Myths featuring Loki

Search by title and refine by origin, characters, tags, and sort order.

Heimdall Standing Guard at the Bifrost Bridge

🪓 Norse MythologyMount Hekla, IcelandHeimdall • Odin • Loki

Heimdall, known as the White God, serves as the eternal watchman of the Aesir, standing guard at the edge of Asgard where the rainbow bridge Bifrost touches the sky. Gifted with extraordinary senses that allow him to see for a hundred leagues and hear the sound of wool growing on sheep, he remains a vigilant protector against the giants of Jotunheim. His duty culminates in the sounding of the...

Thor Wrestling the Old Woman Elli, the Personification of Old Age

🪓 Norse MythologySvalbard, NorwayThor • Loki • Thjalfi

Thor, the god of thunder, travels to the hall of the giant Utgard-Loki, where he is subjected to several impossible trials of strength and skill. The most humiliating of these challenges involves Thor wrestling an elderly nurse named Elli, only to find himself unable to defeat her. It is later revealed that Elli was the personification of Old Age, a force that no living thing, even a god, can...

Nanna Dying of a Broken Heart and Joining Baldr on the Pyre

🪓 Norse MythologyBorre Mound Cemetery, NorwayNanna • Baldr • Odin

Following the tragic death of the god Baldr by a mistletoe arrow, his wife Nanna is overwhelmed by a grief so profound that her heart physically breaks. During the grand funeral at the shore, as she witnesses her husband being laid upon his great ship Hringhorni, her spirit leaves her body. She is placed on the funeral pyre alongside Baldr, ensuring their union continues into the halls of the...

Idunn and Her Apples of Youth Stolen by the Giant Thjazi

🪓 Norse MythologyDovrefjell Mountains, NorwayIdunn • Loki • Thjazi

When the trickster Loki is captured by the giant Thjazi, he bargains for his life by promising to deliver the goddess Idunn and her apples of immortality. This betrayal causes the gods of Asgard to age rapidly, forcing Loki to embark on a dangerous rescue mission to restore youth to the heavens. The myth highlights the vulnerability of the divine and the cunning nature of the Norse trickster.

Thor Throwing a Boulder to Stop the River Vimur's Flooding

🪓 Norse MythologyGullfoss, IcelandThor • Loki • Geirröðr

During a perilous journey to the hall of the giant Geirröðr, the thunder god Thor is forced to cross the River Vimur, which swells to life-threatening heights. Discovering that the giantess Gjálp is standing at the river's source to cause the flood, Thor hurls a massive boulder to stem the flow and rescues himself by grabbing a rowan branch. This tale emphasizes Thor's grit and ingenuity when...

Jörmungandr Releasing Its Tail and Rising to Poison the Seas

🪓 Norse MythologyNorwegian SeaJörmungandr • Thor • Loki

Jörmungandr, the world-spanning Midgard Serpent, represents the boundary of the known world and the herald of its destruction. When the cataclysmic era of Ragnarök begins, this colossal beast releases its own tail, which it had held in its mouth for eons, and rises from the depths of the Norwegian Sea. As it ascends to the surface, it exhales a lethal venom called Eitr, poisoning the waters...

Snorri Sturluson’s Compilation of the Prose Edda

🪓 Norse MythologyReykholt, IcelandSnorri Sturluson • Gylfi • Odin

The Prose Edda is the primary source of Norse mythology, compiled by the Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. It serves as both a manual for poets and a preservation of the ancient stories of the Norse gods, from the creation of the world to the twilight of Ragnarök.

The Binding of the Great Wolf Fenrir

🪓 Norse MythologyLake Vättern, SwedenFenrir • Odin • Týr

Fearful of the prophecy that the monstrous wolf Fenrir would bring about their destruction, the gods of Asgard attempted to bind him with magical fetters. After failing with heavy iron chains, they commissioned the dwarves to craft the silken ribbon Gleipnir, which finally restrained the beast at the cost of the god Týr’s right hand.

Baldr’s Tragic Funeral Pyre on the Ship Hringhorni

🪓 Norse MythologyBorre Mound Cemetery, NorwayBaldr • Odin • Frigg

Following the tragic death of the beloved god Baldr, the Aesir gather to perform a grand funeral ceremony. They use Baldr's own ship, Hringhorni, as a massive pyre, requiring the help of the giantess Hyrrokkin to launch it. The event is marked by profound grief, the death of Baldr's wife Nanna, and the presence of all the divine realms in mourning.

Sigurd Beheading the Treacherous Smith Regin

🪓 Norse MythologyRamsund, Södermanland, SwedenSigurd • Regin • Fafnir

After slaying the dragon Fafnir, the hero Sigurd tastes the creature's blood and gains the ability to understand the language of birds. These birds warn him that his foster father, the master smith Regin, intends to betray and murder him for the dragon's cursed gold. Acting swiftly, Sigurd uses the sword Gram to behead Regin, ending the cycle of treachery within the Volsung cycle.