Norse Mythology/Headscratchers

• Ok, so Jormungand is supposed to be a big fucking snake that is so enormous that it encircles the whole world...and it can somehow sleep in ocean? How does that work?
  • Norse Mythology Writers Have No Sense Of Scale.
  • Of course, there is always the interpretation that Jormungandr IS the Ocean.
  • For it to make sense, you have to keep in mind how the Vikings thought the world was constructed. While they did think the world was flat and knew nothing of the universe (according to Norse myths, the sky is actually solid far, far above us), as seafearers they knew perfectly well that the sea was much bigger than the land -- so to them, the landmasses where people lived were just "islands" located in the middle of the enormous World Sea, which stretches out in all directions beyond everything else. Looking at the world like this, it becomes obvious that since Jormungand is so big that he encircles the world, there is literally no place for him to be but the sea; it's the only place he'll fit.
  • How about a quasi-scientific explanation? As animals get larger, they need less breaths per unit of time; to demonstrate this, simply compare yourself to a whale. Also, reptiles have an extremely slow metabolism, especially so for a reptile surrounded by the ice-cold waters of the deep ocean. It should be entirely possible to construct an animal's need for oxygen based on its size and metabolism, Jormungand's might be a breath every millennium or so.
• Ragnarok: Depending on which collection of myths you happen to be reading, they're written one of two ways: it's already happened, or it's going to happen.

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