Which Norse goddess rules the underworld?

Which Norse goddess rules the underworld? Hel presides over the underworld realm that is also called Hel.

In surviving Norse sources, Hel is described as a female being and a daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboða. Her siblings include Fenrir, the monstrous wolf, and Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent. According to Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, Odin sends Hel to Niflheim and gives her authority over the dead who come to her realm.

Hel’s domain is not simply an equivalent of the Christian idea of hell. It is a destination for many of the dead, especially those who do not die gloriously in battle. The realm is portrayed as an established part of the Norse cosmos, with Hel exercising judgment or authority over its inhabitants. The goddess is also famously described as partly corpse-like, reflecting her connection with death.

Readers often confuse Hel with Valhalla, Odin’s hall for selected slain warriors, or with Freyja’s Fólkvangr, which also receives some battle-dead. Strictly speaking, the sources call Hel a female being rather than consistently using the modern category “goddess,” but Hel is the canonical quiz answer.