Geifon
Also known as Gefjon and Gefinn. Sister of Freyr and Freyja. Appropriate for an agricultural goddess, her name means "giving". She is often imagined as a virgin and the protector of virgins after their deaths. However, Loki accused her of selling herself (like Freyja) for a necklace.
Her plowing myth is related to the ritual plowing of land each spring. Gylfi, king of Sweden, told Gefjon, who was disguised as a
beggar, that she could have as much of Sweden as she could plough with four
oxen in one day. She traveled to Jotunheim, home of the Giants (Jotuns),
and found her four oxen sons, and returned to
Sweden. She cut from the mainland the island Zealand, part of present-day Denmark.
Previous
Next
Back to God/dess List