Loki, the Trickster, challenges the structure and order of the Gods which is necessary in bringing about needed change. In the Prose Edda Snorri Sturluson writes that Loki:
is handsome and fair of face, but has an evil disposition and is very changeable of mood. He excelled all men in the art of cunning, and he always cheats. He was continually involving the Aesir in great difficulties and he often helped them out again by guile.
Neither an Aesir or a Vanir, he is the son of two giants and yet the foster-brother of Odin. Loki embodies the ambiguous and darkening relationship between the gods and the giants. He is dynamic and unpredictable and because of that he is both the catalyst in many of the myths and the most fascinating character in the entire mythology. Without the exciting, unstable, flawed figure Loki, there would be no change in the fixed order of things, no quickening pulse, and no Ragnarok.
He is responsible for a wager with a giant which puts Freyja into peril (Myth 3) but by changing both shape and sex (characteristics he has in common with Odin) he bails her out. In Myth 10 he shears Sif’s hair which is more mischievous than evil, but he makes amends in the end. In Myth 8 his deceit leads to the loss of the golden apples of youth… but he retrieves them again. He helps the Gods and gets them out of predicaments, but spawns the worst monsters ever seen on the face of the Earth: Fenrir, Jormungand, the Midgard Wyrm. His other children include the goddess Hel (Hella, Holle), and Sleipnir, Odin’s 8-legged horse.
It is now generally accepted that he is not a late invention of the Norse poets but an ancient figure descended from a common Indo-European prototype and as such, Loki’s origins are particularly complex. He has been compared to a number of European and other mythological figures, most notably the Trickster of Native American mythology.
As the myths play out, the playful Loki gives way to a cruel predator, hostile to the gods. He not only guides the mistletoe dart that kills Balder but stands in his way on his return from Hel (the citadel of Niflheim). His accusations against the gods at Aegir’s feast (Myth 30) are vicious. He is an agent of destruction causing earthquakes. And when he breaks loose at Ragnarok, Loki reveals his true colors; he is no less evil than his three appalling children, the serpent Jormungand, the wolf Fenrir and the half-dead, half-alive Hel (Myth 7), and he leads the giants and monsters into battle against the gods and heros.
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hes the son of odin not two giants. read the myths
Loki’s origins and role in Norse mythology have been much debated. According to the Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century and perhaps our best resource, Loki is the son of two giants, foster-brother of Odin and brother of Helblindi and Býleistr.
loki is actully adopted…and some say that he was the son of two gaints, other not so much…but from what i have read in some websites and books…loki is not really odins son…nor thors blood brother….
Well actually in the mythology it said that odin and Loki mixed bloods.I don’t know if it was true or not but I read it somewhere
Loki is the son of two giants but he tricked Odin into becoming blood brothers, making him a God.
Aactually if you saw the movie he is the son of oddin and he is the brother of Thor!
Unfortunately the movie is based more on the Marvel comic and not so much on the actual Norse Myths.
Wrong…. Laufey is his father, Thor is definitely not his brother and personally I dont think both his parents are giants, they’re not magical creatures and Loki is…
Laufey is actually his mother. Loki is, in the most accepted idea, the son of two giants, Fárbauti (his father) and Laufey (his mother), and brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Remember if was Marvel who portrayed Laufey as his father, so take everything they show with a pinch of salt. And while he is Loki Laufeyson (or Loki Laufeyjarson to use the Norse term), it doesn’t mean that Laufey is his father, rather he is referred to (and refers to himself) as Laufeyson in Eddic poetry.
Also, while in Marvel he is portrayed as being a ‘God of Magic,’ he is usually show as being good at trickery and deceit, but no more magical than say Odin. They bother have the power to change gender, and I think they can both change species, but I’m not 100% on that one. Still, all of the gods seem to have some sort of magical ability.
And that’s the end of my rant.
Loki is the god of mischief.
Dare I ask, is it true by any standards he is also the god of fire? Or does that go along with the Magic god title? I’ve just started looking and somebody said that he was. Is it true?
There is no “god of fire” per se mentioned in the Eddas. There is a realm of fire called Muspell or Muspellheim.
