LOKI, A SINGLE FAMILY
Although he is considered a god in his own right, Loki occupies a very special place within the divine family of Ases, giants, or any of the other spirit creatures of Norse mythology. Son of the giant Farbauti and the goddess Laufrey (it is not clear whether his mother was a giantess or a goddess, but most myths agree that she is a goddess). He gave birth to three children who would later prove devastating :
- Fenrir, a giant wolf who, upon imprisonment tore off Tyr's arm in revenge. He will kill Odin during Ragnarok.
- Hel, goddess of the underworld. She rules over one of the nine worlds, Helheim, which corresponds to hell in the Christian religion (this is where the English word " hell " comes from). She is the least dangerous of her three brothers, if we forget that she is the one who guards the world where non-valiant warriors end their lives.
- Jormungand, a giant snake who was thrown into the river surrounding Midgard as soon as he was born, so dangerous was he. At the time of Ragnarok, he will go to fight Thor and kill him.
This sibling was from their births a danger to the gods, indeed, the prophecy told that the three brothers would have a devastating impact in the Ase family. This prophecy was true It is among others these three brothers, led by Loki who will ravage the world.
Loki also has another son, who would be called Nari or Narfi according to the myths and whom he had with his real wife, Sigyn. He is much less devastating than his brothers-in-law, although his name means " cadavre " in Old Norse.
His last son, of whom he is the mother (yes yes) is Slepnir, the horse of Odin. Loki gave birth to him after metamorphosing into a mare and courting the stallion Svadilfari.
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LOKI, AN ATYPICAL CHARACTER
In the tales, Loki is portrayed as a coward, narcissist, who cares only for his personal pleasure or self-preservation. Indeed, it is not for nothing that he is considered the god of malice, illusions and discord. He alternates between malice and altruism, but always in his direction.
The Kidnapping of IDUN
One of the most famous tales about her is precisely that of The Abduction of Idun. Idun is a very important goddess in Norse mythology, she is the guardian of the mysterious fruits that allow the gods to keep their eternal youth. Returning to Loki, because of his recklessness, found himself before an angry giant, Thiazi, who threatens to kill him. Thiazi then offered Loki to deliver Idun to him, in exchange for his life. Given his character trait, Loki accepted the deal, delivered Idun, and found himself threatened with death by the Ase gods for the sacrifice of one of them (logical). To save his own skin, he decided to go and save Idun by transforming himself into a Hawk. Thaizi, mad with rage pursued him by transforming into an eagle. Just as Thaizi had almost caught up with Loki and Idun, the Aesir gods lit a fire around Asgard, condemning Thaizi to burn to death. Loki brought Idun safely back to the hall of the gods.
As mentioned earlier, Loki's glorious act (the rescue of a god all the same) only appears to rectify a calamity for which HE is responsible. This tale is the best known, but the same pattern can be seen in that of the creation of Thor's hammer or the construction of Asgard.
The continuation of this myth is original, to say the least. When Thaizi dies, burning from the flames of Asgard, his daughter, Skadi, came to Asgard to demand reparation for the murder. Her only demand was that the Aesir gods should make her laugh (that too is original). Loki was given this task by the Aesir gods. To do so, he ties a rope to the beard of a goat and the other end to his testicles. Loki and the goat could not stop screaming, Skadi burst out laughing and the murder was forgiven.
Once again Loki's accomplishments are not worthy of a valiant Viking fighting to prove his worth, he proves his own being stupid and extravagant. Throughout his life, this is what he has done, he alternated between service to the giants and to the gods, whichever is more advantageous to him. Once again, during Ragnarok (a devastating battle between gods and giants) he will join the side of the giants, and even become captain of that ship.
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DEATH OF BALDUR
Loki is also known for his vicious role in The Death of the God Baldur. After the prophecy of the death of the beloved god Baldur, Baldur's mother, Frigg, obtains a promise from every living being not to harm her son. All the oaths are obtained, except one, that of Mistletoe, whom the gods think too small and too safe to harm Baldur. Loki, discovering this flaw, decides to carve Mistletoe's spear, and to place it in the hands of the god Hod (who, accepted, because he was blind) and orders him, with the help of a spell to throw it at Baldur. Hod, not knowing the origin of the weapon, does so, and Baldur is impaled and dies. The god Hermod rides Sleipnir into the underworld and implores Hel to free Baldur, stressing how much he is loved by all living beings. Hel retorts that if this is so, it should not be difficult to compel all the beings of the world to mourn Baldur and, if this happened, the dead god would be released from the grave. Every living being indeed mourns Baldur's return, with one exception: a giantess with a heart of ice named Tokk. One legend speaks of a hypothesis that it was Loki, who had taken on the appearance of Tokk.
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Battle of the RAGNAROK
For the various crimes he committed, the Aesir gods decided to tie him to three large rocks with a bond made from the entrails of his son, Narfi. Above him, a poisonous snake dripped its poison on him. His wife, Sigyn, very faithful and in love with him, stood by his side all the time he was imprisoned, with a bowl in her hand, catching all the poison that fell on him, saving him from excruciating pain. The myths tell that when the bowl was full and his wife had to go and empty it, the few drops that touched her forehead hurt so much that her screams caused earthquakes every time.
When the two sons Fenrir, Skoll and Hati reached their goals (which was to chase the moon and the sun respectively), day and night disappeared and Ragnarok started. It was at this point that all bonds were broken, releasing, among others, Loki and his two sons Fenrir and Jormungand. In revenge, Loki took command of the giant army and a disastrous battle began. He sent Fenrir to kill Odin and Jormungand to kill Thor.
I'll leave you with the historia video about Loki:
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To go further, you can continue reading our blogs on Norse deities by starting the one on the Valkyries, for example.
SKOOOLL ! Hail to Loki!
