Thor

An atypically blond (and non-bearded) Thor in a battle against the giants, by Mårten Eskil Winge, 1872

Thor (Old Norse: Þórr) is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder in Norse Mythology and Germanic mythology (Old English: Þunor, Old Dutch and Old High German: Donar, from Proto-Germanic *Þunraz). Historical evidence suggests that Thor was once understood as the "high god" of the Nordic pantheon, only to be displaced (in rather late pagan mythography) by the All-Father, Odin. Further, the Thunder God was seen to be representative of the Viking lifestyle, perhaps due to his associations with physical prowess and straightforward (though at times vicious) conduct.

In the vast majority of extant mythological sources, Thor is described as the son of Odin and Jord (a giantess). His popularity is evidenced by the frequency of tales centering around his heroic exploits, both in the mythic present (where he indulges in raids and contests of wills with the giants (Jotun)) and in the mythic future (as seen the in accounts of Ragnarök, where Thor and Jörmungandr (the Midgard serpent) will kill each other).

Thor in a Norse Context

As mentioned above, Thor is a Norse deity, a designation that signifies his membership in a complex of religious, mythological and cosmological beliefs shared by the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. This mythological tradition, of which the Scandinavian (and particularly Icelandic) sub-groups are best preserved, developed in the period from the first manifestations of religious and material culture in approximately 1000 B.C.E. until the Christianization of the area, a process that occurred primarily from 900-1200 C.E. The tales recorded within this mythological corpus tend to exemplify a unified cultural focus on physical prowess and military might.

Within this framework, Norse cosmology postulates three separate "clans" of deities: the Aesir, the Vanir, and the Jotun. The distinction between Aesir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war, which the Aesir had finally won. In fact, the most major divergence between the two groups is in their respective areas of influence, with the Aesir representing war and conquest, and the Vanir representing exploration, fertility and wealth. The Jotun, on the other hand, are seen as a generally malefic (though wise) race of giants who represented the primary adversaries of the Aesir and Vanir.

Thor is one of the most prominent of the Aesir, functioning as the primary god of warriors and battle. Given the importance of such militancy in Nordic society, the prominence of Thor (in the surviving mythic corpus) is hardly surprising.

Characteristics

Thor features strongly in the Prose Edda of Snorre Sturlason, in which Thor's many conflicts with the race of giants (the Jotun) are a main source of plots. In these tales, Thor (despite his occasional romantic peccadilloes and angry outbursts) is generally seen using his superior power to protect Asgard and Midgard from the forces of chaos and disaster. For this reason, he is often seen as a morally exemplary figure (possessing "unambiguously admirable qualities"): a strong contrast to the more morally ambiguous Odin.

He is associated with the sky, and is sometimes described as a god of thunder.

Family

Thor is the son of Odin (Wotan or Woden) and the giantess Jörd (Jord, the Earth). His wife is called Sif, and little is known of her except that she has golden hair, which was made for her by the dwarfs after Loki had cut off her hair. With his mistress, the giantess Járnsaxa, Thor had his sons Magni and Modi, and with Sif he had his daughter Þrúðr (anglicized as Thrud). The euhemeristic prologue of the Prose Edda also indicates he has a son by Sif named Lóriði, along with an additional 17 generations of descendants but the prologue is apocryphal and was meant to give a plausible explanation on how the Aesir came to be worshipped even though they were not gods in order to appease the church. Thor also has a stepson called Ull who is a son of Sif. Skáldskaparmál mentions a figure named Hlóra who was Thor's foster mother, corresponding to Lora or Glora from Snorre's prologue, although no additional information concerning her is provided in the poem.

Possessions

Thor travels in a chariot drawn by the goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr and with his servant and messenger Þjálfi and his sister Röskva. The skaldic poem Haustlöng relates that the earth was scorched and the mountains cracked as Thor travelled in his wagon. According to the Prose Edda, when Thor is hungry he can roast the goats for a meal. When he wants to continue his travels, Thor only needs to touch the remains of the goats and they will be instantly restored to full health to resume their duties, assuming that the bones have not been broken.

Thor owns a short-handled war hammer, Mjolnir, which, when thrown at a target, returns magically to the owner. His Mjolnir also had the power to throw lighting bolts. To wield Mjölnir, Thor wears the belt Megingjord, which boosts the wearer's strength and a pair of special iron gloves to lift the hammer.

