Gefjon - Copenhagen, Denmark - Epic Beings and Creatures on Waymarking.com

This 1908 sculpture by Anders Bundgaard is part of an elaborate fountain near the Kastellet on the waterfront. It is a short walk to the famous Little Mermaid sculpture. The larger than life-sized goddess is depicted in the act of driving a plough with four oxen.

See this article to read more about the fountain at (visit link)

Wikipedia's extensive article about the goddess (visit link) informs us:

"In Norse mythology, Gefjon or Gefjun (with the alternate spelling Gefion) is a goddess associated with ploughing, the Danish island of Zealand, the legendary Swedish king Gylfi, the legendary Danish king Skjöldr, foreknowledge, and virginity. Gefjon is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; in the works of skalds; and appears as a gloss for various Greco-Roman goddesses in some Old Norse translations of Latin works.

The Prose Edda and Heimskringla both report that Gefjon plowed away what is now lake Mälaren, Sweden, and with this land formed the island of Zealand, Denmark. In addition, the Prose Edda describes that not only is Gefjon a virgin herself, but that all who die a virgin become her attendants. Heimskringla records that Gefjon married the legendary Danish king Skjöldr and that the two dwelled in Lejre, Denmark.

Scholars have proposed theories about the etymology the name of the goddess, connections to fertility and ploughing practices, the implications of the references made to her as a virgin, five potential mentions of the goddess in the Old English poem Beowulf, and potential connections between Gefjon and Grendel's Mother and/or the goddesses Freyja and Frigg."

Time Period: Ancient Approximate Date of Epic Period: 500 BC Epic Type: Mythical Exhibit Type: Figure, Statue, 3D Art

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