Thor (from Norse, Old: Þórr) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and fertility. Besides Old Norse Norse, Old: Þórr, the deity occurs in Old English as English, Old (ca.450-1100);: Þunor ("Thunor"), in Old Frisian as Thuner, in Old Saxon as Thunar, and in Old High German as German, Old High (ca.750-1050);: Donar, all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym Germanic languages: Þun(a)raz, meaning 'Thunder'.
Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of Latin: [[Germania]]|italic=no, to the Germanic expansions of the Migration Period, to his high popularity during the Viking Age, when, in the face of the process of the Christianization of Scandinavia, emblems of his hammer, Icelandic: [[Mjölnir]]|italic=no, were worn and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity.
Narratives featuring Thor are most prominently attested in Old Norse, where Thor appears throughout Norse mythology. In stories recorded in medieval Iceland, Thor bears at least fifteen names, is the husband of the golden-haired goddess Norse, Old: [[Sif]]|italic=no and the lover of the Norse, Old: [[jötunn]] [[Járnsaxa]]|italic=no. With Norse, Old: Sif|italic=no, Thor fathered the goddess (and possible valkyrie) Norse, Old: [[Þrúðr]]|italic=no; with Norse, Old: Járnsaxa|italic=no, he fathered Norse, Old: [[Móði and Magni|Magni]]|italic=no; with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered Norse, Old: [[Móði and Magni|Móði]]|italic=no, and he is the stepfather of the god Norse, Old: [[Ullr]]|italic=no. Thor is the son of Odin and Jörð, by way of his father Odin, he has numerous brothers, including Norse, Old: [[Baldr]]|italic=no. Thor has two servants, Norse, Old: Þjálfi|nocat=y|italic=no and Norse, Old: Röskva|nocat=y|italic=no, rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, Norse, Old: Tanngrisnir|nocat=y|italic=no and Norse, Old: Tanngnjóstr|nocat=y|italic=no (whom he eats and resurrects), and is ascribed three dwellings (Norse, Old: [[Bilskirnir]]|italic=no, Norse, Old: [[Þrúðheimr]]|italic=no, and Norse, Old: [[Þrúðvangr]]|italic=no). Thor wields the hammer Icelandic: [[Mjölnir]]|italic=no, wears the belt Norse, Old: [[Megingjörð]]|italic=no and the iron gloves Norse, Old: [[Járngreipr]]|italic=no, and owns the staff Norse, Old: [[Gríðr#Prose Edda|Gríðarvölr]]|italic=no. Thor's exploits, including his relentless slaughter of his foes and fierce battles with the monstrous serpent Norse, Old: [[Jörmungandr]]|italic=no—and their foretold mutual deaths during the events of Norse, Old: [[Ragnarök]]|italic=no—are recorded throughout sources for Norse mythology.
Into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in folklore throughout Germanic-speaking Europe. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday bears his name (modern English Thursday derives from Old English English, Old (ca.450-1100);: þunresdæġ, 'Þunor's day'), and names stemming from the pagan period containing his own continue to be used today, particularly in Scandinavia. Thor has inspired numerous works of art and references to Thor appear in modern popular culture. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Thor is revived in the modern period in Heathenry.
