Myth Monday - Freyja

After a few months of nominations for the god or goddess of 2010 who should reign supreme and hold the top throne, I put up the ballot. One of the deities who made it to the ballot was Freyja. Since there wasn't room for all of them, I had to pick and choose. The rationale for Freyja seemed particularly good to me. Here's what the person who nominated Freyja wrote:

"Freyja is one of the only goddesses that has a big and important role in Norse mythology. She represents love, beauty, fertility, protection, witchcraft, and war. She is powerful - she doesn't let the gods boss her around! She helps to keep the balance between peace and violence, and she cares for the earth and all of its children. :)"

--Guest Mlle

Freya has, as Guest Mlle says, an important role in Norse mythology. In "German Devil Tales and Devil Legends," [Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jun., 1970), pp. 21-35], writer Lutz Röhrich describes one typically feminine role Freyja (Freya) plays in the prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson in a story of the gods' castle-building.

A giant offers to build the gods' castle using only the help of his stallion. His condition is receipt of the goddess Freya as wife, as well as the sun and moon. The gods agree, with some reluctance, stipulating a time period. Loki, the ever-interfering and, occasionally, extremely helpful trickster god of Norse mythology, changes himself into a mare. As a mare, Loki seduces the giant's stallion. Instead of putting the final touches on the castle, the giant looks for his horse. As a result, Freya is saved from a terrible marriage.

What happened to Loki-mare and the stallion? Loki got pregnant and gave birth to the 8-legged stallion Sleipnir, who becomes Odin's horse.

Read more about Freyja/Freya and Loki.