InNorse mythology,Árvakr (Old Norse "early awake"[1]) andAlsviðr ("very quick"[2]) are thehorses which pull the sun, orSól's chariot, across the sky each day.[2] It is said that the gods fixed bellows underneath the two horses' shoulders to help cool them off as they rode.[3]
Both horses are mentioned inGylfaginning andGrímnismál and their names are frequently associated with descriptions of the Sun.[4] In Nordic mythology, gods govern the passage of days, nights, and seasons,[5] and shape the Sun from a spark of the flameMuspelheim, but the Sun stands still without a driver.Sól is kidnapped by the gods to drive the Sun in a chariot pulled by two horses. Two large bellows (ísarnkol; cold iron) were placed under the shoulders of the two horses to protect them from the immense heat of the Sun. Sól is unable to stop driving the chariot or elseSköll will catch the Sun and devour it; the Sun is expected to be caught and devoured on the day ofRagnarök.[6][7]
Árvakr ok Alsviðr · þęir skulu upp heðan
svangir sól draga.
En und þęira bógum · fǫ́lu blíð ręgin,
ę́sir ísarn-kol.
— Grímnismál 37
The myth of the Sun pulled by horses is not exclusive to Norse or Germanic religion. Many other mythologies and religions contain asolar deity or carriage of the Sun pulled by horses. In Persian and Phrygian mythology,Mithras andAttis perform this task. In Greek mythology,Apollo performs this task, although it was previously performed byHelios.[8] The myth of Árvakr and Alsviðr is thought to have inspired English dramatist and poetJames Shirley's playThe Triumph of Peace (1663).[9]
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