The strike of the hammer caused thunderclaps, and Thor was named after the Common Germanic word for thunder. With the hammer, Thor performs his giant-killing duties.

Thor lives in the palace Bilskirnir in the kingdom Þrúðheimr or Þrúðvangr.

Surviving representations

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.

According to one myth in the Prose Edda, 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, Gjálp and Greip).

File:Manuscript thorr.jpg

Thor carries his hammer and wears his belt of strength (MS SÁM 66, 18th century).

According to Alvíssmál, Thor's daughter was promised to Alvis, a dwarf. 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.

Thor was once outwitted by a giant king, Útgarða-Loki. The king, using his magic, tricked Thor. The king raced Thought itself against Thor's fast servant, Þjálfi (nothing being faster than thought, which can leap from land to land, and from time to time, in an instant). Then, Thor was challenged by Útgarða-Loki to an eating contest with one of his servants. Thor lost, eventually. The servant even ate up the trough containing the food. The servant was an illusion of "Fire", no living thing being able to equal the consumption rate of Fire. 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, and could not empty a horn which was filled not with mead but was connected to the ocean. This action started tidal changes. And here, Thor wrestled an old woman, who was Old Age, something no one could beat, to one knee. It was only later that Thor was told that he had in fact performed impressively doing as well as he did with those challenges.

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. Many writers (Saxo, Adam of Bremen, Snorre Sturluson, Ælfric of Eynsham) identified Thor with Jupiter. The comparison can be borne: both are gods of the sky that control thunder and lightning, are children of the mother Earth and were at some time considered the most powerful of the gods. The oak tree was sacred to both gods and they had mysterious powers. Thor is to kill the Midgard Serpent and Jupiter, the dragon Typhon. Tacitus identified Thor with the Greco-Roman hero-god Hercules because of his force, aspect, weapon and his role as protector of the world.

Norse literature

The two biggest works are the Elder Edda (or Poetic Edda) and the Younger Edda (also Snorre's Edda, Prose Edda). Thor is a very common figure, probably more common than Odin.

Thor appears as the central figure in the following works of Norse literature:

• Þórsdrápa (summarised by Snorre Sturlason in Skáldskaparmál)
• Hárbarðsljóð which details a contest between Thor and Odin in the guise of Harbarth as to who is the most accomplished.

Thor also appears in:

• Gylfaginning
• Grímnismál
• Hymiskviða
• Þrymskviða
• Alvíssmál
• Lokasenna
• Völuspá
• Njáls saga
• Gautreks saga
• Eiríksmál
• Ragnarsdrápa
• Eyrbyggja saga
• Húsdrápa
• Kjalnesinga saga
• Haustlöng
• Fóstbrœðra saga
• Fljótsdæla saga
• Hallfreðar saga
• Heimskringla
• Landnámabók
• Flateyjarbók
• Gesta Danorum
• Nordendorf fibula
• Saxon baptismal vow
• Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum

Archaeological finds

File:ThorStatue.jpg

A 10th century bronze statue of Thor, found in Iceland.

A seated bronze statue of Thor (about 2.5 in, 6.4 cm) from about AD 1000 was recovered at a farm near Akureyri, Iceland and is a featured display at the National Museum of Iceland. Thor is holding Mjolnir, sculptured in the typically Icelandic cross-like shape.

The Cult of Thor

As mentioned above, Thor was the most popular of the Norse deities, with a large and active worship tradition spread throughout the entirety of the Scandinavian world. Indeed, when the Norse countries were slowly being converted to Christianity (from approximately 900 - 1200 C.E.), one of the most frequent ideological contests took place between the physical and martial power of Thor and the overtly pacifistic (though salvific) power of Christ. The continued Norse veneration for their potent storm god during this transitional period is attested to in both mythic and archaeological evidence. In the first case, some surviving poetic tributes to the god are best described as hymns - texts that address the deity using second-person pronouns and expressing thanks for "defending our world against the forces of chaos."