CORRECTION! Odin adopted Loki after the great war with the frost giants in a temple left to die. Loki was small for the king of the frost giants kid so Odin took him to Asgard and raised him as his own child with Thor. He was taught Asgardian magic
that is only in the marvel film, in the myths Loki is considered an Aesir by some form of adoption but is more commonly referred to as Odin’s blood brother. please check any information taken from films befor posting
But wait I thought he was the son of two giants but adopted by Odin?
that is more from the comic. the one thing they got right was that loki was adapted. wither he was odin adapted brother or son , is something that just needs to be looked into more. don`t look to the comic for info cause it`s only an adaptation of the actual myth.
MARVEL movies arent myths my dear
He was adopted by Odin as a child but was indeed the son of Laufey and Farbauti who are both Jotuns. The Jotuns have magical powers and in this particular case, Loki’s first wife Angrboda who was a Jotun taught Loki magic. (and later he devorced her because she’s an evil witch…more or less)
you obviously have not read the correct myth loki is in fact the son of 2 giants and NOT odin…you seriously need to get your facts straight
he is the son of two giants…….. odin was tricked by loki to something about blood and then he became a god and he also no has the blood of odin so it makes him a brother but in the end he was just adopted to be his son because loki will just kill odin and trick thor to ba the new king and that is also why he is the god of trickery and mischief
loki was adopted but not really odins son…it says it in the myth…
I thought Loki was Odin’s brother???? I read that in a vikings myths and ledgends book; it said that him, Odin and their other brother (whoms name escapes me at this time) create earth and the heveans from some guys body (his name also escapes me at the moment).
One of the reasons that Loki’s heritage is unlcear/confusing is because unlike the other Gods who have counterparts in other religions, Loki really just appeared out of nowhere. The most likely scenario is that he is the child of the giants Laufey and Farbauti and then was taken in by Odin (whether he became Odin’s brother or Thor’s brother depends on what you read).
I think one of the reasons people seem to like the idea of him being Odin’s son (other than the Marvel Comics) is because the descriptions of Loki don’t match what is said about the giants. Being the son of two gaints, Loki himself should be a giant… except he’s not, and the fact that all male giants seem to be, well, really ugly whereas the women are quite attractive (possibly to allow for cross-species relationships? A human-sized female probably wouldn’t survive getting with a giant, but a giantess would have no trouble with a human-sized male) – Loki is apparantly quite a good-looking dude, and occasionally a good-looking woman. Being the son of one of the Gods would account for both his size and appearance – otherwise he’s just got a really lucky birth defect.
He’s not the God of Fire though, that would be Logi (a fire giant). The two got combined when Christianity started influencing the myths and Loki went from trouble-maker who made bad decisions and went insane (has anyone ever noticed how often he gets tortured/his children taken away from him, I don’t blame the guy) to the equivelent of the Devil.
Loki and Logi actually met at one point and had an eating contest, it was weird.
Dany, Thanks so much for the insights!
Loki is definitely a mystery. Born of two giants and yet is somehow the foster-brother of Odin??? He is dynamic and unpredictable and is the catalyst in many of the myths. Without the severely flawed and fascinating Loki there would be no change in the fixed order of things, no Ragnarok!
Welcome.
Will you be changing the line about Loki being the God of Fire, given that it is quite frankly, wrong?
Although wikipedia is hardly the most reliable source.
I have a ton of new information and a LOT of these pages need updated. My first goal is to put up the actual myths as transcribed by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century which are referred to as the Prose Edda. Although Sturluson was very Christian, he didn’t allow his religion to bias his interpretations like so many others so his works are probably our best resource. For the time being though I got rid of the fire thing!
New information looks great, good to see the improvement.
In the myth I read, Loki is the personification of both aspects of fire, the merry but potebtially dangerous hearth fire and the destructive fire of forest and volcano.
One of the aspects that supports Loki being the God of fire is because of his birth. It is said in the early myths, that Laufey was struck by a lightening bolt by Loki’s father, and as a result, Loki was born the resulting fire from the lightening. In older myths predating the 13th century Loki’s full nature is very much that of fire. Beautiful, comforting, and destructive but a suggestion of both cleansing and redeeming. Is is a pheonix like character. Also in those predating myths, Loki is occassionally suggested to he the God lightening, the opposite side ofbthe coin to Thor so to say. Hevl is considered God of fire, and God of light.
