Sökkmímir - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sökmímir or Søkkmímir was a jotun who appears in two sources from Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

, suggesting that he was once a well-known giant in Scandinavia.

In Grímnismál
Grímnismál
Grímnismál is one of the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of Grímnir, one of the many guises of the god Odin, who is tortured by King Geirröth...

, stanza 50, it appears that Odin

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

killed the giant:

Sviðurr ok Sviðrir

er ek hét at Søkkmímis,

ok dulða ek þann inn alda iötun,

þá er ek Miðviðnis vark

ins mæra burar

orðinn einbani.

So. I deceived the giant

Sokkmimir old

As Svithur and Svithrir of yore;

Of Mithvitnir's son

the slayer I was

When the famed one found his doom.

Svidur and Svidrir

I was at Sökkmimir's called,

and beguiled that ancient Jötun,

when of Midvitnir's

renowned son

I was the sole destroyer.

He notably appears in Ynglingatal
Ynglingatal
Ynglingatal is a skaldic poem listing the kings of the House of Ynglings, dated by most scholars to the late 9th century.The original version is attributed to Þjóðólfr af Hvini who was the skald of a Norwegian petty king named Ragnvald the Mountain-High and who was a cousin of Harald Fairhair...

, where subterranean abodes of giants are called Sökkmímir's halls:

En dagskjarr

Dúrnis niðja

salvörðuðr

Sveigði vétti,

þá er í stein

enn stórgeði

Dusla konr

ept dvergi hljóp,

ok salr bjartr

þeira Sökmímis

jötunbyggðr

við jöfri gein.

By Diurnir's elfin race,

Who haunt the cliffs and shun day's face,

The valiant Swegde

Sveigder

Sveigðir, Sveigder or Swegde was a Swedish king of the House of Yngling in Norse mythology. He was the son of Fjölner, whom he succeeded as king, and he married Vana of Vanaheimr, probably one of the Vanir. Lured by a dwarf, Sveigðir disappeared into a stone and never came back...

was deceived,

The elf's false words the king believed.

The dauntless hero rushing on,

Passed through the yawning mouth of stone:

It yawned it shut the hero fell,

In Saekmime's hall, where giants dwell.

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