During the heyday of the German-Scandinavian pagan culture, far from all the inhabitants of the north were engaged in robberies, leaving on drakkars to the sea in search of booty and military glory. A large part of the ancient Scandinavians preferred to lead a relatively peaceful lifestyle, raising livestock and cultivating the land. At the same time, a seemingly non-aggressive and calm farmer could instantly transform into a frantic and fearless warrior, protecting his loved ones and defending the integrity of his home and territories. If the main patrons of the Viking warriors were the supreme god Odin and his son Thor, then the farmers and peasants more honored Thor's wife, the fertility goddess Seth (Sif).
Despite the fact that Seth is considered one of the main deities of Scandinavian mythology, she is given a rather modest place in legends and traditions. The very name of the goddess has not been deciphered by modern researchers; moreover, the origin of Seth remains a mystery. If the roots of other gods in the Eddic texts are described in sufficient detail, then practically nothing is said about who Seth's parents were. It is known that the goddess is the mother of three children: Valkyrie Labor and the god of fury Modi were born to her in marriage with Thor; Ull's father, archer and patron saint of hunters, is unknown. At the same time, Ull was adopted by Thor and raised by him as his own son. Seth's permanent habitat is called Trudheim - the kingdom of Thor, conquered by him at the dawn of time.
Studying the relationship of the Scandinavian gods with each other, it is easy to notice that in many ways their actions are similar to the behavior and reactions of ordinary mortals. This allows us to conclude that for the ancient northerners, their gods were, rather, the personification of ordinary people, who for some reason received power over the material and spiritual worlds; Perhaps the divine status over time was received by the ancestors especially distinguished by wisdom, valor or other qualities. This can also explain the fact that, unlike the deities of other peoples, the northern gods, although they possessed enormous power, were not immortal and depended on the will of fate, equally affecting all living beings. Seth's story can also serve as an example where the behavior of the inhabitants of Asgard differs little from the behavior of most people in similar circumstances.
From the birth of Seth, beautiful thick long hair was given, because of which the goddess was nicknamed "Fair-haired." Odin's wife, the goddess Freya, although she was considered the first beauty of Asgard, felt a kind of jealousy for the beauty of Seth, seeing her as a rival. At some point, she turned to the god of cunning Loki with a request to help her get rid of a dangerous rival. Loki cut off Sif's long hair, but did not have time to hide with them and was caught by Thor. In a fit of anger, the mighty Thor was ready to destroy the criminal, but the cunning Loki managed to avoid death by promising to give Sif even more beautiful hair.
To fulfill his promise, he went to the underground gnomes, who were able to create new hair for Sif, forging it from pure gold. According to legend, each hair in the new hairstyle of the goddess was thinner than a cobweb, while, gathered together, the hair had an incredible density. In addition, they were distinguished by other magical qualities, but, nevertheless, they were inferior in beauty to the hair given to Sif by nature. Thus, despite all the tricks of Freya, Seth remained in her rightful place among the beauties of Asgard.
Today, Seth is known mainly as the wife of Thor and the mother of his children, although, according to some reports, during the early Middle Ages she was one of the main deities revered by the Scandinavians. As befits an entity of this rank, Sif possesses great magical abilities, knows how to influence the weather, the quantity and quality of the harvest depends on it, which in the harsh northern conditions was one of the main conditions for survival. In this regard, it can be assumed that the ancient Scandinavians did not skimp on sacrifices to this goddess, however, how they were brought is largely unclear.