The myth of Loki and the master builder - Alex Gendler

2,529,075 views ・ 2019-11-14

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Asgard, a realm of wonders, was where the Norse Gods made their home.
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There Odin’s great hall of Valhalla towered above the mountains
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and Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, anchored itself.
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But though their domain was magnificent,
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it stood undefended from the giants and trolls of Jotunheim,
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who despised the gods and sought to destroy them.
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One day when Thor, strongest of the gods, was off fighting these foes,
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a stranger appeared, riding a powerful gray horse.
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The visitor made the gods an astonishing offer.
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He would build them the greatest wall they’d ever seen,
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higher than any giant could climb and stronger than any troll could break.
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All he asked in return was the beautiful goddess Freya’s hand in marriage—
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along with the sun and moon from the sky.
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The gods balked at this request and were ready to send him away.
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But the trickster Loki concocted a devious plan.
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He told the gods they should accept the stranger’s offer,
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but set such strict conditions that he would fail to complete the wall in time.
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That way, they would lose nothing, while getting most of the wall built for free.
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Freya didn’t like this idea at all,
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but Odin and the other gods were convinced
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and came to an agreement with the builder.
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He would only have one winter to complete the wall.
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If any part was unfinished by the first day of summer,
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he would receive no payment.
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And he could have no help from any other people.
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The gods sealed the deal with solemn oaths
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and swore the mason would come to no harm in Asgard.
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In the morning, the stranger began to dig the foundations at an astonishing speed,
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and at nightfall he set off towards the mountains to obtain the building stones.
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But it was only the next morning, when they saw him returning,
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that the gods began to worry.
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As agreed, no other people were helping the mason.
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But his horse Svadilfari was hauling a load of stones so massive
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it left trenches in the ground behind them.
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Winter came and went.
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The stranger kept building, Svadilfari kept hauling,
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and neither snow nor rain could slow their progress.
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With only three days left until summer, the wall stood high and impenetrable,
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with only the gate left to be built.
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Horrified, the gods realized that not only would they lose
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their fertility goddess forever,
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but without the sun and moon the world would be plunged into eternal darkness.
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They wondered why they’d made such a foolish wager—
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and then remembered Loki and his terrible advice.
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Suddenly, Loki didn’t feel so clever.
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All of his fellow gods threatened him with an unimaginably painful death
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if he didn’t find some way to prevent the builder from getting his payment.
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So Loki promised to take care of the situation, and dashed away.
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Outside, night had fallen,
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and the builder prepared to set off to retrieve the final load of stones.
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But just as he called Svadilfari to him, a mare appeared in the field.
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She was so beautiful that Svadilfari ignored his master
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and broke free of his reins.
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The mason tried to catch him,
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but the mare ran deep into the woods and Svadilfari followed.
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The stranger was furious.
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He knew that the gods were behind this and confronted them:
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no longer as a mild-mannered mason,
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but in his true form as a terrifying mountain giant.
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This was a big mistake.
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Thor had just returned to Asgard,
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and now that the gods knew a giant was in their midst,
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they disregarded their oaths.
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The only payment the builder would receive—
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and the last thing he would ever see—
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was the swing of Thor’s mighty hammer Mjolnir.
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As they set the final stones into the wall, the gods celebrated their victory.
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Loki was not among them, however.
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Several months would pass before he finally returned,
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followed by a beautiful gray foal with eight legs.
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The foal would grow into a magnificent steed named Sleipnir
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and become Odin’s mount, a horse that could outrun the wind itself.
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But exactly where he had come from was something Loki preferred not to discuss.
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