Cult of Gods

Loki

Norse tradition. See the whole pantheon.

Domains
trickery, shape-changing
Symbols and attributes
Salmon, mare, fetters
Partner
Sigyn
Children
Hel
Odin rides to Hel, W. G. Collingwood, after the Poetic Edda.
Odin rides to Hel, W. G. Collingwood, after the Poetic Edda.

Key myth

Counted among the Æsir yet son of giants. He bore Odin's horse Sleipnir after turning mare to lure a stallion, fathered Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel, and engineered Baldr's death. In Lokasenna he insults the whole company and is bound to a rock with a serpent's venom dripping.

Where sources differ or caution applies. Loki's role is debated: no cult of Loki is attested. Some argue he is a literary creation.

Primary sources

  • Lokasenna
  • Gylfaginning 33-34, 42, 50

All sources for the Norse pantheon

Place in the family graph

Choose a deity to see where it comes from. Dashed lines are links the sources describe that are not parent and child.

YmirFriggBúriNjörðrÆgirRánSólBorrBestlaFreyrFreyjaSifLokiSigynHeimdallrTýrOdinHelThorBaldr

More traditions

Papyrus of Ani, British Museum (New Kingdom), a Book of the Dead.EgyptianA chaos monster and a sun god, drawn by L. Gruner for A. H. Layard's Monuments of Nineveh.MesopotamianVishvarupa Vishnu, Kashmir or Himachal, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art collection.HinduFolio 309r of the Book of Kells (Trinity College Dublin), c. 800.Celtic (Irish)

Elsewhere in the world

Deities in other traditions who share a theme with Loki: trickery, boundaries and travel. This is overlap in one area only.

Egyptian

Seth

storm, desert, chaos

Mesopotamian

Enki / Ea

fresh water, wisdom, craft

Japanese (Shinto)

Susanoo

storms, the sea (in some versions), the land of Izumo

Yoruba (Orisha)

Èṣù

crossroads, messenger, communication

Roman

Mercury

trade, messengers, travellers

Compare across cultures