Regarded universally as the trickster god of mischief, the character Loki from Norse mythology has become popular in today’s pop culture. Loki is idolized on the big screens as a villain but also a victim whose character is largely misunderstood. Recent culture has, however, distorted Loki’s original characteristics. Traditional Norse mythology describes Loki as being a “scheming coward who cares only for shallow pleasures and self-preservation,” leading the reader to believe that a character’s characteristics and overall meaning can develop over time. (McCoy). Moreover, Loki’s character has developed through the centuries to fit the current society’s moral aspects as such ancient Scandinavia’s brutal lifestyle and modern culture’s need to …show more content…
Before Christianity arrived in ancient Scandinavia, the Germanic people had no true concept of good versus evil. They behaved depending on their role in society, modeling their behavior on the god or goddess who receded over the specific task. For example, warriors were held by the standards of honor and masculinity shown by the gods Thor, Tyr, of Frey. Moreover, erudite individuals, often seen as weak or unmanly by followers of Thor, showed characteristics and mannerisms displayed by the scholarly god Odin. Loki, however, was the antithesis of all the gods stood for and showed the contradictory side of nature and life often representing chaos and dysfunction. Paradoxically, Loki is frequently featured in many notable Norse myths where he is selfish and only completes tasks that are to his benefit or pleasure. For example, in the famous myth “The Death of Baldur,” Loki deliberately tricks Baldur’s blind brother, Hod, into killing Baldur with his only kryptonite, mistletoe. Loki has no reason to want Baldur dead otherwise then wanting to spite the gods and prove that Baldur could be killed (McCoy). Perhaps Loki’s popularity in Norse myths was due to humanity’s tendency to resort to the darker side of morality. The Germanic people mainly lived with a mindset much like Loki, faithless and selfish, and therefore, Loki’s character displayed and explained this type of dark morality to ultimately illuminate on the people who originated Norse