Iðun
(Iðun, Iðunn, Iðuna)
Iðun, also
spelled Iðunn, or Iðuna, in Old Norse Mythology, the goddess of spring or rejuvenation and the wife of Bragi the god of
poetry. She was the keeper of the magic apples of immortality, which the gods
must eat to preserve their youth. Iðunn is more correctly pronounced in modern English as 'Eee' Ya Dun. Probably derived from Old Norse ið "again" and unna "to love". In Norse mythology Iðunn was the goddess of spring and immortality whose responsibility it was to guard the gods' apples of youth. Iðunn, also spelled Iðuna, in Norse mythology, is the goddess of spring or rejuvenation and the wife of Bragi, the god of poetry. She was the keeper of the magic apples of immortality, which the gods must eat to preserve their youth. When, through the cunning of Loki, the trickster god, she and her apples were seized by the giant Thiassi and taken to the realm of the giants, the gods quickly began to grow old. They then forced Loki to rescue Iðunn, which he did by taking the form of a falcon, changing Idun into a nut (in some sources, a sparrow), and flying off with her in his claws.
According
to an early skaldic poem (c. 900), Iðun, the
wife of Bragi, was entrusted with the apples that prevent the gods from growing
old. She was abducted by the giant Thjazi, but Loki brought her back with the
precious apples. This myth has many parallels such as Heracles’ obtaining the
golden apples of the Hesperides.
