The Story of Loki and the Theft of Idunn's Apples

The complete Norse myth of Loki and the theft of Idunn’s apples: the giant’s coercion, the kidnapping of the goddess of youth, the aging of the gods, and Loki’s desperate rescue. Retold from the Prose Edda with clear explanations for new readers. Table of Contents Myth at a Glance Tradition: Norse (primarily the Prose Edda) Main Figures: Loki, Idunn (Iðunn), Thjazi (Þjazi), Odin, the Æsir, Skaði Themes: Coercion and reluctant betrayal • The fragility of divine youth • Cunning as both problem and solution • Consequences that outlast the original crime • Negotiation after violence Setting: Asgard (home of the gods) and Jötunheimr (the realm of the giants) A mong the stories preserved in the Prose Edda there is a tale in which the gods nearly lose their youth forever. It begins with Loki flying over the wilderness, continues with the abduction of the goddess who keeps the apples of immortality, and ends with a desperate rescue and a giant’s death. The episode is sometimes called the theft of Id…