Loki

Loki was the son of a giant, but lived in Asgard. It is difficult sometimes to tell whether he was on the side on the gods or not. Sometimes he helped Thor on his adventures, or got the gods out of trouble, but sometimes he had caused the trouble in the first place!

However, sometimes Loki was bad, even wicked. Balder was the son of Odin, and was hansome and popular. It was prophesied that Balder would be killed. So the gods asked everything not to kill Balder. All things made of metal, all stones, all animals and people, and every plant that grew in the ground agreed to spare him. The gods played games by throwing things at Balder, and nothing would hurt him. But Loki realised that there was one way that Balder could be killed. Mistletoe doesn't grew in the ground, it grows on other trees. So Loki made a dart from mistletoe. He gave it to Hoder, a god who was blind, to throw at Balder. So Hoder did, and killed Balder without realising it.

The gods tried to raise Balder from the dead, by begging Hel to release him. Hel would only do this if every living creature wept for Balder. The whole of the world cried, except one giantess, who refused to. So Balder had to stay dead. It is suspected that this giantess was Loki in disguise. The gods were so angry that they chained up Loki, see left.

Loki had monstrous children, Fenrir the wolf, the World Serpent and Hel, queen of the dead.

The film "The Mask" was about a mask of Loki. If a good man wore the mask, then wonderful (if mischevious) things happened. However, a bad man wearing the mask had evil powers.