Introduction
Vili is a son of Bor and Bestla, brother of Odin and Ve. Together, the three brothers killed the primordial giant Ymir and used his body to create the world, the foundational act of Norse cosmology.
Family
Role in creation
Vili's chief significance is as one of the three creator-gods. Alongside Odin and Ve, he took part in slaying Ymir and shaping the earth, sea, sky and mountains from his remains.
Identity in later tradition
Snorri Sturluson, in the Prose Edda, at one point identifies the trio of Odin, Vili and Ve with another trio of divine brothers, Odin, Hœnir and Lodurr, who together give humans their form and vital gifts (breath, movement, senses); scholars debate whether these are meant to be understood as the same three gods under different names or as a related but distinct tradition.