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{{short description|Two wolves in Norse mythology}}
{{good article}}
[[File:Sutton hoo purse lid02017 (cropped).JPG|thumb|Decoration on the [[Sutton Hoo purse-lid]], showing a one-eyed figure (hard to see in photo) between two wolves, thought to depict [[Odin]] with Geri and Freki.<ref name="Price">{{cite book |title=An Eye for Odin? Divine Role-Playing in the Age of Sutton Hoo |author=Neil Price |author-link=Neil Price (archaeologist) |author2=Paul Mortimer |year=2014 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=UK |page=11–25 (9, 5) |doi=10.1179/1461957113Y.0000000050 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul_Mortimer2/publication/272248812_An_Eye_for_Odin_Divine_Role-Playing_in_the_Age_of_Sutton_Hoo/links/5881428892851c21ff41fe31/An-Eye-for-Odin-Divine-Role-Playing-in-the-Age-of-Sutton-Hoo.pdf |access-date=2025-11-10 }}</ref>]]
[[File:Oden's animals (cropped).jpg|thumb|Modern ambiguous ink painting of Odin with his two ravens [[Huginn and Muninn]], as well as his two wolves Geri and Freki.]]

In [[Norse mythology]], '''Geri''' and '''Freki''' (roughly "Greed" and "Glutton") are two [[Eurasian wolf|wolves]] which are said to accompany the god [[Odin]]. They are attested in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', a collection of epic poetry compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, in the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', written in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]], and in the poetry of [[skald]]s. The pair has been compared to similar figures found in [[Greek mythology|Greek]], [[Roman mythology|Roman]] and [[Sharvara and Shyama|Vedic mythology]], and may also be connected to beliefs surrounding the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] "wolf-warrior bands", the [[Úlfhéðnar]].

== Etymology ==
The name ''Geri'' has been interpreted as meaning either "the greedy one" or "the ravenous one".<ref name=SIMEKANDLINDOW>Simek (2007:90; 106); Lindow (2001:120; 139).</ref> The name ''Geri'' stems from the [[root morpheme]] ''ger/gir'', traced back to a [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] adjective: {{lang|gem-x-proto|[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/geraz|geraz]]}}, attested in [[Burgundian language (Germanic)|Burgundian]] ''girs'', [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|gerr}}, [[Old Swedish]] ''giri'' ("greed, desire"), [[Old High German]] {{lang|goh|ger}} or {{wikt-lang|goh|giri}} and [[Old Dutch]] {{lang|don|gir}}, all of which mean "greedy".<ref name=OREL132>Orel (2003:132).</ref> Compare modern {{langx|da|gerrig}}, {{lang|da|girig}}, {{langx|no|girug}}, {{langx|sv|girig}}, all meaning greedy.

The name ''Freki'' can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic adjective {{lang|gem-x-proto|[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/frekaz|frekaz]]}}, attested in [[Gothic language|Gothic]] {{wikt-lang|got|𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌺𐍃}} ({{lang|got-Latn|faihufriks}}) "covetous, avaricious", [[Old English]] {{wikt-lang|ang|frec}} "desirous, greedy, gluttonous, audacious" and Old High [[German language|German]] {{wikt-lang|goh|freh}} "greedy, covetous, desirous",<ref name=OREL113>Orel (2003:113).</ref> The [[Old Norse]] form {{wikt-lang|non|frekr}} is fairly broad (compare modern {{langx|da|fræk}}, {{langx|no|frek}}, {{langx|sv|fräck}}, {{lang|sv|fräk}}), meaning "brazen, enterprising, covetous, greedy and insatiable", including having a voracious appetite (”gluttonous”).

[[John Lindow]] interprets both Old Norse names as nominalized adjectives.<ref name=LINDOW120AND139>Lindow (2001:120 and 139).</ref> [[Bruce Lincoln]] further traces ''Geri'' back to a [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] stem {{lang|ine-x-proto|gher-}}, which is the same as that found in {{lang|non|[[Garmr]]}}, a name referring to the hound closely associated with the events of {{lang|non|[[Ragnarök]]|italic=no}}.<ref name=LINCOLN99>Lincoln (1991:99).</ref>

==Attestations==
In the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''[[Grímnismál]]'', the god [[Odin]] (disguised as ''[[List of names of Odin|Grímnir]]'') provides the young [[Agnarr Geirröðsson|Agnarr]] with information about Odin's companions. Agnarr is told that Odin feeds Geri and Freki while the god himself consumes only wine:
<blockquote>
{|
|
:<small>[[Benjamin Thorpe]] translation:</small>
:Geri and Freki the war-wont sates,
:the triumphant sire of hosts;
:but on wine only the famed in arms,
:Odin, ever lives.<ref name=THORPE21>Thorpe (1907:21).</ref>
|
:<small>[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] translation:</small>
:Freki and Geri does Heerfather feed,
:The far-famed fighter of old:
:But on wine alone does the weapon-decked god,
:Othin, forever live.<ref name=BELLOWS92>Bellows (1923:92).</ref>
|
|}
</blockquote>

