Loki

In Norse mythology there were a large number of gods and important characters, many of whom represented the forces of nature and some also represented human feelings. One of the most recognized gods was known by the name of Loki , the god of fire but also that of deception , intrigue in envy .

Loki Characteristics

Some of the most representative characteristics of this god were the following:

• He was an extremely intelligent character and he also had the power to transform .
• Among their offspring you could find different human creatures and monsters .
• He was also very intelligent , strong and could use telepathy .
• He was not seen as a god but rather as a mythological character .
• He was accused of being responsible for all kinds of fraud .
• He lived alongside the gods Asgard and Odin , for whom he was like a brother.
• He was the son of Fárbauti and Laufey .
• With his first wife, Angurboda, he had three monsters: Ferrir, Jormundgander and Hela who was a goddess of the underworld.
• With his second wife Sygun he had two children: Narfi and Vali.

What was god of

Loki was the god of illusion , deception and lies, but he also represented fire , envy , intrigue and evil . He was the god of conflicts between the gods and could confuse everyone around him by turning into anything.

Loki’s Power

The main power that Loki had was to be able to create different illusions about himself in order to confuse his enemies and other beings, with this power, he could become practically anyone or anything and thus, he managed to triumph with his deceptions . He was a mythological being who had the power to create many different kinds of tricks and also liked to play practical jokes on the gods.

Features

His main function was to be the god of fire and also of deception , lies and hiding because he had the ability to change shape at any time.

Loki’s story

As the story goes , thousands of years ago, Bor , who was the king of Asgard , was in a fight against the ice giants and followed one of them to a sorcerer who caught him without his realizing it, transforming into Bor in snow . So Odin decided to kill Laufey . Odin then found a little boy and felt sorry for so he decided to take him and raise him as his son alongside Thor .

The story goes that during his childhood and adolescence Loki always felt resentful for the great differences that existed between him and his brother and for the way they were treated by the citizens of Asgard, this because the Asgardians appreciated strength, power more. and skill, things Loki didn’t have. As time passed, his talent for mischief became more remarkable , hence his nickname of the “god of lies and mischief.”

In what myths does it appear

Loki appears in several different myths. One of them is known as Loki and the kidnapping of Iðunn and his apples and narrates that after regaining his speech after having sewn his mouth, he helped the jotun Pjazi to kidnap the goddess Iðunn and her apples , which could return the youth of the gods since they were not immortal . Then, they made Loki rescued to Iðunn and it is dressed poultry and put a layer of feathers hawk Freyja . The jotun , turned into an eagle and chased them through the air but Loki was always able to rescue Iðunn.

Another important myth is that of Loki and the death of Balder . According to tradition, the god Balder , who was the son of Odin had all the respect and admiration thanks to his beauty and wisdom. But for a time he was dreaming dark things , when he told his mother, Frigg understood that her son would die very soon.

Very concerned about this situation, Odin then decided to ride with Sleipnir until he reached the Nordic underworld to wake up Hela and ask her what her son’s dreams meant, but she gave him a very ambiguous answer. Then the dreams came more often, and Balder’s mood changed, making him depressed and isolated. So Odin and the gods made a list of those who might want to assassinate Balder and then Frigg took it upon himself to visit the worlds so that everyone promised that they would not kill his son. Despite this, the gods had not taken into account Loki, who had always resented that his children had been kidnapped.

Loki then looked for someone who had not made the promise and since he did not find him, he decided to disguise himself as an old woman and ask Frigg. After being able to question him, the only thing he understood was that he could kill the son with a mistletoe . So, an arrow with the plant and waited for the right moment until he managed to kill it.

How is it represented?

Loki represented with curly mustaches and with his lips full of scars which had been left after he sewed his lips.

Worship

In reality, Loki was a character who did not have any kind of cult and for this reason, he is not usually referred to as a god or as a deity. Some mythology experts have cataloged him as a minor god or as a type of mythological being .

Temples

Not being seen as a deity, Loki did not have any type of temple in which he was worshiped.

Symbols

Loki is a very curious character because he belonged to the Norse , who in reality did not use any type of symbol because they were seen as magicians or as evil beings . At present, it could be said that his symbol was the mistletoe , a small branch with which Loki used to kill Baldur along with the hand of Hodur , who was his brother.

Importance of Loki

His main importance lies in the ability he had to be able to teleport and to change his forms in practically anything he wanted, which gave him certain advantages of which he knew how to take advantage.

Curiosities

Some curiosities of Loki are the following:

• Many have claimed that he was a Norse demi-god , however, this may not be entirely true because in Scandinavian mythology, he was always surrounded by gods even though his parents were giants .
• He had several nicknames among which we find: the shapeshifter, silver tongue, skywalker, magician of lies, etc.
• He was a character who was characterized by being very treacherous and also because he liked to do mischief .
• He did not have any type of cult or religion in his honor and for this reason he is not considered a true god.

Presence in popular culture

Loki has been a god who has inspired a great number of movies , television series, and even video games . Well-known movies like Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War , are some of the most famous movies where this famous character can be found. In the movies, he is portrayed as one of the greatest super villains in the universe . He has also appeared in various comics such as Spider-Man and Defenders . In several video games he has also been the protagonist, for example, Ultimate Alliance , where he appears as one of the masters of evil.