Líf and Lífþrasir

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Líf and Lífþrasir are two humans in Norse mythology who are said to survive Ragnarök by hiding in a forest called Hoddmímis holt. After the world is cleansed by fire, they will repopulate the earth.

In the Poetic Edda (Vafþrúðnismál), the god Odin asks who will survive the great winter. The jötunn Vafþrúðnir answers that Líf and Lífþrasir will endure by staying in Hoddmímis holt, feeding on the morning dew, and from them future generations will spring. In the Prose Edda (Gylfaginning), High tells Gangleri that these two will lie hidden during Surt's fire, and from them there will be such a great population that the world will be inhabited.

Líf means "life," and Lífþrasir means "Líf's lover" or "lover of life."

Scholars have offered ideas about what Hoddmímis holt might mean. Some think it could be another name for the world-tree Yggdrasil or connected to Mímir. Others see it as a symbol of mankind’s rebirth, repeating the myth that humans come from trees (like Askr and Embla). There are also parallels in legends, such as a Bavarian tale of a shepherd living inside a tree and the saga of Örvar-Oddr, who is renewed after living as a tree-man.