What stag stands atop Valhalla and weeps dew from its antlers?

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What stag stands atop Valhalla and weeps dew from its antlers? Eikþyrnir. Norse mythology places this stag on Valhalla, Odin’s hall for slain warriors, where it feeds alongside the goat Heiðrún.

The liquid associated with Eikþyrnir is described as flowing from his antlers. It runs down into Hvergelmir, a primordial well, and from there contributes to the rivers of the mythic world. “Dew” is a common explanatory rendering, though the Eddic imagery is more specifically liquid dripping or flowing from the antlers.

Eikþyrnir is best known from Grímnismál in the Poetic Edda and from Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda. The sources differ slightly over whether the stag stands “in” or “upon” Valhalla; modern translations often favor “upon” or “on the roof.”

The other names in this question are easy to confuse with Eikþyrnir. Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr, and Duraþrór are listed among stags associated with Yggdrasil, whereas Eikþyrnir is the Valhalla stag whose antler liquid feeds the cosmic waters.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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