FREE ESSAY ON LOKI

LOKI

LOKI
Loki is probably the most misunderstood of all the gods. Most people have come to see him
as a most vile being, but this is a misconception. As everyone knows his actions will
help destroy the gods, but there is more to him than that. What he gave to humanity as a
whole outweighs what he has done and what he will do. He gave us choice; to understand
that statement you need to know more about him, the events which led to his imprisonment,
and the events that will lead to his eventual death. 
Loki is mentioned in Volsupa, Thrymskvitha, Hymiskvitha, Svipdagsmal, Reginsmal,
Gylfaginning, Hyndluljod, and Baldrs Draumar. He is the subject of Lokasenna. Eilif
Gudrunarson, Thjodolf of Hvin, and Ulf Uggason myths about Thor and Geirr?dr, Idunn and
Thjazi, and Heimdall and Loki have Loki playing a part in them. 
Loki came from the east. He is the son of the giant Bergelmir, or Farbauti (the dangerous
striker, ie, the storm), and giantess Laufey (or Nal, needle). His wife is Sigyn, who is
included among the Asynjur by Snorri. They have two sons Vali and Narfi. In Hyndluljod,
He also had three other children by the giantess Angrbodha (Boder of Sorrow), the
Vanargand (Fenris Wolf), the Midgard Serpent (Jormungand or Ioemingang), and Hel. He is
also mother/father to Sleipnir (Gylfaginning 42, Volupsa 25). Also in Hyndluljod, he ate
the cooked heart of a woman which he found in the embers through this he came with child,
and gave birth to an unknown monster. 
In Gylfaginning (33) Snorri says that Included among the Aesir is he whom some call the
slanderer of the Aesir or the author of deceit and the shame of god and men. To outward
appearance Loki is beautiful and comely, but evil in disposition and most fickle in
nature. He excelled in sleight and had strategems for all occassions. He often brought
the Aesir into great difficulties, but then delivered them with his cunning. He elsewhere
says; How shall Loki be referred to? By calling him comrade and table-companion of Odin
and the Aesir, Geirr?dr's visitor and casket-ornament, thief from giants, of goat and
Brisingamen and Idun's apples, enemy of the gods, Sif's hair-harmer, maker of mischief,
the cunning As, accuser and tricker of gods, contriver of Baldr's death, the bound one,
wrangler with Heimfdall and Skandi. 
In Heimskringla Odin is called Lopt's friend, and Snorri speaks of him as Evil companion
and bench-mate of Odin and the Aesir. 
Other descriptions by Snorri are: Foe of the gods, the sly god, Slanderer and cheat of
the gods, Wolf's father, the cunning Loki. He calls himself Lopt (the airy one), and
this name is also given to him by others (Lokasenna 52), and may be connected with
lopteldr (lightning). The name Lodur, which occurs only in Volupsa (18), as that of an
associate of Odin and Honir, is generally supposed to be an early name of Loki, who was
companion and friend of Honir according to Thjodolf of Hvin (Skaldskaparmal 22). 
DUALITY 
As already stated, Loki and Odin are blood brothers. This is how he came to be included
among the Aesir, despite that the Aesir and the giants are maternal blood relatives. Yet
he has always brought much woe to the gods. Loki does mischief for mischief's sake. He is
a thief (of the Brisingamen) or he causes theft (Idunn and her apples). He dislikes
others to be praised, even as a servant, as when he slew Fimafeng at Aegir's banquet
(Skaldskaparmal 33, Lokasenna Intro). He is foul-mouthed and slanderous, as Lokasenna
shows. 
However, he has also been the key in bringing about situations which have helped the
gods. If it wasn't for Loki how would Thor come about having the hammer Mjollnir, or
Odin
his spear Gungnir and horse Sleipnir? Loki was always welcome, to a certain extent, among
the gods (until Lokasenna). Whenever anyone went to Jotunheim, he was usually there
as an intermediary. In those days he was a mischievous god bent on a little personal
gain. His actions were never truly evil, but eventually his pranks took on a more serious
turn. 
