Jörmungandr: The Midgard Serpent

In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, pronounced [your-mun-gan-der], meaning "huge monster"), also known as the Midgard (World) Serpent, is a sea serpent, the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and Loki. According to the Prose Edda, Odin took Loki's three children by Angrboða—the wolf Fenrir, the death goddess Hel, and Jörmungandr—and tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encircles Midgard. The serpent grew so large that it was able to surround the earth and grasp its own tail. As a result, it received the name of the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent. When it releases its tail, Ragnarök will begin. Jörmungandr's arch-enemy is the thunder-god, Thor. It is an example of an ouroboros.

Stories

There are three preserved myths detailing Thor's encounters with Jörmungandr:

Lifting the Cat

In one, Thor encounters the giant king Útgarða-Loki and has to perform deeds for him, one of which was to lift the serpent in the form of a colossal cat, disguised by magic, as a test of strength. Thor is unable to lift such a monstrous creature as Jörmungandr, but does manage to raise it far enough that it lets go of the ground with one of its four feet. When Útgarða-Loki later explains his deception, he describes Thor's lifting of the cat as an impressive deed.

Thor's fishing trip

Another encounter comes when Thor goes fishing with the giant Hymir. When Hymir refuses to provide Thor with bait, Thor strikes the head off Hymir's largest ox to use as his bait. They row to a point where Hymir often sat and caught flat fish, where he drew up two whales, but Thor demands to go further out to sea, and does so despite Hymir's protest.

Thor then prepares a strong line and a large hook and baits it with the ox head, which Jörmungandr bites. Thor pulls the serpent from the water, and the two face one another, Jörmungandr dribbling poison and blood. Hymir goes pale with fear, and as Thor grabs his hammer to kill the serpent, the giant cuts the line, leaving the serpent to sink beneath the waves.

Final Battle

The last meeting between the serpent and Thor is predicted to occur at Ragnarök, when Jörmungandr will come out of the sea and poison the ocean and the sky. Thor will kill Jörmungandr and then walk nine paces before falling dead, having been poisoned by the serpent's venom.

While Jörmungandr is not specifically depicted as evil in the mythology, he is depicted as an enemy of the gods, a force of great power, and the slayer of Thor (though he will also die in the process).  It was believed that if Jörmungandr ever released his tail, then it would herald the beginning of Ragnarök, and it was in this final battle that Jörmungandr would slay his ancient enemy, Thor (the two encounter one another in several myths).  While he is not evil, the fact that Jörmungandr is cast as the enemy of the gods (of Thor, the hero of mankind, in particular), and his connection with the beginning of Ragnarök lend a decidedly wicked taint to the dragon.

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Buh-bye.