Freyja

In ancient times, one of the main parts that made up the culture of many places was mythology . In the case of Norse mythology , it was composed of a set of different adventures and legends that were part of the Scandinavian culture which will be represented and starred by different gods . One of these recognized gods was Freyja , a female goddess who represented love , beauty, and war .

Freyja Characteristics

Among the main characteristics that made this goddess a unique deity, the following are mentioned:

• She was the goddess of war , fertility , beauty , love , sex, and crops .
• She had a husband who was apparently named Odr , many say that he was Odin himself .
• His parents were the mythical god Njörðr and his mother, the goddess Nerthus .
• She had her golden hair , blue eyes , and incomparable beauty .
• She was in her time, the goddess most revered by the inhabitants.
• She was also known as the goddess of lust .
• She had a very independent character and was extremely seductive .

What was she goddess of

Freyja She was the goddess of beauty , fertility and wars among others but she was also the goddess of magic, a type of magic known by the name of seidr , which focused mainly on destiny. This type of magic was used mainly to influence destiny and to be able to observe between the different kingdoms and thus have a visibility on the events of the life of each of the inhabitants. She was also in charge of a part of the realm of death where she participated by welcoming the dead who had been honored.

Freyja Power

This goddess had several important powers among which are mentioned:

• Photokinesis . it could illuminate the entire Kingdom and function like a sun.
• Tears of Gold: Being so highly regarded as the goddess of gold, she sometimes cried tears of this element.
• Amokinesis : being the goddess of love, she had absolute control and authority over emotions.
• Mystiokinesis : He also had absolute control over all aspects of magic.
• Necromancy : it was all the authority that fell on her with respect to total control over the dead.

Features

Its functions were closely linked with war, death, fertility, healings, magic, victories in battles, with fertility, with wealth, luck and happiness .

Freyja’s story

Freyja was the daughter of the sea god Njord and her twin sister known as Frey . Its origin is closely linked with combat and war . According to the story , the Vanir and the æsir started a major war due to mistreatment from the latter group against Gullveig . Finally, they managed to reach a peace treaty that put an end to the fighting and that treaty included a hostage exchange . Then, the decision was made to make a transfer of the god Njörðr from theVanaheim , home of the Vanir, to Asgard , home of the æsir . It was at this time that Njord , who had married his sister Nerthus , had two children: Frey and Freya .

In what myths does it appear

One of the main myths in which Freyja appears is the myth of the legends of the necklace . This legend tells that there was a grotto near the Palace of Freyja in which four very skilled dwarves lived . One day, the goddess observed that in the grotto there was a gold necklace which she became obsessed with and for that reason she offered the dwarves a large quantity of gold in exchange for the necklace, however, the dwarves wanted something else, that the goddess he will spend one night with each of them.

According to a legend, the goddess decided to accept and managed to obtain the necklace but the god Loki realized what she had done and informed Odin who ordered that the necklace called Brisingamen be taken from her . The goddess managed to realize what was happening and was in charge of ending the maneuver, thus managing to keep the necklace.

The second myth is the story of Angantyr and Ottar , who had argued over property rights. The two men could not solve the fight and for that reason, they went to the presence of the Viking gods . Then, the Asgard assembly established that the fight would be won by the man who could prove that his bloodline was the noblest . Ottar did not have the ability to remember who his ancestors had been and for that reason he offered various sacrifices to the goddess begging her for help. She heard his prayers, showed herself to him and transformed him into a boarand thus rode him on his back towards Hyndla. Finally, thanks to the help that the goddess had given him, Ottar managed to get her properties.

How it is represented

The goddess was represented as an extremely beautiful , voluptuous and very lustful young woman .

Worship

Freyja was by medieval mythology was considered one of the Norse gods in addition to having been the goddess of love , beauty and fertility . The Germans also paid tribute to them and she was worshiped for being one of the main fertility goddesses . Others included wealth , prophecy and magic and for being also the one in charge of receiving half of the warriors who had fallen in battle.

Temples

Its main temple was located in Heimskringla but these places were raided and destroyed by Olaf I of Norway and by Olaf II who were in charge of the destruction during the Christianization process in Scandinavia.

Symbols

Freyja had several symbols that represent her, among them we find the following:

• Fólkvangr : it was the place where the goddess was in charge of receiving half of the warriors who died who had participated in the battles.
• Jewelry : it had a necklace made of gold that represented the sun and the cycle of day and night.
• Cloak : the cloak was responsible for the goddess having the ability to transform into any type of bird and to travel from one place to another. This cape was known by the name of Valshmr go to made with falcon feathers.
• Carriage of cats : this was a war chariot led by large cats which were known by the name of Trjegul and Bygul . These big cats are believed to be boreal lynxes and were very important to God.
• Wild boar : the goddess had a wild boar to which she rode and which was known by the name of Hildisvini . He was a talismanic protector of the deity during wars.

Importance of Freyja

For both Norse mythology and Germanic mythology , Freya was a very important goddess because she was in charge of representing love and fertility , aspects that were of great importance at the time, she was the goddess to which the inhabitants went in looking for happiness and success in love . It also represented fertility for both women and crops and is closely related to all matters of war , prophecy, and wealth .

Curiosities

Some curiosities of this impressive goddess are the following:

• The name comes from the Old Norse language and has the meaning ” lady “.
• In his honor, on Fridays , both the German and English languages are inspired by his name .
• She was a goddess of both love and death , fertility , lust, and beauty .
• He had a twin brother named Freyr whose meaning is “sir.”
• It was believed in Norse mythology that half of the people who died who did not reach Valhalla belonged to Freyja .

Presence in popular culture

In popular culture it is possible to find Freyja’s story in various series and even movies . She has also appeared in the theater with a small variation on her name, “ Freia ”, an opera by Richard Wagner and Der Ring des Nibelungen alongside other authors. In this work, Freyja is represented as Frigg’s sister and is also the goddess of beauty who is captured by giants and who must be rescued by Odin. In the famous series The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, she is also mentioned as a goddess in the Skellige Islands.

He appeared as one of the characters in the acclaimed video game God of War in 2018, in the Dungeon ni Deai series in which he was charged with leading one of the most powerful families. She was also included as a character in the online game SMITE and a movie called Kamigami no Atsuki Tatakai was made where Freyja is one of the characters, a movie in the anime genre.