His nature has been sought in the meaning of his name, which may be connected with Logi,
German Lohi (fire) which has the same destructive power as he delighted in. The name
has also been derived from Lucifer and his personality regarded as a refection of the
devil's. Others connect it with luka, ljuka (too close / to bring to an end), lok (the
end).
Therefore Loki would be the one who closes or brings to an end, because his deeds leads
up to Ragnarok. His father Farbauti (the dangerous striker, ie, the storm) and mother
Laufey (the leafy isle) or Nal (needle, ie needle-tree or fir-tree). Thus, Loki is the
creation of the storm which, in lightning, brings down fire on the wooded isle. Or
Farbauti is a
piece of stick, the drill, which by rubbing on a soft piece of wood, Laufey, produces
fire (Gerring). Loki's dual character can, then, be related to fire, since it is both
beneficent and
dangerous. 
Later folf-lore is also thought to point to Loki's connection with fire. A Norse saying
when the fire crackles is: Loki is beating his children, and the skin of the milk is
thrown into
the fire as a dole. On hot days when the air shimmers, or in spring when the mists rise
from the ground in the sunshine, a Danish saying is Loki is driving out his goats. The
sun
appearing through clouds and drawing up moisture seems to referred to in the sayings:
Loki drinks water, or Loki is passing over the fields. In Sweden when a little child's
tooth falls out, it is thrown into the fire with the works: Lokke, Lokke, give me a bone
tooth: here is a gold tooth. In Iceland chips and refuse for fire are called Loki's
chips, and
subterranean sulphur fumes Loki's vapor. The bright star Sirius is named Lokabrenna (the
burning of Loki). 
The name Loki is also related to liechan or liuhan (enlighten), to the Latin luc-, lux,
to the Old English leoht (light), and the Greek leukos (white). 
LOKI AS VICTIM 
In several myths, Loki seldom acts out of his own free will, but that he ..acts under
some sort of compulsion in more cases than of his own free will (de Vries). The better
known
stories about Loki are: his responsibility for the death of Baldr, and that he opposses
the Aesir at Ragnarok. These are his only truly evil acts without any compensating good,
including perhaps the killing of Fimafeng at Aegir's feast (Skaldskaparmal 33, Lokasenna
Intro). 
Loki is not always portrayed as absolutely evil or repulsive. Nor is he always portrayed
doing harmful acts. He more often acts under compulsion. For all his flaws, Loki inspired
a
degree of loyalty not only in Sigyn, but in Odin as well. Even though he has already
played a part in Baldr's sojourn in Hel, his oath of blood-brotherhood with Odin secures
him a
place at Aegir's feast, above the objections of the other Aesir. Sigyn, Loki's wife,
remains steadfastly by him until Ragnarok, keeping him from as much harm as she is able.
If he'd
been truly awful to her, Sigyn could have just gone on her way. Njord and Skadi parted
for far more trivial reasons without apparent censure. 
Loki's relationship with Odin and Thor would seem to support the claim that Loki often
acts under compulsion. 
LOKI AND ODIN 
Loki is most often seen as the comrade and table-companion of Odin and the Aesir
depicting Loki not as a cleverly dangerous and manipulative diety who harms everyone
around
him, as is popular belief. 
In Lokasenna he recalls to Odin that in earlier days they had mixed their blood in the
rite of blood-brotherhood, and Odin had promised to pour no ale unless it were brought
for
both. Later, Frigg bids Odin and Loki to preserve silence on the deeds they had done long
ago. Idunn reminds Bragi that Loki had been chosen as wish-son or adopted son by
Odin (Lokassenna 9). 
