Gods, Heroes and Monsters: Myths of Combat, Binding and Betrayal

Thor hooks the Midgard Serpent with an ox head as bait and raises his hammer, but the terrified giant Hymir cuts the line and the serpent sinks back to wait for Ragnarok. Note that the poem Hymiskvida survives in the thirteenth century Codex Regius, though its language is judged older.

The gods, warned that Fenrir will kill Odin at Ragnarok, trick him into the fetter Gleipnir, and only Tyr agrees to place a hand in the wolf mouth as surety, losing it when the binding holds. Snorri account of about 1220 is the fullest version.

Scripture uses the sea monster Leviathan and the land beast Behemoth to close an argument about the limits of human power, while rabbinic tradition adds that the righteous will feast on Leviathan at the end of days. Here the monster is subdued at creation and killed again at the end.

Devas and asuras churn the Ocean of Milk for the nectar of immortality, using Mount Mandara as the rod and the serpent Vasuki as the rope. Shiva swallows the poison Halahala, and Vishnu secures the amrita for the devas, so rivals cooperate before the contest resumes.

Lugh leads the Tuatha De Danann against the Fomorians and kills Balor of the Evil Eye with a sling stone, after Nuada has been restored to kingship with a working arm. The tale survives chiefly in Cath Maige Tuired, and Moytirra in County Sligo is the real place where the legend was mapped.

In 1 Samuel 17 the young shepherd David refuses Saul armor and fells the Philistine champion Goliath with a single sling stone. The Greek Septuagint text of the chapter is markedly shorter than the Hebrew, and 2 Samuel 21:19 credits Elhanan with the killing, a discrepancy historians discuss.

Samson, a Nazirite whose strength is tied to his uncut hair, is betrayed by Delilah, who is bribed by the Philistine lords, and pulls down the temple of Dagon in a final act. Unlike the other judges he never leads an army, which readers take as an ironic close to the book of Judges.

Two hundred angelic Watchers under Shemihazah descend to Mount Hermon, take human wives and father giants, while Azazel teaches forbidden arts. Aramaic fragments from Qumran show the Book of the Watchers is at least as old as the third century BC.

Arthur and Mordred kill each other in the last battle of Arthurian legend. The earliest record is a bare entry in the Annales Cambriae, and Malory adds that a knight drawing his sword to kill an adder set off a war neither side intended.