Loki is known as the naughty trickster god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Farbauti, and Laufey, who were giants. One example of how tricky he was remains that he was sneaky even when he became a god. The anti-heroes of today owe a nod of the head to Loki, the first recorded anti-hero. His quick wit got him out of scrapes and trouble that he caused himself. Eventually, though, Loki became mean along with being tricky.
Loki Helps to Build Asgard
One of his first deeds, or misdeeds, was to give the gods some advice on how to build Asgard. They ran out of money to complete a protective wall around their beautiful, newly created city. Loki suggested that the gods hire a giant to do the work of building the protective barrier around the god’s new town. They found a giant willing to make the wall, but he wanted to be paid the sun, the moon and Freya the goddess if the wall was completed on time. Loki said that the giant could work day and night and never finish the job. And that the gods might be able to give the giant a payment of lesser value in substitution.
The giant owned a massive stallion by the name of Svadilfari, who thought to haul boulders, was simple. He and his wonder horse were most likely going to complete their building mission on time, which freaked out the gods and the goddess Freya. Loki was one of the first of the shape-shifters and used this superpower with ease. He changed into a beautiful mare that the giant’s stallion could not resist. Once the stallion was properly distracted, work on Asgard’s wall came to a screeching halt. Loki, as a mare, became pregnant with Svadilfari’s cold. Sleipnir the stallion was the result of this union. The eight-legged Sleipnir was given to the god Odin as a gift.
Odin, Thor and Loki’s Adventures
Because of the gift of Sleipnir, Odin and Loki became fast friends and shared adventures. Odin, the leader of the gods, Loki, and Odin’s son Thor, worked together on several escapades. One of these antics included Thor’s dressing up in drag to marry and embarrass a giant. While Loki was the trickster of this group, Thor was the muscles.
Loki also had an interesting relationship with the dwarves and cheated them any time he could. Finally, they got sick of his talking and stitched his mouth shut. That kept him quiet for a while.
Loki and the Ladies
Loki loved to take advantage of goddesses. On top of this behavior, he had a few wives. Angrboda was his first wife. She was a giant, and the mother of Fenrir, who was a giant wolf, Jormungand, who was a serpent who encircled the earth, and Hel, who was the goddess of the Underworld. Loki’s second wife was Sigyn. With Sigyn, Loki had two sons, namely, Narvi and Vali. He may also have had a third wife, named Glut.
Loki had lots of adventures, such as the theft of the goddess Freya’s precious necklace, named Brisingamen. Brisingamen was more than just an ornament. The necklace was linked to the goddess Freya in the same way as Thor was related to his hammer.
He changed his shape to that of a flea for this theft.
In his final trick, Loki caused the death of Baldur by the use of mistletoe. Baldur was the son of Odin. For his crime he was placed in eternal punishment until Ragnarok comes. Ragnarok is a time when the entire cosmos is destroyed, including the gods.