In Gylfaginning (41), the Aesir have hired a giant to fortify their stronghold in Asgard,
and has promised him Freyja, the sun and the moon as his reward, provided that the walls
would be finished within half a year. On the advice (or permission) of Loki, the giant is
allowed to use his horse to help him in his work. He sets to work with his extraordinary
horse Svadilfare, making tremendous progress each day, which worries the gods. The gods
hold council, they adjudged Loki worthy of death unless he found a way to stop the
giant from keeping his part of the deal. He then changed himself into a mare, which was
pursued by the giant's helpful stallion Svadilfari. This caused the work to be suspended
and it
was not completed in the agreed time. Thor slew the giant and, some time after, Loki gave
birth to Sleipnir, Odin's horse (Gylfaginning 42, Volupsa 25). This myth shows Loki as
acting in self-preservation rather than malice. Thus, Loki is a victim of circumstance,
out to save his own skin. Loki is again the cunning god, appearing in the well-known role
of
the man, who gives bad advice and afterwards has to remedy the dangers issuing from it 
(de Vries). He also provides a gift for a god: he provided Odin with Sleipnir. This will
also
become a recurring trait of Loki's. 
In the Sorla-thattr (13th century) Loki, son of a peasant Farbauti and his wife Laufey
who was thin and meagre and hence called Nal or Needle, is cunning, caustic, and tricky.
He
became Odin's serving-man. Odin always had a good work for him, all of which he
performed. Loki knew almost everything that happened and told it to Odin. In Lokasenna,
this
does appear to be the case, for Loki knows all the secrets of the other Aesir, which he
throws into their faces. 
Also in the Sorla-thattr, Loki's steals the Brisingamen, Gem of fire ( ie, human
intelligence; brisingr means fire; brising means bonfire) from Freyja - this sets in
motion a train of
events vitally connected with the course of human evolution. According to Old Norse myth,
another version of this story, obscurely referred to in a poem, appears as a fragment
cited by Snorri (Skaldskaparmal 8, 16). Here, Loki stole the Brisingamen for his own
purposes. Heimdall contends with him for it and both are in the form of seals. This
equates Loki
with Promethean stealer of fire for the benefit of mankind, though it is never stated
that this necklace did good to men, but more on Prometheus later. 
Odin, Honir and Loki are travelling together. They are confronted with a giant, Thjazi,
in the shape of an eagle. Loki is separated from the two others by Thjazi. Thjazi forces
Loki to
promise to bring the goddess Idunn into his power or he will kill him. When the gods
discovered this, Loki was threatened with torture or death - for it is Idunn who keeps
the
apples which the gods have to feed on when they age, and they all become young, and so it
will go on right up to Ragnarok. He escaped by borrowing Freyja's feather-dress,
flying to Jotunheim in the form of a falcon, and brings back Idunn, whom he transformed
for the occassion into a nut. The Aesir slew Thjazi when he pursued Loki to Asgard in
his
eagle form, but in Lokasenna Loki claims to have been himself first and last in the fight
with the giant. When Thjazi's daughter Skadi came to Asgard to avenge her father, she is
offered a god of her own choice in marriage, on the condition that she will only be able
see his feet when she makes her choice. She also demands that the Aesir makes her laugh,
which is accomplished by one of Loki's more bizarre tricks. Loki caused her to laugh -
one of the terms of reconciliation demanded by her. Odin and Honir are remarkably
passive.
..the only real hero of the tale is Loki, the two other gods doing nothing at all  (de
Vries). This myth again shows Loki as acting in self-preservation rather than malice. For
him,
breaking his oath would be impossible, just as leaving Idunn in Jotunheim. 
In Reginsmal, Odin, Honir and Loki again travel together. By slaying a dwarf, Otr, in the
shape of an otter (they didn't know it was anything but an otter), he brings the wrath
of
Hreidmarr onto the Aesir. They are forced to pay weregild for the slain dwarf, and Loki
is sent to Svartalfheim to fetch the gods' ransom. He catches another dwarf, Andvari,
who
was in the form of a fish, and takes all his gold. Loki borrowed Ran's net in order to
catch Andvari. The dwarf tries to hide a ring of gold, but Loki finds out and takes that
too. The
dwarf then lays a curse on that particular ring and leaves. The ring would be the ruin of
everyone who came into possession of it. Loki gave the gold to Odin, who covered the
skin
with it but retained the ring. One of the otter's whiskers remained uncovered, and
Hreidmarr insisted on it being covered, so Odin gave up the ring. Loki said that now the
ring and
the treasure would be a curse to every posessor of them. When the ransom is paid, the
Aesir are free to go. Again we find that the two other Aesir are merely passive
spectators,
and that the only active role, albiet a forced one, in the story is played by Loki. 
