Thor

Thor, Þórr (ON), Þunor (OE), Donar or Donner (German) is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder in Norse Mythology and more generally Germanic mythology. He is the son of Odin and Jord. While Odin is the god of the powerful and aristocratic, Thor is much more the god of the common man. During Ragnarök, Thor will kill and be killed by Jörmungandr. He lived in the hall of Bilskirnir in Thrudheim.

Stories and myths

Most of the surviving myths centre on Thor's exploits, and from this and inscriptions on monuments we know that Thor was very much the favorite deity of ancient Scandinavians.

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Loki was flying as a hawk one day and was captured by Geirrod. Geirrod, who hated Thor, demanded that Loki bring his enemy (who did not yet have his magic belt and hammer) to Geirrod's castle. Loki agreed to lead Thor to the trap. Grid was a giantess at whose home they stopped on the way to Geirrod's. She waited until Loki left the room then told Thor what was happening and gave him her iron gloves and magical belt and staff. Thor killed Geirrod, and all other frost giants he could find (including Geirrod's daughters, Gjalp and Greip).

Related Topics:
Loki - Hawk - Geirrod - Grid - Iron

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Thor's daughter, Thrud, was promised to Alvis, a dwarf, in exchange for which Alvis made weapons for the gods. Thor devised a plan to stop Alvis from marrying his daughter. He told Alvis that, because of his small height, he had to prove his wisdom. Alvis agreed and Thor made the tests last until after the sun had risen--all dwarves turned to stone when exposed to sunlight, so Alvis was petrified and Thrud remained unmarried.

Related Topics:
Thrud - Alvis

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Thor was once outwitted by a giant king, Útgarða-Loki. The king, using his magic, tricked Thor. The king used his spells to make one of his giants faster than Thor's fast servant, Þjálfi. He called Thor weak when he only lifted the paw of a cat, the cat being the illusion of the Midgard Serpent. Thor was challenged to a drinking contest, where instead of mead, Thor drank sea water, and could not empty a horn. And here, Thor wrestled an old woman, who was Old Age, something no one could beat. It was only later that Thor was told that he had in fact performed impressively doing as well as he did with those challenges.

Related Topics:
Útgarða-Loki - Þjálfi - Midgard Serpent - Horn

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Þunor gave his name to the Old English day Þunresdæg, meaning the day of Þunor, known in Modern English as Thursday. Þunor is also the source of the modern word thunder.

Related Topics:
Old English - Modern English - Thursday - Thunder

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