While the trickster figure is usually much more ambiguous and sometimes even venerated in the culture of origin, the trickster is portrayed in a negative light by most Christian sources that came into contact with the culture where the trickster figure originated. History shows that such gods were in fact worshiped by attested religions.įrom the portrayal of Loki in Marvel movies, to early Christianity, there has often been an emphasis on the "evil" aspects of the trickster figure in Western thinking. The possibility that God may be a trickster is another thing that throws a monkey wrench into Pascal's wager there might be a god who likes liars and thieves, and rewards vice or mockery rather than piety or virtue. The Homeric Hymn to Hermes calls Hermes a god of "many shapes ( polytropos), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods." In Greek mythology, Hermes is the divine patron of thieves and the inventor of the art of lying, a skill he passed to his disciple Autolycus. Tricksters are often shape-shifters and are fluid with respect to gender.ĭeities can be trickster figures. The trickster figure turns the tables on bosses, masters, and other oppressive figures. Trickster figures are popular especially among the members of an underclass. Nasreddin, from Islamic folklore, a Sufi saint in the 13th century.Puck, from British fairy tales appears in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.Jacob, from the Hebrew Bible, has many attributes of a trickster figure.Sinbad, from Arabic and Persian folklore.Nanabozho, from Ojibwe Native American folklore.Coyote, from Plains and West Coast Native American folklore.Eshu, known in the New World as Exú, from Yoruba mythology.Main goddess of Discordianism a trickster-like religion. Eris, Greek goddess of strife, also known as Discordia in the Roman religion.Br'er Rabbit, from African-American folktales, made famous by Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories.Appears in the New World as "Annancy" or "Aunt Nancy". Anansi the Spider, from several West African cultures.The gods thought this seemed like a little much for a simple construction job, but Loki assured them that the giant would never complete the work on time, especially on his own, and then the deal would be off and Freya would be safe.Reynard the Fox, a trickster figure from many European folklores.
As payment, the giant asked for the sun, the moon and the goddess Freya. The Asgardians had run out of money to continue building Asgard, so Loki suggested hiring a giant to build it for them. When Asgard (the home of the Norse gods) was being built, Loki came offered his services to Odin (King of the gods) and his son, Thor (god of Thunder). The son of two giants, he essentially tricked his way into becoming a deity. Whether the portrayal is favorable or not, Loki is always identified as a trickster and shape-shifter. In others, he tries to cause as many problems as possible. In some accounts, he is helpful to the gods. Loki is somewhat of an enigma in Norse mythology, as many sources sharply vary in their retelling of his story. Consort: Angrboða (also Sigyn and Svaðilfari)