In
Norse mythology, 'Regin' was the son of
Hreidmar and foster father of
Sigurd. Regin had all wisdom and deftness of hand. Regin built a house of glittering gold and flashing gems for his father. Regin and his brother,
Fafnir, killed
Hreidmar for the cursed
gold he had received from the gods after they killed his other son,
Otr. Fafnir, however, turned into a
dragon because he wanted to keep all of the gold (dragons frequently symbolize greed in
European
folklore). Fafnir drove Regin away from the gold. Regin lived among men. He taught men how to sow, reap, work metals, sail seas, tame horses, yoke beasts of burden, build houses, spin, weave, & sew. Regin sent Sigurd to retrieve the gold.
Regin forged a marvelous sword for Sigurd, but it quickly broke. Sigurd found his father's (
Sigmund) sword,
Gram, and had it fixed and reforged by
Mimir and used it to kill Fafnir. He gained wisdom from licking the dragon's
blood because Fafnir could talk to birds. Sigurd, who had discovered from the birds, that Regin was planning on killing him to get the gold, killed his stepfather and took the gold.
The ''Thidrekssaga'' relates a slightly different tale, with Regin as the dragon and
Mimir as his brother and foster father to Sigurd.