LOKI AND THOR 
In Skaldskaparmal (18), Loki flew to Jotunheim in the guise of a falcon (using Frigg's
feather-dress), and has been captured and starved by the giant Geirr?dr. The giant
releases
him only if he promises to bring Thor to him without his hammer, belt and gloves, and
after having made his promise he is free to go. Loki manages to make it back to
Bilkskirnir,
home to Thor and Sif and convinces Thor to leave his weapons at home, but on their way he
is supplied with a belt of power, a pair of iron gloves and a power staff by a giantess
named Grid. After having crossed a dangerous river with Loki hanging on his belt, Thor
confronts the giant and his daughters, kills them and heads back to Asgard. Loki is not
even
mentioned after the river incident: Loki, as it seems, accompanied Thor on the first part
of his journey, but he disappears from the scene  (Turville-Petre). Snorri's version of
the
myth in Skaldskaparmal differs somewhat from the older poem Haustlong where the original
story is told, where Thor is accompanied not only by Loki but also by Ialvi. There is no
account of this myth in the Poetic Edda. This myth shows Loki as acting in
self-preservation rather than malice. Thus, Loki is again victim of circumstance, out to
save his own skin. 
In Thrymskvitha Thor wakes up only to find that his hammer is gone. He approaches Loki,
tells him about his loss, and Loki assumes Freyja's falcon shape in order to go looking
for
the hammer. He finds out that the giant Thrymm has stolen the hammer and that he keeps it
safe, eight miles underground, and that he will not give it back unless he is promised
Freyja's hand in marriage. Freyja herself does not approve of being married to the giant,
and the gods are quite at a loss about what to do. They hold council, and Heimdallr
suggests that Thor could disguise himself as Freyja and go to ?rym and recover his
hammer. Loki readily offers to follow as the false Freyja's bridesmaid, and hence they
arrive in
Jotunheim in order to celebrate the wedding. Thor is almost disclosed twice due to his
excessive eating and red-hot gaze, but the cunning Loki quickly saves him by his witty
explanations. At last the hammer is produced to be used in the ceremony and put in Thor's
lap, only to be picked up by the most furious of gods and used to smash the giants to
atoms. We are not told that Loki had caused the hammer to be stolen, but this may once
have been the introduction to the story. Otherwise, this is a myth where Loki volunteers
to
help another Aesir. No threats or pain of death was involved. 
LOKI AS CREATOR 
In Voluspa 18, Odin, Honir and Lodur create the first human beings out of two pieces of
wood, a man called Askr and a woman called Embla: Then from the host three came, 
Great, merciful, from the God's home: Askr and Embla on earth they found, Faint, feeble,
with no fate assigned them. Breath they had not, nor blood nor senses, Nor language
possessed, nor life-hue: Odin gave them breath, Honir senses, Blood and life hue Lodur
gave. 
It is argued that Loki and Lodur are one and the same. Oinn and Honir are, when they are
mentioned together, always accompanied by a third god, sometimes Lodur and sometimes
Loki. Lodur is not mentioned in the Poetic Edda except for in this passage. Snorri does
not mention him at all. 
LOKI AND SIF / LOKI AS PROVIDER 
In the halls of Bilskirnir Sif and Thor were just wed. The next night, Loki crept to
Sif's chamber. She glanced up at Loki's approach and smiled in welcome. She knew why Loki
chose
to visit her, since she could forsee things. Without any further prompt, Sif unknotted
her long fair hair and shook it loose about her shoulders. 
