A discussion on Hel

I thought we could have a discussion on Hel, since its one of those names which are kinda convoluted.

So, as a starter, Hel, the "death goddess" (for simplicity), shares the same name as the realm she administers, ie, Hel, or Helheim (Hel-home).

Outside of mythology, it's an old word for "death" or "underworld", directly cognate to English "hell", German "Hölle" (and thereof). In Scandinavian (and probably other languages too), it still somewhat survives in this original sense in various compounds and archaic phrases, such as:

• helvíti/helvete/helvede ("hell"), literally "death punishment/underworld punishment"
• i hel/ihjäl/ihjel ("to death"), lit. "to hell"
• hälja ("to kill")

In terms of etymology, the root of the word means "to cover, to hide" (compare Old Norse: hylja, Swedish: hölja, "to cover, hide"; English: hull, etc), ie, it refers to "the underground" (the hidden place).

This idea of the afterlife being located in the "underworld", below the world of the living, is a broad concept that survives all over Europe, as around the world. Culturally speaking, despite being further demonized by Christianity for practical reasons, the idea of the underworld was (and in my experience, still is) not necessarily seen as a paradice, but neither as a place of suffering either. The Eddas describe it as dark and cold, which appears to surmise it to be akin to a generic underground area.

The general concept of the dead living underground, survived well into the Christian era as something generic, and still somewhat remain in folk memory (which goes hand in hand with us burying the dead). There are various mountains called "holy mountains" (helgafjöll/hälgafjäll), and thereof, in the Nordics, as they used to be gathering spots where families would honor and "be" with their dead "in the mountain".