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In Norsereferring to the people and culture of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland mythology, Freyja was the goddess of love and fertility, associated with affairs of the heart. According to one Norse source, "all lovers would do well to invoke her." Her identification with love and passion led other deitiesgod or goddesss to condemn her behavior. The trickstermischievous figure appearing in various forms in the folktales and mythology of many different peoples god Loki claimed that Freyja was the lover of all of the gods and accused her of sleeping with her twin brother, Freyr, the god of fertility and prosperity.

One story about Freyja explained how she acquired her favorite possession, the Necklace of the Brisings, made by four...