he great whirlpool which is
known as the Maelstrom. As for the salt it soon melted; but such was
the immense quantity ground by the giantesses that it permeated all
the waters of the sea, which have ever since been very salt.

CHAPTER X: FREYA

The Goddess of Love

Freya, the fair Northern goddess of beauty and love, was the sister
of Frey and the daughter of Nioerd and Nerthus, or Skadi. She was the
most beautiful and best beloved of all the goddesses, and while in
Germany she was identified with Frigga, in Norway, Sweden, Denmark,
and Iceland she was considered a separate divinity. Freya, having
been born in Vana-heim, was also known as Vanadis, the goddess of
the Vanas, or as Vanabride.

When she reached Asgard, the gods were so charmed by her beauty and
grace that they bestowed upon her the realm of Folkvang and the great
hall Sessrymnir (the roomy-seated), where they assured her she could
easily accommodate all her guests.

"Folkvang 'tis called,
Where Freyja has right
To dispose of the hall-seats.
Every day of the slain
She chooses the half,
And leaves half to Odin."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).

Queen of the Valkyrs

Although goddess of love, Freya was not soft and pleasure-loving only,
for the ancient Northern races believed that she had very martial
tastes, and that as Valfreya she often led the Valkyrs down to the
battlefields, choosing and claiming one half the heroes slain. She
was therefore often represented with corselet and helmet, shield
and spear, the lower part of her body only being clad in the usual
flowing feminine garb.

Freya transported the chosen slain to Folkvang, where they were duly
entertained. There also she welcomed all pure maidens and faithful
wives, that they might enjoy the company of their lovers and husbands
after death. The joys of her abode were so enticing to the heroic
Northern women that they often rushed into battle when their loved
ones were slain, hoping to meet with the same fate; or they fell upon
their swords, or were voluntarily burned on the same funeral pyre as
the remains of their beloved.

As Freya was believed to lend a favourable ear to lovers' prayers,
she was often invoked by them, and it was customary to compose in
her honour love-songs, which were sung on all festive occasions,
her very name in Germany being used as the verb "to woo."

Freya and Odur

Freya, the golden-haired and