5 Fun Facts About Loki

5 Fun Facts About Loki

1. In Norse mythology, Loki is the god of mischief and making the Avengers movies awesome as the adopted brother and archenemy of I've-Got-Really-Thor-Arms-From-Lifting-Weights. Loki was a trickster and loved to cause trouble for the other Gods of Asgard. His ability to shape-shift helped him tremendously in this regard.

2. The mythical home of the Norse gods is Asgard. When it was being built, Loki offered to help Odin, King of the Gods, by hiring a Giant to build the wall that surrounds it. The Giant asked for the Sun, Moon, the new iPhone 7 when it came out, and Freya as payment. The first three were not a problem. Odin had some sway with Apple, as he had given them the technology to make the phone bendier than the 6, and had all ready secured himself a few. The problem was, that Freya just happened to be the wife of Odin. And giving up the Queen of Asgard to a Giant was out of the question. Or, so you'd think. Loki, ever the trickster, and pretty adept at manipulation, told Odin the Giant would never be able to complete the wall in the time allotted, especially working alone, and they would never have to pay him. Freya would be safe.

It turns out the Giant had some help in the form of an unbelievably strong stallion called, Svaoilfari. With the both of them hard at work, the wall was running to schedule. They even had time to take a break for a hedgehog sandwich, the favourite snacks of Giants. Not including children whose names begin with the letter "S", of course. 

Odin, Thor, and to some degree, Freya, who wasn't adverse to a bit of Giant fun when Odin wasn't looking, began to worry. Loki told them not to, though. He had a cunning plan.

Loki prevented the wall from being completed by distracting the stallion. He transformed himself into a mare and led the stallion into the woods for a bit of hanky panky. The mare, who was Loki, which isn't at all disturbing, gave birth to an eight-legged horse called Sleipnir, which he offered as a gift to Odin.

3. Loki's mischief would turn to anger, and anger to evil. And with evil, comes resentment. And resentment turned into vengeance. 

For a bit of fun, the Gods were tossing stones and boulders at one of Odin's sons, Balder. Don't worry, it was fun. These were gods. Balder was invincible. But Loki had discovered he was vulnerable to mistletoe. He tricked the blind God Hod into throwing the mistletoe at Balder, and it killed him. Not a good plan. Not even a good evil plan. To say the Gods were miffed would be an understatement.

4. Enough was enough. Loki had to be punished. Odin decreed he would be the evil guy that people made fun of in the Avengers films, always a supporting role, never to get his own movie. Plus, the gods captured his sons, Narfi and Vali, turning Vali into a wolf and make him tear his brother to shreds. Talk about a cruel and horrifying punishment only a god could come up with. But that wasn't enough for them.

5. The Gods captured Loki and took Narfi's intestines and bound him to a rock inside a cave. They then had a Giantess called Skadi hang a snake over Loki's head, the snake dripping with highly potent venom. Loki's wife, Sigyn, had to hold a bowl over her husband's head to catch the venom. When she went to empty the bowl, the venom would drip on Loki's head, causing him great pain. He thrashed about and, in Norse mythology, this is what caused the earthquakes.

Click here for 5 Ancient Myths About Earthquakes.