Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

FREYR 97of fruit and flowers. Her major festivals, withstrongly sexual overtones but also identified withthe dead, were celebrated in the spring monthsfrom April 28 to early May and known as Floralia.ForsetiGod of unknown status. Nordic (Icelandic). Agod of Asgard said by Snorri to be the son ofBALDER and NANNA. According to an Icelandiclist of dwellings of the gods, Forseti owned a goldand silver hall, Glitnir, and was a good law makerand arbiter of disputes. Also Fosite (Friesian).FortunaGoddess of good fortune. Roman. A deity whoparticularly appealed to women, partly in an oracularcontext. She is depicted carrying a globe,rudder and cornucopiae. She probably evolvedfrom the model of the Greek goddess TYCHE.Her main symbol is the wheel of fate which shemay stand upon and Renaissance artists tended todepict her thus. Among her more celebrated sanctuariesin Rome, the temple of Fortuna Reduxwas built by Domitian to celebrate his victories inGermany. She is depicted in a well-known stonecarving in Gloucester Museum, England, holdingher three main attributes.FREYJA (lady)ORIGIN Nordic (Icelandic) or Germanic. Fertilityand vegetation goddess.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP Viking period (circaAD 700) and earlier, until after Christianization(circa AD 1100). SYNONYMS Gefn (giver);Mardoll; Syr (sow); Horn; Skialf; possiblyThorgerda in some parts of the north.CENTER(S) OF CULT principally in Sweden andNorway, but spread throughout the Nordicregion.ART REFERENCES stone carvings.LITERARY SOURCES Icelandic codices; Prose: Edda(Snorri); Historia Danica (Saxo); inscriptions;various place names.Freyja is one of the most popular of the deities inAsgard. A VANIR goddess, twin sister and/or wifeof FREYR, and daughter of NJORD. A goddess oflove concerned with affairs of the heart, marriageand prosperity. Much sought after by giants, andreputed to have enjoyed sexual liaisons with manysuitors, including gods and elves. She drives achariot pulled by two cats and is said to roam atnight in the form of a she-goat. She also ridesupon a boar with golden bristles, the Hildeswin.Closely associated with death, according to somelegends she received half of those slain in battle(see OTHIN). A weeping goddess with tears ofgold, symbolized by the boar (see FRIGG), shewears a necklace with ritual significance, theBrisingamen. Said to be able to take the shape ofa falcon and fly great distances. Associated with aform of witchcraft, seior, involving a seeress anddivination. Frigg and Freyja are possibly separateaspects of a single divine principle.FREYR (lord)ORIGIN Possibly Swedish or Germanic butextending throughout the Nordic region withlowest popularity in Iceland. Fertility god.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP Viking period (circaAD 700) and earlier, until Christianization (circaAD 1100).SYNONYMS none confirmed, but possiblyincluding Frodi (Denmark); YNG or ING; Lytir(Sweden).CENTER(S) OF CULT Uppsala (Sweden), Thrandheim(Norway) and various temples andshrines throughout the Nordic countries(none surviving).ART REFERENCES stone carvings.