He grabbed the shears from Sif's workbox and chopped off every strand of the goddess's
shining locks, leaving only prickly tufts on the Sif's head, all that remained of Sif's
wonderful ormament. She seemed so diminished in presence by the loss that tears came to
his eyes. 'Forgive me.' he whispered. Sif hugged him close 'Be brave' she said 'or all
will
be for nought'. 
The next morning, Thor (her husband) would have broken all his bones, had not an
apologetoc Loki sworn to the Black Elves in svartalfar to make Sif hair of gold, which
would
grow like other hair. It is unclear how Loki found himself in a position to lop Sif's
hair off in the first place. In Lokasenna, it is said he was already in Sif's bed when he
did it. In the
Hyndluljod, the ferryman (none other than Odin) tells Thor that With Sif someone sleeps
in her bower. Adding gratuitous insult to the injury already done to her marriage vows
seems perfectly in keeping with Loki's character. The injury could not have been too
great, however, since we still see Thor and Loki wandering around together after this.
There
is a reason for this. 
The dwarfs are so eager to please they produce not only golden hair for Sif, but also a
marvellous ship for Heimdallr and a magic spear for Odin. Loki challenges two other
dwarfs to
make even better things, and puts his head at stake. The dwarfs set to work, and Loki who
is afraid of losing his head tries to disturb them, and by transforming himself into a
fly, he
interferes with their work. Nonetheless, the dwarfs manage to produce a golden boar and a
golden ring, both of which are flawless, and a hammer, Mjollnir, which shaft is a bit
too
short. Who really won the bet becomes a matter of dispute, which is settled by the Aesir,
who deem that Loki has lost his bet and that he therefore must lose his head. Loki
escapes
but is captured by Thor and brought back. He then agrees to letting the dwarf cut off his
head, as long as he does not touch his neck, which, of course, is impossible. The dwarf
then
sews Loki's lips together in wrath with a string called Vartare. 
This myth demonstrates Loki's dual nature, putting himself in deep trouble because of
some harmless trick, only to save his skin in the last second. First he offends the wife
of the
thunder god by cutting off her hair, and secondly he succeeds in damaging the hammer of
Thor. (de Vries). 
Yet something is overlooked. Loki brings more good things to the Aesir than would suffice
to cover the loss of Sif's hair: he provides not only Thor with a hammer: Odin receives
not only a spear but also a golden ring, Frey a golden boar and a ship that easily can be
folded up and fitted into a pocket. All this for something that began as a prank. 
LOKASENNA / A BITTER LOKI 
In Lokasenna, Loki's attitude becomes more bitter when he cuts down each god and goddess
in turn during the feast of Aegir. 
The prose Introduction tells how Aegir invited many of the gods and elves to a feast. All
went well until Loki kills one of Aegir's slaves, Fimafeng, because he could not stand
hearing the gods' praising of his skill of serving and pleasing the guests. The Aesir
shake their shields and howled at Loki, and drove him out of the forest. Loki returns and
asks
Eldir, another of Aegir's slaves, of what is going on in the hall. Eldir tells how the
talk is of weapons and war, and that none has a friendly word for him. Loki says he will
go in,
mixing hatred to the gods and mixing venom with their ale. 
Loki enters and says that he has come from a far journey and asks for a drink. The gods
are silent, till Bragi speaks and says there is no place for him here. Loki appeals to
Odin on the
ground of their old brotherhood sworn in the morning of time, and Odin bids Vidar find a
place for the wolf's father, lest he should speak evil. Vidar obeys and Loki pledges all
present, excluding Bragi. 
The poem then becomes a flyting between Loki and the other guest present, a quarrel that
cannot be stopped by force as the gods had taken a vow of peace inside the hall where
the feast was held. Loki is therefore allowed to verbally abuse each and every one of the
gods as he sees fit. 