The pair is also alluded to via the [[kenning]] "[[List of names of Odin|Viðrir]]'s (Odin's) hounds" in ''[[Helgakviða Hundingsbana I]]'', verse 13, where it is related that they roam the field "greedy for the corpses of those who have fallen in battle".<ref>Lincoln views this activity as the reason behind their epithet "ravenous" or "greedy". See Lincoln (1991:99).</ref>

<blockquote>
{|
|
:<small>[[Benjamin Thorpe]] translation:</small>
:The warriors went to the trysting place of swords,
:which they had appointed at Logafiöll.
:Broken was Frodi's peace between the foes:
:Vidrir’s hounds went about the isle slaughter-greedy.<ref>Thorpe (1907:138).</ref>
|
:<small>[[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] translation:</small>
:The warriors forth to the battle went,
:The field they chose at Logafjoll;
:Frothi's peace midst foes they broke,
:Through the isle went hungrily Vithrir's hounds.<ref>Bellows (1936:295–296).</ref>
|
|}
</blockquote>

In the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' (chapter 38), the enthroned figure of [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] explains that Odin gives all of the food on his table to his wolves Geri and Freki and that Odin requires no food, for wine is to him both meat and drink. High then quotes the above-mentioned stanza from the poem ''Grímnismál'' in support.<ref name=FAULKES33>Faulkes (1995:33).</ref> In chapter 75 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' a list of names for [[warg]]s and [[wolf|wolves]] is provided that includes both Geri and Freki.<ref name=FAULKES164>Faulkes (1995:64).</ref>

In [[skald]]ic poetry ''Geri'' and ''Freki'' are used as common nouns for "wolf" in chapter 58 of ''Skáldskaparmál'' (quoted in works by the [[skald]]s [[Þjóðólfr of Hvinir]] and [[Egill Skallagrímsson]]) and ''Geri'' is again used as a common noun for "wolf" in chapter 64 of the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Háttatal]]''.<ref name=FAULKES135AND204>Faulkes (1995:135 and 204).</ref> Geri is referenced in [[kenning]]s for "blood" in chapter 58 of ''Skáldskaparmál'' ("Geri's ales" in a work by the skald [[Þórðr Kolbeinsson]]) and in for "carrion" in chapter 60 ("Geri's morsel" in a work by the skald [[Einarr Skúlason]]).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://skaldic.ku.dk/q?p=skp/skalds/stanza/4239 |title=Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. |publisher=Brepols |year=2012 |editor-last=Carroll |editor-first=Jayne |series=Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1 |location=Turnhout |pages=513 |chapter=Þórðr Kolbeinsson, Eiríksdrápa 17 |editor-last2=Whaley |editor-first2=Diana}}</ref><ref name=FAULKES136AND138>Faulkes (1995:136 and 138).</ref> ''Freki'' is also used in a kenning for "carrion" ("Freki's meal") in a work by Þórðr Sjáreksson in chapter 58 of ''Skáldskaparmál''.<ref name=FAULKES136>Faulkes (1995:136).</ref>

==Archaeological record==
If the rider on horseback on the image on the [[Böksta Runestone]] has been correctly identified as Odin, then Geri and Freki are shown taking part in hunting an [[Moose|elk]].<ref name=SILEN88-91>Silén (1993:88—91).</ref>

==Theories==
[[Image:Bronsplåt pressbleck Öland vendeltid.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Vendel era]] bronze plate found on [[Öland]], [[Sweden]] depicting a wolf-pelt warrior drawing a sword beside a dancing figure.]]
''Freki'' is also a name applied to the monstrous wolf [[Fenrir]] in the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''[[Völuspá]]''. Folklorist [[John Lindow]] sees irony in the fact that Odin feeds one Freki at his dinner table and another—Fenrir—with his flesh during the events of [[Ragnarök]].<ref name=LINDOW120>Lindow (2001:120).</ref>

Historian Michael Spiedel connects Geri and Freki with archaeological finds depicting figures wearing wolf-pelts and frequently found wolf-related names among the [[Germanic peoples]], including Wulfhroc ("Wolf-Frock"), Wolfhetan ("Wolf-Hide"), Isangrim ("Grey-Mask"), Scrutolf ("Garb-Wolf"), Wolfram ("Wolf (and) [[Huginn and Muninn|Raven]]"), Wolfgang ("Wolf-Gait"), Wolfdregil ("Wolf-Runner"), and Vulfolaic ("Wolf-Dancer") and myths regarding wolf warriors from Norse mythology (such as the [[Úlfhéðnar]]). Michael Speidel believes this to point to the pan-Germanic wolf-warrior band cult centered on Odin that waned away after [[Christianization]].<ref name="SPEIDEL24-38">Speidel (2004:24—28).</ref>

