In Norse mythology, many people who die of illness or old age go to Hel. The word names both the underworld realm and the goddess who rules it.
This destination contrasts with the warrior halls associated with Odin and Freyja. Valhalla and Fólkvangr are connected with selected people who die in battle, while Hel receives many others. The surviving sources do not present one completely uniform map of the afterlife, so individual texts can emphasize different details.
The modern English word “hell” is related to the same Germanic linguistic tradition, but the Norse realm is not identical to every later religious idea of hell. In Norse mythology, Hel is primarily a destination for the dead and is governed by a named mythological figure.