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Loki Facts & Worksheets

In Norse mythology, Loki was a cunning trickster who had the ability to change his shape and sex. Although his father was the giant Fárbauti, he was included among the Aesir.

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In Norse mythology, Loki was a cunning trickster who had the ability to change his shape and sex. Although his father was the giant Fárbauti, he was included among the Aesir.

See the fact file below for more information on the Loki or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Loki worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ORIGINS

  • According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr.
  • The noun “loki” means “knot” or “tangle”, which could symbolize Loki’s ability to snag others’ plans.
  • He is also a shapeshifter appearing in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk (Old Norse ‘thanks’).
  • Unlike other Norse gods, Loki didn’t have a traditional role. Instead, he served as more of a sidekick, using his mischievous nature to both deter and assist other gods.
  • He also appeared as the enemy of the gods, entering their banquet uninvited and demanding their drink.
  • Loki is the father, by the giantess Angrboda, meaning “Anguish-Boding”, of Hel, the goddess of the underworld; Jormungand, the great serpent who slays Thor during Ragnarok; and Fenrir, the wolf who bites off one of the hands of Tyr and kills Odin during Ragnarok.
  • With his proper wife Sigyn, meaning “Friend of Victory”, he also has a son named Narfi, whose name could mean “Corpse”.
  • Loki is also the mother of Sleipnir, Odin’s shamanic horse, to whom he gave birth after shapeshifting into a mare.

THE TRICKSTER

  • Loki is known as the “prince of lies” and the “arch deceiver”.
  • The main symbol associated with Loki is a serpent, as it represents his mischievous and cunning deeds.
  • As the companion of Thor and Odin, Loki is almost always presented alongside them.
  • Although never to be fully trusted, at the beginning, Loki was very helpful when he assisted Odin in the creation of the world under his instructions.
  • In the poem Þrymskviða, Loki managed to steal Thor’s Mjolnir. He then stirred the thunder god to kill the Jotnar who took the hammer.

LOKI’S RESENTMENT

  • When Loki’s children were little and still harmless, the gods cast the serpent into the sea, brutally bound the wolf, and banished the girl into the dark world.
  • Though they did this as a prevention of Ragnarok, this must have provoked a sense of hatred within Loki.
  • In effect, Jormungandr would not have grown so great if Odin had not cast him into the ocean.
  • Fenrir would not have become so savage if the gods had not tricked him and broken their oath.
  • Hel would not have built her own army if she had not been sent to Helheim.

LOKI’S PUNISHMENT

  • One of the most popular stories about Loki is his evil plot to kill the beloved Norse god Baldr using his own brother Hod.
  • Loki immediately began to laugh, giving away his guilt, so he started to run.
  • As punishment, the gods removed the intestines of one of Loki’s sons and used it to tie up the god on a rock in a chamber.
  • There was a cobra that would drip burning venom on Loki’s face for the rest of all eternity.
  • Loki’s wife, Sigu, demanded that she be allowed to stay with her husband. The gods relentingly agreed.
  • Sigu would stand with a bowl to catch the venom but sometimes had to leave to dump it out.
  • During this time, Loki would contort in pain as the venom dripped on his face. This is the Norse explanation for earthquakes.

LOKI AND RAGNAROK

  • Ragnarok is the cataclysmic destruction of the cosmos and everything in it, even the gods.
  • As fated, Loki breaks free from his chains at Ragnarok to assist the giants in destroying the cosmos.
  • He leads the war against the Norse gods. His crew is an army of giants, the forces of chaos and destruction.
  • The Norse supreme god Odin is killed by Loki’s son Fenrir, while Thor is killed by Jormungandr.
  • Heimdall and Loki also fight to the death, putting a final end to the trickster’s treachery, but costing the gods one of their best in the process.

APPEARANCE

  • Loki is jester-like in appearance, with many artistic representations showing him dancing and sneering.
  • His nose is often depicted as large.
  • There are several variations of Loki, as he was a shapeshifter and could alter his appearance as desired.

MODERN POPULAR CULTURE

  • Loki is a prominent character fit for writers and artists and has been depicted in modern popular culture.
  • Loki appears in Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a villain, where he consistently comes into conflict with Thor, his adopted brother and archenemy.
  • He also appears in Warriors Orochi 4, where he hides in Perseus’s identity and rebels against Zeus’s machinations by entering Orochi’s dimensional realm.
  • He appears in the 1975 fantasy novel Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones. He is also a central character in Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods and an important character in a few arcs of Gaiman’s comic The Sandman.

Loki Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Loki across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Loki worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Loki who was, in Norse mythology, a cunning trickster who had the ability to change his shape and sex. Although his father was the giant Fárbauti, he was included among the Aesir.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Norse Runes
  • The Norse Loki
  • Marvel’s Loki
  • The Kidnapping of Idun
  • Lokasenna
  • A Lyric of Humor
  • The Fine Line
  • The Prankster’s Offspring
  • Pranksters
  • Local Myth

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Link will appear as Loki Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, February 5, 2020

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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