Rudolf Simek) or "bore-tooth" (John Lindow). Attestations In the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál, the god Odin (disguised as Grímnir) says that Ratatoskr runs up and down Yggdrasil bringing messages between the eagle perched atop it and Níðhöggr below it: Ratatoskr is described in the Prose Eddas Gylfaginning chapter 16, in which High states that An eagle sits at the top of the ash, and it has knowledge of many things. Between its eyes sits the hawk called Vedrfolnir [...]. The squirrel called Ratatosk [...] runs up and down the ash. He tells slanderous gossip, provoking the eagle and Nidhogg. Theories According to Rudolf Simek, "the squirrel probably only represents an embellishing detail to the mythological picture of the world-ash in Grímnismál. Hilda Ellis Davidson, describing the world tree, states the squirrel is said to gnaw at it—furthering a continual destruction and re-growth cycle, and posits the tree symbolizes ever-changing existence. John Lindow points out that Yggdrasil is described as rotting on one side and as being chewed on by four harts and Níðhöggr, and that, according to the account in Gylfaginning, it also bears verbal hostility in the fauna it supports. Lindow adds that "in the sagas, a person who helps stir up or keep feuds alive by ferrying words of malice between the participants is seldom one of high status, which may explain the assignment of this role in the mythology to a relatively insignificant animal". Richard W. Thorington Jr. and Katie Ferrell theorize that "the role of Ratatosk probably derived from the habit of European tree squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) to give a scolding alarm call in response to danger. It takes little imagination for you to think that the squirrel is saying nasty things about you." In popular culture Ratatoskr appears in his natural habitat in American Gods by Neil Gaiman. A fragment of Ratatoskr, nicknamed “Bitter” and voiced by Troy Baker, appears in the 2018 video game God of War, where he has the ability to provide the player with healing items. The actual Ratatoskr appears in the 2022 sequel, God of War Ragnarök (alongside Bitter), tending to the world tree Yggdrasil; this version of the character is voiced by SungWon Cho. He also appears as a playable character in the game Smite. In the 2010 video game Young Thor, Ratatoskr is depicted as an ally of Hel, who serves as the game's antagonist. Ratatoskr also appears