He accuses Bragi of cowardice. Idunn begs him to weigh Loki's kinship with Odin and speak
no taunt with him. Loki turns on her and accusses her of promiscuosity and of having
embraced the killer of her husband. She doesn't refute this taunt, but merely tries to
calm Bragi, who is overcome with ale. Gefjon intervenes and begs that no bandying of
words
will continue, for Loki is known as a slanderer and hates everyone. Loki accuses her of
having committed adultery with a youth who gave her a necklace. 
Odin tells Loki that he is mad to raise Gefjon's anger, for she knows men's destinies
just as Odin himself does. Loki turns on Odin and tells him that he does not justly
assign victory ,
and often gives it to thise who deserve it least. Odin says this may be, but reminds Loki
of his own faults, of having spent eight winters in the underworld as a woman, milking
cows
and giving birth to children. Loki retorts that Odin had once wrought magic spells in the
guise of a witch in Samsey. These two taunts, a man bearing children as a woman and a
man
taking woman's form, were not uncommon in the Scandinavian north, but were regarded as
most deadly insults. The Aesir in turn to address Loki and strive to silence him, but in
vain. 
Loki points to Frigg's affair with Odin's two brothers when she thought Odin to be dead.
She also says Forsooth, had I in Aegir's hall a son as Baldr so brave: Thou'dst not get
thee
gone from the gods foregathered before thou had'st fought for thy life (27-8). 
He then tells her, Be mindful, Frigg, what further I tell of wicked words of mine: my
rede wrought it that rides nevermore hitherward Baldr to hall. He admits then that he is
the
cause of Baldr's absence, possibly referring to his refusal to weap over him to keep him
in Hel. Freyja, a witch strong in evil, is accused of adultery with all the gods and
Alfar, and
with being her brother's lover. 
Loki taunts Njordr of having been used as a chamber pot by some giantesses and of having
a son, Frey, by his sister. Tyr says that Frey is best of heroes. Loki bids him be
silent, for
not being unable to solve juridical problems, lost his hand by the Fenris-wolf (Loki's
offspring) and of not being the father of his own son, Loki himself claiming paternity.
Frey
reminds Loki that By the River fettered Fenris will lie till draws night the doom of the
gods; and nigh to him, but thou hush thee now, wilt be bound, thou breeder of ill. 
Loki says that Frey bought Gerd with gold and his sword, and is now weaponless must await
Muspell's son when they ride theough Myrkwood. Byggvir, Frey's servant,
intervenes, and says that if he were of such birth as Frey, he would crush Loki to marrow
and break all his bones. Loki taunts him, little creature that he is, with cowardice.
Now
Heimdall speaks and tells Loki he is drunk. Skadi says, Thou art lusty, Loki, but long
thou wilt not a loose tail wag as thou list; for on a rock with thy ice-cold son's guts
will bind
thee the gods (49). Loki cries that he was first and last among those who slew her
father, and reminds her of his armour with her. 
Sif comes forward, pours ale for Loki, and says that she at least is blameless, but she
is slao reminded of misconduct with him (she sleps with him, and he cut her hair for it).
Beyla,
wife of Biggvir, cries that the mountains are shaking and Thor, absent slaying trolls, is
coming, and will silence the slanderer. She is also vilified, and now Thor enters and
bids Loki,
wretched wight, be silent or his hammer will close his mouth. Loki says he need not
threaten so much. He will be less fierce when he fights the Fenris Wolf. Thrice again
does Thor
threaten him. Loki taunts him still, with hiding in a giant's glove and with his
difficulty in opening Skrymir's wallet. Finally he says that he has spoken all he wished
to say. Now he
will go, because Thor is such a great fighterm but he warns the Aegir that no more feasts
will he give, for the fire will soon consume all that is here. 
DEATH OF BALDR & RAGNAROK / AN EVIL LOKI 
Loki's worst actions, as stated earlier, showing him as a foe of the gods, is 
connected with the myth of te sun-god Baldr (Gylfaginning 48). Ragnarok has once been
translated as the age of fire and smoke, probably because rok in Swedish means smoke.
If, as noted above, you take Loki's name and nature as fire-related, this name falls into
place with Loki's involvement. 
