Loki and Sigyn Illustration by Fredrik Sander in the Poetic Edda

Imagine just how much bad you’d have to be to drive your family to tie up your immortal body to rock with the entrails of your son, under a serpent dripping venom. In perpetuity.  That’s how bad Loki is in Norwegian mythology.

Fortunately for him, his wife loves him, and catches the venom in a bowl before  it hits him.  But she periodically has to empty the vessel, so the poison drops on his mouth, leaving him in such agony, the god causes earthquakes.

Though Loki does unimaginable things, including tricking on of his brothers to to kill another, he still retains some family support. Mythic gods are very forgiving of each other, but not so much with mortals.

Even in the Marvel universe, Thor attempts to help Loki find his way home. Again and again. Loki is evil, and yet he has also been known to step in and help out. Usually to help himself. But still…

Of more interest.  Villains reflect the nuances of society. Loki is very much a part of his world and reflects its fears and foibles.  On a good day, he might do you a favor.

Or not.

But if he does, read the small print and the facial expressions in the shadows.

Funny how gods and goddesses in mythology are as bad as often as they are good.  Myth is a universal source of villainy and its complex reality.  Have a favorite myth?  What does it tell you about good and bad?

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