Grýla | God of War Wiki | Fandom

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Personality [ ]

Grýla is a ruthless old Giant and someone that is full of anger, showing no care towards animals and even her granddaughter . But according to Angrboda, her grandmother changed when Angrboda's father, her son, did not want to challenge his fate. As time went on, her fellow kin allowed themselves to be bound by fate, and along with the rampage carried out by Thor against the Giants, Grýla saw her race crumble before her, eventually becoming one of the last Giants left in Jötunheim. To try and suppress her sadness and immense loneliness, Grýla began capturing the souls of animals, and with the use of her magic cauldron, she would take over the minds of animals and live out their lives temporarily. This not only reduced said animals to lifeless husks, but the cauldron also had horrible effects on her, making her vicious and desensitized to the thought of Ragnarök and feeling like there is no use in having a soul. This is seen when she says "You know... you should be thanking me. What good does a soul do to anybody? It's just a vessel for pain," to the wolf she had captured. She shows signs of an elderly woman with dementia, even telling Angrboda that she had forgotten many things but not her.
Despite being Angrboda's grandmother, it seems that she shows little to no care towards her granddaughter even saying, "I should have thrown you to the wolves right after I pulled you out of your mother!" and " You are NOTHING. and NO ONE will ever remember you. Not even Loki !" which leaves Angrboda saddened. But according to Angrboda's memories, despite showing that she does not like or care about her granddaughter, she still left a baked loaf of bread which proves that she did care for her granddaughter before her usage of the cauldron worsened her behavior.
With all this, Grýla doesn't seem to be that bad of a person as she is just hurt and hopeless because she had lost her daughter-in-law, asking Angrboda "Was it your mom's destiny to go so young?" when she was talking about destiny, along with her son not wanting to challenge his fate; couple this with the negative effects that the cauldron has on her. Angrboda ultimately summed up her grandmother as someone who is not a horrible person, just lost herself in grief.


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Powers [ ]

Superhuman Strength : As a giant, she shows incredible strength to the point where she swats Atreus away like a fly. Precognition : Because of her giant lineage, they are able to see the future, sometimes in their dreams. This is what led her into becoming an angry, foul-mouthed woman as her son did not want to challenge his fate. Cauldron Magic : She possesses a magical cauldron which she uses to hurl purple-colored fire or ash towards her enemies. Giant Magic : She is able to cast giant magic which she uses in tandem with her cauldron magic, making for a dangerous combination.

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Mythology [ ]

In Icelandic mythology, Grýla is an ogre, troll, or giantess typically associated with Christmas. She was mentioned as a giantess in the Prose Edda but wasn't associated with Christmas until the 17th century.
In the old poems, Grýla is described as an old beggar woman who went around from towns and villages asking peasant farmers for their disobedient children but could be easily driven away. These poems said that Grýla even lived in a small cabin, but more recent stories describe her dwelling in a cave deep in Iceland's Dimmuborgir lava fields.
In more recent folklore, Grýla can smell disobedient children for miles. Every December, around Christmastime, she leaves her cave to hunt for disobedient children that she takes back to her cave and devours them as her favorite meal, even making a stew from naughty children.
According to legend, Grýla has been married thrice, and lives with her third husband, Leppalúði, her giant black cat, Jólakötturinn, and their thirteen sons, the Yule Lads.


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Backstory [ ]

Many years prior to the events of Ragnarök , Grýla lived in Jötunheim with her son, her daughter-in-law and her granddaughter, Angrboda. Following her son's refusal to challenge his fate, along with his and his wife's subsequent deaths, she became cold and distant towards her granddaughter, largely leaving her to fend for herself in Ironwood , telling her to never come back to her home. Grýla claimed that she didn't care for Angrboda, but would occasionally leave her a loaf of bread for her to eat. Having become depressed and withdrawn from the world, she would begin using an enchanted cauldron to capture animals and harvest their souls, using them to live vicariously through their memories in a temporary bid to relieve her sorrows.