r/mythology • u/AvrulixGaming Demigod • 1d ago
Questions Are there any popular boots/shoes besides Hermes's Talaria?
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u/NovemberQuat The 3.0 Goddess 1d ago
Cursed necklace of Harmonia
I think Aphrodite had an irresistible girdle or something.
The Aegis worn by Zeus and Athena was considered as something that could be worn, brandished or "flapped."
Hades in some myths I think has a magical helmet.
That's all I can remember from off the top of my head.
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u/AvrulixGaming Demigod 1d ago
None of these are boots...
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u/NovemberQuat The 3.0 Goddess 1d ago
Oh woops I thought you were talking about clothing pieces in general. I misread
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u/Chitose_Isei 1d ago
They aren’t exactly popular, as they’re mentioned only once or, at most, twice, but according to the Prose Edda, Loki has a pair of shoes that allow him to run across the sky.
In the Skáldskaparmál, it's explained that Loki once cut off all of Sif’s hair, and when Thórr found out, he threatened to break every bone in Loki’s body, so Loki swore he would go to Svartálfheimr to ask the dwarves for compensation. Thórr allowed him to do so, and Loki went to the sons of Ivaldi, who forged three objects: the ship Skíðblaðnir, the spear Gungnir and a golden mane of hair. However, Loki wasn't satisfied with that and wagered his head with the brothers Brokr and Sindri that they couldn't make better gifts than the sons of Ivaldi; the brothers accepted and first forged the boar Gullinbursti and then the ring Draupnir. When Brokr was beginning to forge Mjǫllnir, Loki was worried that this would be the finest gift, so he transformed himself into a fly to try and sabotage it and ended up biting Brokr’s eye, causing it to bleed. Brokr was momentarily blinded, resulting in the handle of Mjǫllnir being far too short. When the task was complete, the three of them went to Ásgarðr to present the items: Skíðblaðnir and Gullinbursti went to Freyr, Gungnir and Draupnir to Óðinn, the wig to Sif, and Thórr kept Mjǫllnir. Everyone agreed that Mjǫllnir was the best gift, as it would be very useful to Thórr in protecting Ásgarðr from the Jǫtnar. So Brokr and Sindri drew a sword, but Loki fled in fear, running swiftly across the sky in his shoes, and Thórr had to go and fetch him. On his return, Loki said he had wagered his head, but not his neck, so the dwarves took out a needle and thread and sewed his mouth shut.
Another myth recounts that Óðinn, Hœnir and Loki were travelling when they passed by a river, near the home of the dwarf king Hreiðmarr. There they saw an otter that had caught a salmon, so Loki picked up a stone to kill it and take the salmon and the otter’s pelt for themselves. When they arrived at Hreiðmarr’s house, the dwarf recognised the pelt as that of his son Óttr; for his sons were shape-shifters who used to spend their time in the river in their transformed forms. Hreiðmarr called his other sons, and they tied up the gods and took Loki's shoes, with the intention of killing them in revenge (a hólmgang); but then Óðinn offered compensation (a weregild) and Hreiðmarr accepted on the condition that the gold must cover Óttr’s pelt. So Óðinn and Hœnir were kept as hostages, while Loki went to seek the compensation.
Loki knew that the dwarf Andvari lived in the same river, where he used to hide by taking the form of a pike. He possessed immense wealth, so Loki caught him in a net lent to him by the jǫtunn Rán (although in later events, prior to his punishment, it's established that it was Loki who invented the fishing net in an attempt to discover how the gods could catch him, as he was hiding in a river in the form of a salmon) and threatened to kill him if he didn't hand over his gold. Andvari gave him everything except his ring, which was the source of his fortune; Loki noticed this and forced him to hand it over as well to complete the covering of the skin. However, before giving it to him, Andvari cursed the ring, decreeing the destruction of whoever possessed it. Later, Hreiðmarr’s sons demanded a share of the compensation from their father, but he refused. This led to one of them, Fáfnir, killing his brother and then Hreiðmarr, so that he could keep the gold and guard it in the form of a dragon. He was subsequently slain by Sigurðr with the help of Brünhildr.
It's not stated that they were the same shoes, but it's curious that they specifically took his shoes away.
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u/dalidellama 1d ago
There's the ever-popular Seven League Boots