The cult itself (in its Swedish incarnation) is described in the writings of Adam of Bremen (an eleventh-century Christian historian):

At this point I shall say a few words about the religious beliefs of the Swedes. That nation has a magnificent temple, which is called Upsala, located not far from the city of Sigtuna. In this temple, built entirely of gold, the people worship the statues of three gods. These images are arranged so that Thor, the most powerful, has his throne in the middle of the group of three. On either side of him sit Othin (Odin) and Freyr. Their provinces are as follows: “Thor,” they say, “rules the heavens; he is the god of thunder, wind and rain, fair weather and the produce of the fields. The second god, Othin, is the god of war, and he provides man with courage in the face of his enemies. The third god is Freyr, who bestows peace and pleasure upon mortals.” Indeed they depict him as having a large phallus. Othin they represent armed just as our people usually portray Mars, and Thor with his scepter seems to be the counterpart of Jupiter....

To all their gods they have assigned priests to offer up the sacrifices of the people. If pestilence and famine threaten, a libation is made to the image of Thor, if war is immanent, one is made to Othin; if a marriage is performed, to Freyr. A general festival for all the provinces of Sweden is customarily held at Upsala every nine years. Participation in this festival is required of everyone. Kings and their subjects, collectively and individually, send their gifts to Upsala; - and – a thing more cruel than any punishment – those who have already adopted Christianity buy themselves off from these ceremonies. The sacrifice is as follows; of every kind of male creature, nine victims are offered. By the blood of these creatures it is the custom to appease the gods. Their bodies, moreover, are hanged in a grove which is adjacent to the temple. This grove is so sacred to the people that the separate trees in it are believed to be holy because of the death or putrefaction of the sacrificial victims. There even dogs and horses hang beside human beings. (A certain Christian told me that he had seen seventy-two of their bodies hanging up together.)

Over and above the considerable evidence for a "cult of Thor" found in the mythic and historiographic corpus, a cursory examination of archaeological finds from the region yields enormous evidence of the importance of the Thunder God, from runic inscriptions, to artistic depictions, to charms and amulets. Further, the occurrence of images of Thor (or his metonymic hammer) upon gravestones and burial objects suggest that the god was also seen by these peoples as the "protector and hallower of the dead."

Toponyms (and Other Linguistic Traces) of Thor

Places

Numerous location names display a historical reverence for Thor, either indigenous (Scandinavia) or imported by Germanic tribes (Scotland). Canada

• "Thor's Beach", a sandy beach in the Slocan Valley, in the Kooteneys of British Columbia, Canada. (Note: this name is, of course, from modern times.)

England

• Perhaps "Thoresway," a village in North Lincolnshire, England
• "Thundersley" in Essex, England
  • However, the common English place name "Thorley" came from "Thorn-ley".

Faroe Islands

• "Tórshavn" (the capital of the Faroe Islands) means "Thor's harbour".

Germany

• "Thorsberg moor," near Süderbrarup in Anglia, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, which, from the 1st century B.C.E. to the 4th century CE, served as the location of votive deposits by the Angles and is hence the location of important Roman Iron Age finds.

Iceland

• "Þórshöfn," "Þórsnes," and "Þórsmörk"

Norway

• "Torshov" (Norse: Þórshof, "Thor's temple"), borough in Oslo (originally an old farm) - the same name also occurs in the parishes Enebakk, Gjerdrum, Jevnaker, Lørenskog, Løten, Sigdal, Torsnes, Trøgstad and Vang.
• "Torsnes" (Norse: Þórsnes, "Thor's headland"), parish in the county of Østfold - the same name also occurs in the parishes Balestrand, Jondal and Vikedal.
• "Totland" (Norse: Þórsland, "Thor's land"), name of farms in the parishes Birkeland, Hosanger, Masfjorden, Moster, Rugsund, Samnanger, Seim and Øvre Sirdal.
• "Torset" (Norse: Þórssetr, "Thor's farm") farm in the parish of Fjaler.
• "Torstvet" (Norse: Þórsþveit, also meaning "Thor's farm") farm in the parish of Hedrum.
• "Torsøy" (Norse: Þórsøy, "Thor's island") district in the parish of Tjølling.

