Freyja The Not-So-Chaste
Raquel Baranow/FlickrFreya surrounded by cherubim.
Throughout the better part of Norse mythology, Freyja is the innocent damsel in distress. Time and time again, giants threaten to murder everybody if she won’t marry them, and have to be stopped. There’s one story, though, that suggests Freyja wasn’t exactly chaste.
It’s a story that usually gets skipped. It’s easy to tell Norse myths by jumping from the death of Baldur to Loki’s punishment, but the only discipline Loki really received for killing Odin and Frigg’s son was for them to briefly consider not inviting him to their next party.
However, not inviting your son’s murderer to your party was apparently deemed rude, and Loki was allowed to come anyway. Nobody said a word until Loki — after deciding he wasn’t having a good time — stabbed one of the guests to death and got himself kicked out.
Lorenz Frölich/Wikimedia CommonsLoki mocks Freyja.
Freyja’s Secret
Like any good drunk, Loki stumbled his way back in and start trash-talking everybody. Here we learn that Freyja perhaps didn’t quite live up to her innocent reputation. Loki turns on her and snaps:
“I know you through and through and you’re not wholly spotless. You’ve slept with every single god and elf gathered in this hall … The bright gods caught you in bed with your own brother, and then, Freyja, you farted”.
As childish as his insult is, there seems to be some truth to Loki’s words. Freyja’s father is the only one who stood up for her, but all he said in her defense is, “A woman lies with her husband or lover or both. Does it really matter much in the end”?
This, oddly enough, is the moment Loki really pushes the Norse gods to their limits. Sleeping with a horse and murdering Baldur was one thing – but being rude at a party was unforgivable.
The Norse gods tied up Loki with his own sons’ entrails and will continue to pour a steady stream of poison into his face until the end of time. It is here Loki will stay until the day he is destined to break free, the day of Ragnarok, when the world will end.
Next, find out about the craziest mythological gods. Then, discover the most interesting facts about the Vikings.