Baldr has been having dreams which reveal to him that he soon will be dead. The Aesir
decide to try and stop this and Frigga makes every creature, living as well as dead take
an oath
not to harm Baldr in any way. The mistletoe is left out, as it was believed to be too
weak to harm anyone. Baldr then becomes practically invulnerable, and the Aesir make it
their
sport to try their weapons against him, inflicting no harm on him whatsoever. This annoys
Loki, who assumes the shape of a woman in order to trick Freyja into telling him how
Baldr can be harmed, and he is told that the mistletoe were exempted from the oath. He
then designs a missile weapon out of mistletoe, and talks the blind god Hoder into using
it
on Baldr. The missile hits and kills Baldr. The Aesir decide to bring him back from Hel,
where he lives after his death. They send a messenger to Hel, who returns with the answer
that
Baldr may return to the living if all creatures on earth would cry over him. Every
creature does so, except for one giantess, who refuses to shed a tear for Baldr. This is,
of course,
Loki in disguise, and the Aesir decide to catch and punish him, not only for being the
instigater of Baldr's killing, but also for keeping him from coming back to life again. 
This lead to Loki's punishment. He ran off and hid in a mountain, making a house with
four doors, so that he could see in all directions. He transformed himself into a salmon
by day
and hid in Franang Falls. When he sat in the house he took twine and knitted meshes as a
net is made. When he found that the Aesir were at hand (Odin having seen his
hiding-place
from Hlidskjalf), he cast the net into the fire, and leapt as a salmon into the stream.
The Aesir went into the house and there Kvasir (the most clever of the gods) saw the ash
made by
the burning net and realized that it was a device for catching fish. The Aesir now made
one of the same pattern and, by its means, tried to catch Loki, who evaded them, until
Thor
waded to mid-stream. When Loki tried to leap over the net, he caught him. Loki slipped
thrugh his hand, but Thor was able to grip him by the tail (hence the salmon has a
tapering
tail). 
Loki's sons were taken and Narfi was changed into a wolf by the Aesir. Narfi then kills
his brother Nari by tearing him apart. Nari's entrails were used to tie Loki to three
stones set
beneath the Nether-gates of the Underworld. One under his shoulder, the second under his
loins, and the third under his knees. These bonds then were changed to iron. The myth
of Loki's bonds resemble one in Iranian mythology. The hero Thraetana conquered the
dragon Azhi Dahaka and bound him to the rock Damavand. There he lies until the Last Day,
meanwhile causing earthquakes by his struggles. In the end, he breaks loose and takes
part with hosts of evil against the gods. It is also similar to the account in Revelation
of
Satan's binding and breaking out of the abyss. 
The rest of the myth is given by Snorri as it is told in the prose appendix to 
Lokasenna. Skadi took a poisonous snake and placed it over his head, so the venom would
always drip upon his head until the last days. Sigyn, his wife, held a shell under the
poison,
but when she drew it away full of venom, some drops fell on Loki's face. He then
struggled so much that all the earth shook, and that is called an earthquake. 
At Ragnarok his children will play some of the most deadly roles. To this the dead
seeress, consulted by Odin about Baldr's death, refers. No one shall consult her until
Loki free
himself, shakes off his fetters, and the destroyers come to Ragnarok. 
Thus, at the beginning of Ragnarok all fetters and bonds will be released. That is how
Loki and Fenris will become loose. His children will go directly to the battlefield
called Vigrid.
Loki himself, with Hrym and the forest-giants, will come at the head of a giant army on
the boat Naglfar. Fenris kills Odin and in turn is killed by Vidhar. Jormungand will die
at Thor's
hands, but he himself will succumb to the effects of the poison from the World Serpent.
Loki will grapple with Heimdall, they will kill each other (Gylfaginning 51). 
Loki here plays a more violent role than usual. Instead of using his wits he actually
joins the fray, which in some ways contradicts the very essence of his character as the
sly
manipulator who would rather run off than take the heat. Instead of balancing between
good and evil he makes his stand against the Aesir, joining forces with their enemies.
