Who is Mimir in God of War Ragnarok?

Have you ever wondered who Mimir is in God of War Ragnarok or in Norse Mythology? Well, To put it simply, Mimir is the head that hangs on Kratos’s waist. He plays a significant role in Norse Mythology and in God of War Ragnarok. Let’s dive into who Mimir is and his role in God of War Ragnarok.

Answer

Mimir is known as the wisest of the Aesir Gods. Before he was only a head, Mimir resided by the well near the world tree’s roots. His knowledge was believed to have come from drinking the water from the well daily. Kratos and Atreus freed Mimir from his imprisonment by Odin and revived him. From that day forth, Mimir served as an advisor of sorts to Kratos on their journey.

In Norse mythology

Many sources on the story of Mimir have conflicting stories. Mimir plays a large part in how Odin lost his eye. When Odin was still a young god, he was hungry for knowledge. It is said that Odin came to the well where Mimir resided, longing to drink the water. 

Mimir knowing Odin’s reputation, decided that there would have to be a cost equal to what Odin would receive if he drank the water. Mimir knew of Odin’s ability to have far sight and said that the cost would be for Odin to remove one of his eyes in exchange for the water. This obviously happened. 

There are two ways in which people believe Mimir lost his head. The first is that Mimir was the god that many other gods came to for wisdom. This included the main enemy of the Aesir gods, the giants. One theory is that Odin cut off his head because of his close relationship with the giants making him a liability. 

The other story links with a major war between the Norse gods. The Aesir gods had a massive war against the Vanir. Both sides had tremendous casualties, which led them to call a truce, eventually. 

The truce was marked by each tribe sending men of value to the other as a gesture of goodwill. The Aesir gave Mimir and Hoenir to the Vanir. Hoenir was put into a leadership position but heavily relied on the advice of Mimir. So much so that when Mimir was not around, he could not make decisions. 

Feeling like they had been wronged by only receiving one person of value, the Vanir cut off Mimir’s head and sent the head and body back to Odin to show their disapproval. Using different herbs and magic to preserve and reanimate the head, Odin made use of the vast knowledge Mimir has.

Here’s a short clip about Mimir in Norse Mythology.

In GOWR

In God of War, Ragnarok Mimir was voiced by Alastair Duncan, the same man who voiced Celebrimbor in Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. Mimir’s story in God of War Ragnarok is slightly different. 

In GOWR, Mimir was imprisoned in a tree at the highest point in Asgard. While imprisoned, Odin tortured Mimir for 100 years and used him as his personal encyclopedia. As the story goes, the sons of Thor were searching for Atreus and Kratos. They stopped to ask Mirmir where they were, and he refused to tell them. 

Shortly after they left, Kratos and Atreus arrived at the tree. Since Mimir was imprisoned in an indestructible tree, the only way to free him was to cut his head off. Before Kratos cut off his head, Mimir instructed him to take his head to Freya. Using similar methods to Odin in the original story, Freya reanimated Mimir’s head. 

From there after Mimir becomes a source of wisdom strapped to Kratos. Throughout God of War, Ragnarok, Mirmir shares the history of different Gods and plays a massive role in helping Kratos and Atreus defeat Odin.