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Loki is the trickster of Norse mythology: a shape-shifter of giant blood who lives among the gods as Odin's blood-brother. He helps the gods and harms them by turns, fathers monsters, causes the death of Baldr, and at Ragnarok leads the giants against the gods.
Who is Loki in Norse mythology?
Loki is the ambiguous shape-shifter of Norse myth, of giant blood yet counted among the Aesir as Odin's blood-brother. Clever, sly and restless, he is by turns the gods' helper and their undoer — it is often Loki's mischief that lands them in danger, and Loki's cunning that gets them out again.
He is called Father of Lies because the Prose Edda calls him frumkveði flærðanna, "the first cause of all deceit". It also calls him the slanderer of the gods and the shame of gods and men.
What is Loki the god of?
- Domains — change, cunning, fire, mischief
- World — Asgard
- Animal — salmon, fly, mare
- Offerings — beer, wine, sweets, fire, spirits; a knotted cord, a fishing net, a mask
- Herbs — nettle, thistle · Wood — thorn · Metal — iron
Kin — Parents: Farbauti and Laufey · Consort: Sigyn · Children: Narfi and Vali; by Angrboda: Fenrir, Jormungandr and Hel; and he bore Sleipnir himself
Loki's children, his crimes and his punishment
It was Loki who procured the gods their finest treasures, who fathered monstrous children on a giantess, and who, disguised, gave birth to Odin's eight-legged steed Sleipnir. But his malice deepens over time. He engineers the death of Baldr and mocks the gods to their faces, and for this they bind him beneath the earth with a serpent dripping venom on his face until, at Ragnarok, he breaks free to lead the giants against the gods.
His children include the wolf Fenrir and the World Serpent Jormungandr, and he will meet Heimdall at Ragnarok.
Questions
Is Loki a god or a giant?
Both, in a way. He is born of giants, Farbauti and Laufey, but he lives in Asgard and is counted among the gods.
Who is Loki's wife?
Sigyn. With the giantess Angrboda he also had three children: Fenrir, Jormungandr and Hel.
What are Loki's powers?
Above all he changes shape: into a salmon, a fly, a mare and more. His other power is cunning.
What happens to Loki at Ragnarok?
He breaks free of his chains, leads the giants against the gods, and he and Heimdall kill each other.