Hodr
;)
sometimes Hodur or Hod, the son of Odin and Frigg, was the blind god of Germanic mythology. In the Icelandic tradition, Hodr unintentionally killed his brother Balder. When Balder was troubled by dreams of his coming death, his mother Frigg exacted a promise from each and every thing not to do her son any harm. A sole exception was the mistletoe, a plant the goddess considered to be too insignificant. The trickster god Loki learned about the mistletoe, however, and guided Hodr's hand when he threw it at his brother. The branch of mistletoe went straight through Balder, who fell down dead. Once it became clear that Balder would have to stay in the land of the dead, Hodr was sent to join him as a punishment. In a very different version of the story, Hodr and Balder are rivals for the hand of Nanna, and Balder is portrayed as a hateful figure. Their conflict is finally resolved when Hodr kills Balder with a magic sword. This Danish version shows the brothers in a very different light.
After Ragnarok, the doom of the gods, 'Balder and Hodr return from the world of the dead', reconciled, to a new earth. That these two sons of Odin are mentioned together here shows their importance in Icelandic mythology. First there is Balder, handsome and kind, almost too good for the world. He represents the positive side of his father's nature, as the god of magic and inspiration. The second brother, Hodr, is the opposite of Odin's foresight. Instead, he represents his blind spot, the side of his nature that takes delight in death. Not for nothing was Balder slain by his blind brother in a game that involved throwing potentially dangerous objects.