Scholars have also noted [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Indo-European]] parallels to the wolves Geri and Freki as companions of a divinity. 19th century scholar [[Jacob Grimm]] observed a connection between this aspect of Odin's character and the Greek [[Apollo]], to whom both the wolf and the raven are sacred.<ref name=GRIMM147>Grimm (1882:147).</ref> Philologist [[Maurice Bloomfield]] further connected the pair with the [[Sharvara and Shyama|two dogs]] of [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]] in Vedic mythology, and saw them as a Germanic counterpart to a more general and widespread Indo-European "[[Cerberus]]"-theme.<ref name="OTHER-WOLVES">Bloomfield also mentions another Nordic pair in this connection: ''Geri'' "Greedy" and ''Gifr'' "Violent" are two dogs which guard the maiden Menglöð in the ''[[Fjölsvinnsmál]]''. See Bloomfeld (1908:316–318).</ref> Speidel finds similar parallels in the [[Vedic period|Vedic]] [[Rudra]] and the [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman]] [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]]. Elaborating on the connection between wolves and figures of great power, he writes: "This is why Geri and Freki, the wolves at Woden's side, also glowered on the throne of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Wolf-warriors, like Geri and Freki, were not mere animals but mythical beings: as Woden's followers they bodied forth his might, and so did wolf-warriors."<ref name="SPEIDEL24-38"/>

[[Bernd Heinrich]] theorizes that Geri and Freki, along with Odin and his ravens [[Huginn and Muninn]], reflect a [[symbiosis]] observed in the natural world among ravens, wolves, and humans on the hunt:
<blockquote>
:In a biological symbiosis one organism typically shores up some weakness or deficiency of the other(s). As in such a symbiosis, Odin the father of all humans and gods, though in human form was imperfect by himself. As a separate entity he lacked depth perception (being one-eyed) and he was apparently also uninformed and forgetful. But his weaknesses were compensated by his ravens, Hugin (mind) and Munin (memory) who were part of him. They perched on his shoulders and reconnoitered to the ends of the earth each day to return in the evening and tell him the news. He also had two wolves at his side, and the man/god-raven-wolf association was like one single organism in which the ravens were the eyes, mind, and memory, and the wolves the providers of meat and nourishment. As god, Odin was the ethereal part—he only drank wine and spoke only in poetry. I wondered if the Odin myth was a metaphor that playfully and poetically encapsulates ancient knowledge of our prehistoric past as hunters in association with two allies to produce a powerful hunting alliance. It would reflect a past that we have long forgotten and whose meaning has been obscured and badly frayed as we abandoned our hunting cultures to become herders and agriculturists, to whom ravens act as competitors.<ref name="HEINRICH-2006-355">Heinrich (2006 [1999]: 355). For discussion of wolf and raven symbiosis, see for example Heinrich (2006 [1999]: 226–235). For discussion of wolf and human symbiosis, see for example Henrich (2006 [1999]: 236–244).</ref>
</blockquote>

==See also==
* [[List of wolves]]
* [[Fenrir]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Bellows, Henry Adams]] (1923). ''The Poetic Edda''. American-Scandinavian Foundation.
* [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Bellows, Henry Adams]] (1936). ''The Poetic Edda''. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
* [[Maurice Bloomfield|Bloomfield, Maurice]] (1908) "Cerberus" in: Hastings, James (Ed.) ''Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics'', Vol. 5. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}.
* [[Jacob Grimm|Grimm, Jacob]] (1882). ''Teutonic Mythology'', Vol. I, Translated from the 4th Edition by James Steven Stallybrass. London: George Bell & Sons.
* [[Bernd Heinrich|Heinrich, Bernd]] (2006 [1999]). ''The Mind of the Raven''. [[Harper Perennial]]. {{ISBN|978-0-06-113605-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lincoln |first=Bruce |author-link=Bruce Lincoln |title=Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology and Practice |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1991 |location=Chicago |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1aVe-YRHs7UC |isbn=0-226-48199-9}}
* [[John Lindow|Lindow, John]] (2001). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs]''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-515382-0}}.
* Orel, Vladimir (2003). ''A Handbook of Germanic Etymology''. Leiden: Brill. {{ISBN|90-04-12875-1}}.
* [[Rudolf Simek|Simek, Rudolf]] (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Silén |first=Lars |title=Några Reflektioner Angående Bilderna på Balingsta-Stenen i Uppland |journal=Fornvännen |volume=78 |pages=88–91 |publisher=Swedish National Heritage Board |year=1983 |url=http://fornvannen.se/pdf/1980talet/1983_088.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718002624/http://fornvannen.se/pdf/1980talet/1983_088.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-18 |url-status=live |access-date=2010-01-28}}
* Spiedel, Michael (2004). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=9bIdOjvocwwC Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan's Column to Icelandic Sagas]''. [[Routledge]]. {{ISBN|0-415-31199-3}}
* [[Benjamin Thorpe|Thorpe, Benjamin]] (Trans) (1907). ''Edda Sæmundar Hinns Frôða The Edda of Sæmund the Learned''. Part I. London Trübner & Co
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline|Geri and Freki}}
*[https://myndir.uvic.ca/GeRi01.html MyNDIR (My Norse Digital Image Repository)] Illustrations of Geri and Freki from manuscripts and early print books.

{{Odin}}
{{Norse mythology}}

[[Category:Odin]]
[[Category:Wolves in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological duos]]
[[Category:Cerberus]]