The Teutonic goddess of fertility; later identified with Norse Njord
(Noun)
Synonyms:
nerthus
Hertha Sentence Examples
Here Hertha, according to tradition, had her great temple, and hither came from the mainland the Angles to worship at her shrine.
Their father, Niiir6r, the god of wealth, who is a somewhat less important figure, corresponds in name to the goddess Nerthus (Hertha), who in ancient times was worshipped by a number of tribes, including the Angli, round the coasts of the southern Baltic. Tacitus describes her as " Mother Earth," and the account which he gives of her cult bears a somewhat remarkable resemblance to the ceremonies associated in later times with Frey.
His wife, Mrs Hertha Ayrton, whom he married in 1885, assisted him in his researches, and became known for her scientific work on the electric arc and other subjects.
In the Stubbenitz and elsewhere Huns' or giants' graves are common; and near the Hertha Lake are the ruins of an ancient edifice which some have sought to identify with the shrine of the heathen deity Hertha or Nerthus, referred to by Tacitus.
Early Germanic people honored Hertha, the Norse goddess of the home, by baking yeast cakes filled with gifts to distribute among the household.