Introduction
Thjazi is a giant, father of Skadi, best known for kidnapping the goddess Idunn along with her golden apples of youth, an act that briefly left the gods ageing and vulnerable, and for the vengeance the gods took against him, which in turn set off the story of his daughter's marriage into their ranks.
Family
- Daughter: Skadi
Kidnapping Idunn
Thjazi captured Loki during a journey and forced him, on pain of death, to lure Idunn out of Asgard with her apples under a false pretext. Once she stepped outside the gods' protection, Thjazi, in the form of a giant eagle, seized her and carried her back to his home in Jotunheim, taking her apples of youth with her. Without access to the apples, the gods began rapidly to age.
Death
Realising Loki was responsible, the gods forced him to rescue Idunn. Borrowing a magical feather cloak, Loki flew to Jotunheim, transformed Idunn into a nut, and flew back with her to Asgard. Thjazi, pursuing in his eagle form, followed them across the wall into Asgard, where the gods had prepared bonfires; his wings caught fire, he fell, and the gods killed him.
Skadi's compensation
Thjazi's daughter Skadi came to Asgard in full armour to demand compensation for her father's death, and the settlement reached, including her unusual foot-based choice of a husband among the gods, led to her marriage to Njord.