íðunn

Idunn is a figure in Norse mythology, primarily known as the goddess of youth and the keeper of the apples of immortality. She is the wife of Bragi, the god of poetry. Idunn's most significant role is that of providing the golden apples that grant the Aesir gods their eternal youth. These apples are said to be stored in a chest, and when the gods feel themselves aging, they partake of them to regain their vitality.

Her story is most famously recounted in the *Haugsbrot* (The Captivity of Idunn) section of the Prose Edda. In this tale, the mischievous god Loki, under duress from the jötunn Þjazi, arranges for Idunn to be lured out of Asgard. Þjazi, disguised as an eagle, snatches her and takes her to his home in Jotunheim. Without Idunn and her apples, the Aesir begin to age and grow weak. Odin, disturbed by this, orders Loki to rescue her. Loki, again in the form of an eagle, flies to Þjazi's hall, transforms Idunn into a nut, and carries her back to Asgard. Þjazi pursues them, but the other Aesir, having regained their strength, attack and kill the jötunn. Idunn's role highlights the importance of youth and vitality to the gods, and her apples are a powerful symbol of this eternal life.