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, and 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. 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.
12 Comments
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….
loki was adopted but not really odins son…it says it in the myth…
Loki is d god of fire and he is not odin’s brother but odin took him as his own brother. He is d father of sleirpneir d eight legged horse.
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, his page is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logi if you want to check.
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.
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