(Redirected from Lif and Lifthrasir):''For other uses see
LIF.''
In
Norse mythology, 'Líf' and 'Lífthrasir' (both relating to the word "Life") are the last human man and woman to survive
Ragnarök, after which they will repopulate the world.
In ''
Vafthrúdnismál'',
Odin poses a riddle to the
giant Vafthrúdnir about who among humans will live through the
Fimbulvetr, the great winter immediately preceding the final conflict of Ragnarök. The giant replies that Líf and Lífthrasir will take refuge in Hoddmímir's Forest and will nourish themselves with morning dew, and from them a new race of humans will descend. The identity of Hoddmímir remains speculative but includes a possible association with
Mímir.
Snorri paraphrases the myth in ''
Gylfaginning'', stating that Líf and Lífthrasir will remain hidden during the "fire of
Surtr" and that their offspring will be so numerous that the entire world will be repopulated.
In popular culture
★ '' makes a reference to a "St. Lif," the son of Baldur who saved the world from a cataclysm one thousand years prior to the game's setting.
★ Lif is the hero of the German fantasy novel ''Midgard'' by
Wolfgang Hohlbein.