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.

Thor's possessions

Thor travelled in a chariot drawn by goats (Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, Modern Icelandic Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstur) and with his servant and messenger Thjálfi or Thjelvar. Both goats and chariot were magic: the Eddas note that the earth was scorched and the mountains cracked as the goats ran across them, and furthermore, when Thor was hungry, he would roast the goats for a meal. When he wanted to continue his travels, Thor only needed to touch the remains of the goats and they would be instantly restored to full health to resume their duties, assuming that the bones had not been broken.

Related Topics:
Goat - Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr - Thjálfi

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Thor owned a short-handled war hammer, Mjollnir, which, when thrown at a target, returned magically to the owner. To wield this formidable weapon, even a deity like Thor needed special iron gloves and a belt that doubled the wearer's strength.

Related Topics:
War hammer - Mjollnir

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The strike of the hammer caused thunderclaps, and indeed, the name of this deity has produced the word for thunder in most Germanic languages. With the hammer, Thor performed his giant killing duties.

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