' final conflict with the gods, in which both the Æsir and the giants perish. Although the mutual hostility of the gods and giants is implacable, they are biologically related and occasionally intermarry. The Æsir (the dominant group of gods) trace their descent from the giantess Bestla, and Óðinn's mistress Jörð, the mother of Þórr, is a giantess. Njo̜r...