Freya, myths and cult

She inspire artists of all time

She was borne a Vanir but came to live at the Æsirs. Together with her father, Njord, they became  hostages after the war between the Æsirs and the Vanirs was settled in good Viking tradition.

The war begun because of her and her sorcery, and it seemed natural she was part of the peace negotiations.

The goddess of love and Ođin's girl

The mythology of the Vikings are stories to explain what appears difficult to comprehend.


The Gods serve as examples for the humans. Sometimes examples of good ethics, sometimes more dubious or repelling ethics. But you find among the Gods what you find among the humans.

Death, war, love and the forces of nature are often difficult to comprehend, but so much the destiny of man. No wonder the Gods have a lot to account for.


Freya was respected in Valhalla for her skills in sorcery, the seidr, the ability to change the ways of destiny. She also was a woman with extraordinary sexual skills and desire. She was goddess of fertility and lovemaking. When she made love all nature felt the urge and the call for proliferation. She also figure as the goddess of war and stride

Love, war and sorcery. 

The tales are unclear about which of the Gods she belonged to.


The goddess Frigg is said to be married to Ođin. Some tales say Frigg is Freya. Freya is married to Od, which we know little about. Researchers believe him to be identical with Ođin, who bear many names. Thus the riddle seems solved and they are the same pair.

Ođ and Freya seems to have lived rather independent lives, as were common among the Vikings. They had enormous self confidence and seemed little bothered by jealousy. However one story reveals that they were not free from such. It is the story about how Freya got her necklace.

The dwarfs were the gold miners and skilled smiths. Once they offered Freya the most beautiful necklace ever seen.


The necklace is the old Viking symbol of belonging to somebody, symbolic for leashed. But it can also be a jewellery and Freya was weak for such.


The story says that the price for the necklace was that she slept with the dwarfs. She negotiated the price, so she was able to alter between Ođin and the dwarfs.

Well, Ođ wasn't happy with the agreement and when she came back he was gone.


She went after him to Midgaard and sought him among the humans, the black elves and Jotnes.

In some legends she find him and they reconcile. In other legends they never ever get along and Freya weeps her tears of Amber.

That is how the amber was given to the humans.

After a while she dries her tears and go on with her duties as goddess of love, war and wisdom, but she was angered and it was unpeaceful times both among the Gods and the humans.

The Valkyries rode winged horses to the battle.

She led the Valkyries to the battle fields and they agitated the warriors. They watched who they were going to bring back, and spelled them so they lost and fell victims of war. Then they were worthy of an eternal life in Valhalla or Freya's hall, the Sessrumnir in the part of Aasgard they called Folkvang. She had an agreement with Ođin that half the worthy men she and the Valkyries brought back was hers, and after the loss of Ođ's respect she was insatiable for love and blood.

The Valkyries, except for Freya are always mentioned as a group, but they had different tasks. They were girls of service in Valhalla.

Some of them was regarded as sexual slaves and some prepared food and mead for the warriors. Every one seemed to be set in positions where they could develop their skills according to interest and ability.

During the day the warriors did what the Vikings loved to do, they fought.

When they came home they did what they also loved to do, they feasted.

Every day. the fallen warriors in Valhalla was called to life and came to eat at the long table where the pig, Særímnír, was prepared.

As dead warriors, they were called einherjigar meaning the in-harvested, they came to feast on Særímnír. After the meal the bones was to be thrown in a corner of the hall and the next day Særímnír was alive and ready to be slaughtered again.

The last thing of the Viking heaven was the legendary love making.

That too was among the tasks for the Valkyries. Some of the Valkyries were probably more occupied with making the Vikings happy in bed than about preparing food.

But, a good place for the Vikings had to have all the ingredients to make a Viking happy.

In the folkloristic tradition there were nothing wrong with such, but the times when the stories were written, after 1300 the Catholic view on sex made the history writers tone down the sexual aspect so it may appear as if only fighting and feasting made the Vikings happy.

It shines though Snorre's edda poems that some of the Valkyries had their main task to serve the einherjingar sexually.

However, the the Nordic Mythology were more fables than actual mythology, so like any folklore, there may have been told various versions about the same theme, and even today new versions may be spun among the branches of the tree of life, the Yggdrasil,  and its inhabitants and you will find that the tales of Freya still inspire storytellers of the northern shores. She still spellbind the romantic minds of young and old by her legendary beauty and skills.