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Norse Mythology: Gods
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In Norse mythology, Freya (Freyja) is the goddess of love, fertility, war, and wealth. Originally one of the Vanir. She was the daughter of Njord, and the sister of Frey. She lived in Folkvang and each day chose half of the slain warriors to split with Odin.
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The stories that comprise what is left of Norse mythology depict the gods and giants as colourful characters, much like archetypes for human behaviour and abilities. For example Odin embodies wisdom and magic, Bragi is the "super-poet", Freya is every man's desire and so on. The gods are ... given very human fallacies and interests. Icelandic scholar Magnus Magnusson, author of "Viking: Hammer of the North," suggests that there was a stoic, pragmatic, rationalistic side to the Nordic character that tended to treat the mythological figures as allegorical rather than as literal entities, aware that questions of ultimate meaning required a more poetic, intuitive approach. They were capable, much like ancient Roman and Greek historians, of dissociating the secular from the religious.
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In Norse mythology, Vidar was a son of Odin and Grid, and had a twin brother named Vali. He dwelled in Vidi and was one of the strongest of the gods and was considered a god of vengance. It was said that in the ragnarok he would avenge his father by killing Fenris. He is one of the Aesir who will survive the final battle.
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Norse mythology refers to the pre-Christian beliefs of the Scandinavian people. It is the most well known version of the older mythology common to the germanic tribes, including the closely related anglo-saxon mythology. The language spoken during the period that the norse gods were worshipped, was Old Norse. By the time this language split up into different languages (not including dialects), Christianity had taken root in much of Northern Europe.
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These were the warlike goddess-maidens of Norse Mythology who attended Odin. Yes, even the women fought in these ancient Viking battles. They rode on swift horses, sang war cries, were armed with spears, shields, helmets and brilliant armor, and rode through the air distributing Odin's commands. Odin ... dispatched them to every battlefield to choose the bravest of the dead heroes and bring them back to Valhalla. (I wonder if Odin knew the Valkyries were in cahoots with Freyja to give her first pick?) Life giving dew fell from the manes of their horses, light streamed from the points of their spears, and a flickering brightness heralded their arrival on the scene of the battle. They carried the dead on their horses and lead their souls across the bridge Bifrost, which was the only path from Midgard (the rainbow) to Asgard (heaven), into the hall of Valhalla.
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Understand that Norse mythology was never a unified religion like the modern Western religions. People in Denmark and Norway may have worshiped similar gods with similar attributes, but they probably worshiped them in very different ways. This could explain some of the seeming inconsistencies in Norse mythology. For example, it could explain why a figure like Loki is good in some tales and bad in others.
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