Side by side, from the sources

Loki vs Satan

These two are identified with one another in the record, which is not the same as being the same figure. A demonisation caught in progress under Christian redaction.

Deity · Norse · c. 1270 CE

Loki

also called Loptr, Hveðrungr, Loki Laufeyjarson, Loki Laufeyson, Logi

Companion of the Aesir and their eventual destroyer — a figure whose slide toward the demonic is visible within the surviving texts themselves.

Alignment: Disputed
Rank: Trickster
First attested: Gesta Danorum · c. 1200
Named there as: Utgarthilocus
Texts naming it: 3
Powers attributed: 3

54attestedNorse

Demonic · Infernal Court · c. 400 BCE

Satan

also called ha-Satan, The Adversary, Shaitan, The Devil, Satanas, Shaytan, Sam Hill, Lord of This World

Not originally a name but an office — 'the accuser'. In Job he is a member of the divine court doing his job; only later does he become the enemy.

Alignment: Fallen
Rank: Adversary
First attested: Hebrew Bible & Deuterocanon · c. 900–100 BCE
Named there as: ha-Satan
Texts naming it: 5
Powers attributed: 5

97attestedChristian Jewish Islamic

Where do they actually overlap?

Texts naming both

None. The two never appear in the same text in this corpus, which is worth knowing before accepting any confident claim that they are one figure.

Powers credited to both

Deceives & Tempts

Common questions

Are Loki and Satan the same figure?

These two are identified with one another in the record, which is not the same as being the same figure. A demonisation caught in progress under Christian redaction. ColossiansOne records the link rather than asserting the identity: where texts disagree about whether two names denote one figure, the disagreement is what gets shown.

Which is older, Loki or Satan?

Satan is the older name: first attested around c. 400 BCE, against c. 1270 CE for Loki. Where the two dates are far apart, that gap is the whole reason the pair is worth comparing.

Do any texts name both Loki and Satan?

No text in this corpus names both. That is not proof they were considered the same figure, but it is why the identification has to be traced through the scholarship rather than read off a page.

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