LOKI, Ifi'ke, in mythology, the god of strife and spirit of evil. He artfully contrived the death of Balder, when Odin had forbidden everything that springs °from fire, air, earth and water" to injure him. The mistletoe, not being included, was made into an arrow, given to the blind Wider, and shot at random; but it struck the beautiful Balder and killed him. This evil being was subsequently chained with 10 chains, and will so continue till the twilight of the gods appears, when he will break his bonds; then will the heavens disappear, the earth be swallowed up by the sea, fire shall con sume the elements, and even Odin, with all his kindred deities, shall perish.
LOKMAN, a name that figures in the proverbs and traditions of the Arabians. According to tradition Lokman was a scion from the stock of Ad, and was once sent with a caravan from Ethiopia to Mecca to pray for rain in a time of great drought. But God's
anger destroyed the whole family of Ad except Lolanan, the only righteous one, whereupon the Creator of the world gave him his choice to live as long as the dung of seven gazelles, which lay in an inaccessible hole in a mountain, should last, or for a period equal to the lives of seven successive vultures. Lolanan chose the last, and lived for an almost incalculable length of time. The fables bearing the name of Lolanan were for the first time made known to Europe through the press in 1615. They were first published in Arabic, with a Latin translation, were afterward appended to an Arabic grammar, published by Erpenius at Leyden, and have since gone through many editions. The most complete manuscript of the fables of Lolanan is in the library of the Vati can, in Persian.