Groans of horror,
Breaking forth in thunder peals
With his writhings scared Earth reels.
Trembling and quaking,
E'en high Heav'n shaking!
So wears he out his awful doom,
Until dread Ragnarok be come."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).

In this painful position Loki was destined to remain until the twilight
of the gods, when his bonds would be loosed, and he would take part
in the fatal conflict on the battlefield of Vigrid, falling at last
by the hand of Heimdall, who would be slain at the same time.

As we have seen, the venom-dropping snake in this myth is the
cold mountain stream, whose waters, falling from time to time
upon subterranean fire, evaporate in steam, which escapes through
fissures, and causes earthquakes and geysers, phenomena with which
the inhabitants of Iceland, for instance, were very familiar.

Loki's Day

When the gods were reduced to the rank of demons by the introduction of
Christianity, Loki was confounded with Saturn, who had also been shorn
of his divine attributes, and both were considered the prototypes of
Satan. The last day of the week, which was held sacred to Loki, was
known in the Norse as Laugardag, or wash-day, but in English it was
changed to Saturday, and was said to owe its name not to Saturn but
to Sataere, the thief in ambush, and the Teutonic god of agriculture,
who is supposed to be merely another personification of Loki.

CHAPTER XXIII: THE GIANTS

Joetun-heim

As we have already seen, the Northern races imagined that the giants
were the first creatures who came to life among the icebergs which
filled the vast abyss of Ginnunga-gap. These giants were from the
very beginning the opponents and rivals of the gods, and as the
latter were the personifications of all that is good and lovely,
the former were representative of all that was ugly and evil.

"He comes--he comes--the Frost Spirit comes! on the rushing
northern blast,
And the dark Norwegian pines have bowed as his fearful breath
went past.
With an unscorched wing he has hurried on, where the fires on
Hecla glow
On the darkly beautiful sky above and the ancient ice below."

J. G. Whittier.

When Ymir, the first giant, fell lifeless on the ice, slain by the
gods, his progeny were drowned in his blood. One couple only, Bergelmir
and his wife, effected their escape to Joetun-heim, where they took
up their abode and becam