This
could be in part because of his imprisonment and torture while bound. He could have
merely been acting out of vengeance for what they did to him, or out of madness, or both.

OTHER-MYTH COMPARISIONS 
Loki does not have obvious counterparts in Greek mythology, although many other cultures,
such as North American aboriginals, Oceanic, West African and Chinese, have myths
which feature tricksters. There is one Greek god, Hermes, that is considered somewhat of
a trickster, although not to the same extent as Loki. As soon as Hermes was born, he
displayed this trait by stealing Apollo's cows. He was taken for judgement to Zeus after
this crime, but he used his cunning, offering the lyre he invented, to escape punishment.
In
many ways this is much like Loki's behaviour, in that Loki often was able to talk his way
out of predicaments and bringing about situations which have helped the gods. 
As god of fire, Loki could be compared to Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire. One of the
major stories about Loki is his exile from Asgard for being indirectly responsible for
the
death of Baldr. This punishment was meted out by Odin. Similarly, Hephaestus was ejected
from Mt. Olympus by Zeus over an argument about one of Zeus' favourites, Heracles. 
PROMETHEUS COMPARISON 
Loki is can also be compared to Prometheus, primarily again because of their association
with fire. Loki being the god of fire, and Prometheus being the bringer of fire to the
humans. Prometheus was a Titan, admitted into Olympus for remaining neutral in the revolt
of the Olympians against the Titans. 
However, Prometheus knew who would be responsible for the death of Zeus. This can be
looked at in the same light as Loki's both knowledge and responsibilty of Odin's death,
as
he fathered the beast Fenris who would kill him. 
Also, Loki is a major palyer and provokes Ragnorok, the final battle that will destroy
everything including the gods. Prometheus caused the creation of Pandora therefore
damning
mankind. However this was not enough punishment in the eyes of Zeus, so he caused a flood
that destroyed mankind. 
In both myths, humanity renews itself. Fire also plays a very large role in the
destruction of the world in the Norse myths, as Surtur engulfs the world in flame after
the battle of
Ragnarok. Some would say that Prometheus' association of fire destroyed mankind. 
Prometheus was also a trickster, as he stole cheated and lied. One of Loki's strong
qualities was his ability to out-wit the gods. This too was a characteristic of
Prometheus. Neither
acted capriciously, which set both of them apart from the other gods in their respective
mythologies. 
For indirectly causing the death of Balder, Loki was bound in chains with a seprent above
him dripping poison to harm Loki. Prometheus was likewise bound by the gods for his
actions. He was chained to a rock in the Caucasian mountains, with a vulture to tear away
at his liver all day long -- an endless torture, as his liver would grow back every
night. Very
similar as both were chained to stone, with an endless torture. Loki was not freed until
the twilight of the gods, or Ragnorok. Prometheus was also released by Herakles, and
immediatly had the interaction with Zeus, when he told him what would cause his death. So
both were freed, and immediatly became associated with the death of the gods. 
CONCLUSION 
The thing to understand about Loki is his necessity to the whole picture. He is a
renegade, the trickster. Through many wrong choices Loki has become the mischief-maker,
the
instigator of wrongs in many tales. He is disruptive, representing the necessary
questioning of authority which is totally necessary if things are to be kept running in
an optimal
way. It is the only way to make progress. He is the constant companion of the gods and
serves as go-between in their dealings with the giants, the key which opens the door
into
the new world that comes after the final battle. Loki is also the divine intelligence
which is aroused in us, and also the will by which man may choose its course, for good or
evil.
Overall he is the human mind, clever, foolish, and immature. 
However in his most redeeming state Loki is known as Lopt and is the elevating and
aspiring traits in human intelligence. He is the bridge between the animal and the
divine.Looking back on the life of Loki you can see that he is the perfect example of the
darkness which can rise in a man's soul. This destructive aspect is so close to the
animal nature of us all.