Gefion is a Norse giantess and patron of unmarried virgins. All women who died without having sex with men went to live with Gefion, who brought them eternal happiness.

The goddess herself is variously regarded as a virgin, a mother, and a woman of easy virtue. This is not as contradictory as it might sound, for legend has it that Gefion once sold her hymen as a jewel and yet still retained her virginity. Gefion’s name reflects her generous spirit, that is, “giving one.” As is often the case with such divine figures, there are queer elements that might resonate with LGBTQ folk.

Gefion Creates Denmark

The most famous legend concerning Gefion regards the creation of the land of Denmark. One day, King Gylfi of Sweden rewarded a vagrant woman named Gefion for “entertaining” him. He granted her as much land as she could plow in a single day. What the king didn’t know was that Gefion had four sons sired by a giant. She transformed her sons into oxen and they plowed a very large portion of land, separating it from Sweden and taking it into the sea. This land became the island of Seeland, on which modern Copenhagen now rests. Consistent with her role as a creator of Denmark, she was said to have married Odin’s son Skiold, from which union sprang the Danish people.

Gefion Considered

Some scholars speculate that these two aspects of Gefion may actually represent two different figures. Others suggest she is an aspect of Freyja. Given the versatility of many goddesses, they may simply be different aspects of a single deity. In her various roles, Gefion combines elements of an agricultural, plowing goddess, a female trickster, as well as a deity of fertility and virginity. She is also credited by Odin as knowing the fates of men as well as he does himself.  

For two of other Norse giantesses of remarkable physical strength, see Fenja and Menja.

Mark Carlson-Ghost

References

Davidson, H.R. Ellis (1964). Gods and Myths of Northern Europe. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, pp. 30, 45, 113-114.

Davidson, H.R. Ellis (1969). Scandinavian Mythology. London: Paul Hamlyn, p. 91.

Larrington, Carolyne, trans. (2014). The Poetic Edda. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 88.

Monaghan, Patricia (1990). The Book of Goddesses and Heroines. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, p. 132.

Snorri Sturluson (1954). The Prose Edda: Tales from Norse Mythology. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 29, 59, 97.

Turville-Petre, E. O. G. (1964). Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, pp. 97, 187-188, 310.