These are some of the aspects that make Loki so fascinating. One thing that can be clearly said about Loki is he does fully represent the human nature. Intelligent, learned and inspiring. He represents the best and some times the worst aspects of what makes us us. He is by far in my opinion the most human like deity I’ve cone across. And I’ve been studibg Loki for years.
Loki, like you have said does seem to ‘pop out of no where’ due to the fact that in other religions have no other counterparts. It has caught my attention though that Loki does seem similar to Old Coyote within some, and many, Native American legends. Since both Loki and Old Coyote are cunning and mysterious to a point where they cause trouble, and even sometimes helps others out of trouble, if it benefits them. Just thought I would share, since this realization just occurred to me and I thought that it was interesting
loki is the son of two diffrent giants but odin took him in after the great battle on the giant home world and he only took him for peace
My facepalm during the comments was permanent…
People, Norse Loki and Marvel Loki are two absolutely different stories!!!
DO NOT DARE TO THINK THAT MARVEL IS TELLING THE ACTUAL MYTHS!!! This is the Norse religion, far older than Christianity, written in runes so long ago and translated by very knowing people into what is called “The Eddas”
I like marvel comics, but insisting that they are more true that the actual norse myths is insulting and a sign of great ignorance. So before someone else claims that Loki is Odin’s adopted son learn a couple of facts about the actual Loki.
1. Loki was the son of Farbauti and Laufey. BEING LAUFEY THE MOTHER! (I don’t know whythe hell marvel changed her gender, but still…) He had two brothers, Hellblindi and Balyestyr
2. He was Odin’s BLOOD-BROTHER (a brother by a ritual of mixing blood, it’s actually an ancient tradition people who passed through a lot together or owe their life to the other did often) And no, he definitely was not his son not foster not in any way, nor had he any type or silbing relationship with Thor.
3. He was a readhead.
4. He was as much of a warrior as any, cunning, sly, powerful and had an ability to change his shape freely.
5. He was, indeed, the GOD OF FIRE. No, don’t look at me as if I were mad. Nowhere in the Edda is said he was a frost giant, just a Giant, Like Skadi or Jerd. He was also the God of chaos, temptation and sex. He was supposed to be the voice of evil in people’s mind, he is all the darkness in their hearts.
6. He had Eight known children. Sleipnir with Svadilfari, Hel, fenrir (or fenris) and Jormungander with Angraboda. Vali and Narvi with Sygin and Einmyria and Eisa with Glut. He also ate a woman’s heart and bore the first witch.
7. He had countless lovers. From trolls and horses to the queen Frigg herself and even Sif! (The myth of her hair being cut has a background of parallelism with the agriculture seasons. As the goddess of earth fertility and corn she is the Wife of Thor, golden, caring and giving by summer. In winter she becomes Loki’s lover and her golden generosity fades and dies as dead is the earth that is frozen and cannot produce food)
8. He had a dual identity like this article says, he could be male and female, father or bear children. He was a incredibly mighty and sly. He lives inside the dark of everyone of us.
I so love marvel’s Loki character, and I adore Tom’s performance. But he is nothing compared to the real Loki, and those of you who yell “See the movie!!” or “Read the books” (clearly not referencing to the Edda) maybe should be the one to learn the difference.
Thank you.
(Great article BTW)
I disagree respectfully with your statement that he represented the evil in mens hearts . That was never an aspect of the older myths before Christianity got a hold od him. Once they got a foot hols witn the eddas, tbey needed a fall Guy. A Lucifer like.character. even yhe pre Christian myths didn’t paint him as a petty cruel figure. Just my thoughts on it.
He wasn’t the God of fire, it’s a common misconception with Logi a fire giant and personification of fire.
wow. i was going to use marvels depiction of loki for a project…but not anymore
I actually like marvel’s adaption of Loki
Well, from what I’ve accumulated over the course of time, it seems to me that the vision of Loki has gone through some tough bouts of transformation and we have a rael predicament to deal with. In my opinion, the Loki we should be recognizing is the one before the influence of Christianity. That’s just my thought process. Sorry if you don’t agree.
Jinger, I agree with you completely. And its refreshing to come across someone else who has looked at Loki pre Christianity.