Scotland

• "Thurso," town in Caithness
• "Torness," headland and site of Nuclear Power Station in East Lothian

Sweden

• "Torsåker," "Torslunda," "Torsvi," "Torshof," and "Torsharg"

Persons

• The name of the god Thor is the first element in several Norwegian male names: Toralv, Torbjørn, Torfinn, Torgeir, Torgils, Torgny, Torgrim, Torkjell, Torlak, Torleif, Tormod, Torodd, Torolv, Torstein and Torvald. And also some female names: Torbjørg, Tordis, Torfrid (Turid), Torgerd, Torgunn, Torhild (Toril), Torlaug, Torunn and Torveig.
• It is a compound found in the Scottish Christian name Torquil, and the English surname, Thurkettle.

Other

• "Thursday" in English is derived from "Thor's Day" - Þórsdagr in Old Norse, Donnerstag in German (meaning "Thunder's Day"), Donderdag in Dutch (meaning Thunder day), Torstai in Finnish, and Torsdag in Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian.
• The galaxy NGC2359 is known as Thor's Helmet.
• "Thor's Oak" was an ancient tree near Fritzlar in northern Hesse (Germany) and one of the most sacred of sites of the old Germans. In 723, Saint Boniface cut down the tree to demonstrate the superiority of the Christian god over Thor and the other Germanic/Nordic deities, an event that commonly marks the beginning of the Christianization of the non-Frankish Germans.
• Thorium (element #90 on the periodic table) was named after the god Thor by Jöns Jakob Berzelius, the chemist who discovered it.

Homologues in Other Religions

Many polytheistic religions feature deities that share one or more features with the Nordic Thor. First, many scholars note the parallels (both in terms of form and function) between Thor and other "Sky Gods" (Zeus, Jupiter, Indra and the Finnish Ukko): specifically, all are related to the skies and lightning, and are described in combat with forces of darkness or chaos. Dumézil clearly delineates some of the additional commonalities shared between Thor and Indra, including "the hammer Mjollnir ... [which is] like the vajra of Indra and the vazra, which the Iranian Mithra has stripped from Indra grown archdemon"; "it is the celestial weapon, the thunderbolt accompanying the 'thunder' which has furnished its name to the god." He also notes: "there are other physical traits that make him resemble Indra: red beard and a fabulous apetite." Such parallels fuel supposition that the god could have been based upon an earlier, proto-Indo-European prototype.

In addition, Thor's tendency to do battle with various giants and monsters (and his frequent depictions within the mythic corpus) caused many early Roman commentators to liken him to the Greek hero, Heracles.

Modern popular culture

Donner calls upon the storm clouds in this illustration by Arthur Rackham to Wagner's Das Rheingold.

Thor, in his Germanic incarnation (Donner), appears as a central character in Richard Wagner's opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. This tremendously influential work has led to many post-Wagnerian portrayals of the deity (though some modern uses reflect more of the classic Norse understanding as well).

Since Wagner's time, Thor has appeared, either as himself or as the namesake of characters, on television, in song lyrics, in comic books (especially Marvel's The Mighty Thor (1966-present)), and in literature (particularly, Douglas Adams' The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul).

Bibliography

• DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8122-1714-4.
• Dumézil, Georges. Gods of the Ancient Northmen. Edited by Einar Haugen; Introduction by C. Scott Littleton and Udo Strutynski. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. ISBN 0-520-02044-8.
• Lindow, John. Handbook of Norse mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. ISBN 1-57607-217-7.
• Munch, P. A. Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes. In the revision of Magnus Olsen; translated from the Norwegian by Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt. New York: The American-Scandinavian foundation; London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1926.
• Orchard, Andy. Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. London: Cassell; New York: Distributed in the United States by Sterling Pub. Co., 2002. ISBN 0-304-36385-5.
• Salo, Unto. "Ukko, the Finnish God of Thunder: Separating Pagan Roots from Christian Accretions" (Part One). Mankind Quarterly Winter 2005: Volume 46, Issue 2. 165-245.
• Sturlson, Snorri. The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson: Tales from Norse Mythology. Introduced by Sigurdur Nordal; Selected and translated by Jean I. Young. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1954. ISBN 0-520-01231-3.
• Snorri Sturluson. The Prose Edda. Translated from the Icelandic and with an introduction by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur. New York: American-Scandinavian foundation, 1916.
• Turville-Petre, Gabriel. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964.

External links

• Viktor Rydberg's "Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland" e-book
• W. Wagner's "Asgard and the Home of the Gods" e-book
• H. A. Guerber's "Myths of Northern Lands" e-book
• Peter Andreas Munch's "Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes" e-book

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