Loki-The Ever Changing God

How many ancient deities have caused so much confusion over 4,000 years after their prime? No god or goddess has caused so much debate and conflicting information than the Norse god Loki. Everything about him has at least more than one meaning, including his race, name, and role in Asgard. As a god, he has lived on through time shrouded in controversy and mystery. However, he is not completely ambiguous—when one goes through time, one can see how he changed in meaning and character starting from the Bronze Age to modern day.

To begin, Loki is a god, a giant, or both—his relation with the gods varies by source. A shape-shifter, he represents the pure spontaneity and constant change that has been known to both hurt and help the Aesir. He is the son of the giant Farbauti and Laufey, who is suggested to be either another giant or a human woman. Some sources indicate that he is the youngest god in Asgard, but others believe he existed even before the beginning of the world, thus representing chaos and the unknown (Auerbach-Simpson 47). In both Eddas it states that Loki is a blood brother to Odin—a bond that was highly sacred in the Norse community. He has a wife named Sign and had two children

with her. However, he also had three children with the Giantess Angrboda. They are the earth serpent Jormungand, the giant wolf Fenrir, and Hel, the goddess of the underworld. True to his trickster role, Loki has the ability to transform into any form he wishes, and he can even change sex. Scholars have also proposed theories about his connection with fire, and in the poem “Lokasenna” he threatens the gods with flame as he states, “…All your poss...

... middle of paper ...

...licated and contradictory, and even prestigious scholars have been driven to their wit’s end. Folklorist Jacob Grimm thought Loki was a god of fire, comparing him to the Greek god Prometheus or even Lucifer. Jan de Vries considered Loki to be just a typical trickster god, and Georges Dumezil thought Loki to be what he called “an incarnation of impulsive justice”. Even after the Viking age, Loki has still managed to cause confusion, conflict, and intellectual chaos. Thousands of years after his prime, the sly one still manages to fascinate us with his obtrusive trickery and hilarious pranks. He is the one who challenges the balance of things and is the one who introduces new ideas and challenges destiny, altering it to his liking. He has lived on for well over a thousand years, and chances are, he’ll continue to entertain and fascinate us for another thousand more.