Fafnir: Difference between revisions

Fafnir appears — as "Fafner" — in [[Richard Wagner]]'s epic opera cycle ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' (1848-1874), although he began life as a [[Jötunn|giant]] rather than a [[Norse dwarves|dwarf]]. In the first opera, ''[[Das Rheingold]]'' (1869), Fafner and his brother Fasolt win a massive hoard of treasure from [[Odin|Wotan]], the king of the gods, in exchange for building the castle [[Valhalla]].  The treasure includes the magic helmet [[Tarnhelm]] and a magic [[Andvarinaut|Ring]].  As they divide the treasure, Fafner kills Fasolt and takes the Ring for himself.  Escaping to earth, he uses the Tarnhelm to transform himself into a [[western dragon|dragon]] and guards the treasure in a cave for many years before being ultimately killed by Wotan's mortal grandson [[Sigurd|Siegfried]], as depicted in the [[Siegfried_(opera)|opera of the same name]].