The name Thor is derived from Norse mythology. Its medieval Germanic equivalents or cognates are German, Old High (ca.750-1050);: Donar (Old High German), English, Old (ca.450-1100);: Þunor (Old English), Thuner (Old Frisian), Thunar (Old Saxon), and Norse, Old: Þórr (Old Norse), the latter of which inspired the form Thor. Though Old Norse Norse, Old: Þórr has only one syllable, it too comes from an earlier, Proto-Norse two-syllable form which can be reconstructed as *Norse, Old: Þunarr and/or *Norse, Old: Þunurr (evidenced by the poems Hymiskviða and Þórsdrápa, and modern Elfdalian tųosdag 'Thursday'), through the common Old Norse development of the sequence -unr- to -ór-.[1]
All these forms of Thor's name descend from Proto-Germanic, but there is debate as to precisely what form the name took at that early stage. The form Germanic languages: Þunraz has been suggested and has the attraction of clearly containing the sequence -unr-, needed to explain the later form Þórr. The form Germanic languages: Þunuraz is suggested by Elfdalian tųosdag ('Thursday') and by a runic inscription from around 700 from Hallbjäns in Sundre, Gotland, which includes the sequence "þunurþurus". Finally, Germanic languages: Þunaraz[2] is attractive because it is identical to the name of the ancient Celtic god Taranus (by metathesis–switch of sounds–of an earlier Celtic languages: *Tonaros, attested in the dative tanaro and the Gaulish river name Tanarus), and further related to the Latin epithet Tonans (attached to Jupiter), via the common Proto-Indo-European root for 'thunder' Indo-European languages: *(s)tenh₂-.[3] According to scholar Peter Jackson, those theonyms may have emerged as the result of the fossilization of an original epithet (or epiclesis, i.e. invocational name) of the Proto-Indo-European thunder-god Indo-European languages: [[Perkwunos|Perk<sup>w</sup>unos]], since the Vedic weather-god Parjanya is also called ('Thunderer').[4] The potentially perfect match between the thunder-gods *Tonaros and *Þunaraz, which both go back to a common form *ton(a)ros ~ *tṇros, is notable in the context of early Celtic–Germanic linguistic contacts, especially when added to other inherited terms with thunder attributes, such as *Meldunjaz–*meldo- (from *meldh- 'lightning, hammer', i.e. Indo-European languages: *Perk<sup>w</sup>unos' weapon) and *Fergunja–*Fercunyā (from Indo-European languages: *perk<sup>w</sup>un-iyā 'wooded mountains', i.e. *Perkwunos' realm).
The English weekday name Thursday comes from Old English Þunresdæg, meaning 'day of Þunor', with influence from Old Norse Þórsdagr. The name is cognate with Old High German Donarestag. All of these terms derive from a Late Proto-Germanic weekday name along the lines of *Þunaresdagaz ('Day of Germanic languages: Þun(a)raz'), a calque of Latin Latin: Iovis dies ('Day of Jove'; cf. modern Italian Italian: giovedì, French French: jeudi, Spanish Spanish; Castilian: jueves). By employing a practice known as Latin: [[interpretatio germanica]] during the Roman period, ancient Germanic peoples adopted the Latin weekly calendar and replaced the names of Roman gods with their own.[5]
Beginning in the Viking Age, personal names containing the theonym Norse, Old: Þórr are recorded with great frequency, whereas no examples are known prior to this period. Norse, Old: Þórr-based names may have flourished during the Viking Age as a defiant response to attempts at Christianization, similar to the widespread Viking Age practice of wearing Thor's hammer pendants.
The earliest records of the Germanic peoples were recorded by the Romans, and in these works Thor is frequently referred to – via a process known as Latin: [[interpretatio romana]] (where characteristics perceived to be similar by Romans result in identification of a non-Roman god as a Roman deity) – as either the Roman god Jupiter (also known as Jove) or the Greco-Roman god Hercules.
The first clear example of this occurs in the Roman historian Tacitus's late first-century work Latin: [[Germania (book)|Germania]]|italic=yes, where, writing about the religion of the Latin: [[Suebi]]|italic=no (a confederation of Germanic peoples), he comments that "among the gods Mercury is the one they principally worship. They regard it as a religious duty to offer to him, on fixed days, human as well as other sacrificial victims. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind" and adds that a portion of the Latin: Suebi|italic=no also venerate "Isis".[6] In this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as "Mercury", Thor as "Hercules", and the god Norse, Old: [[Týr]]|italic=no as "Mars", and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. In Thor's case, the identification with the god Hercules is likely at least in part due to similarities between Thor's hammer and Hercules' club.[7] In his Annals, Tacitus again refers to the veneration of "Hercules" by the Germanic peoples; he records a wood beyond the river Weser (in what is now northwestern Germany) as dedicated to him.[8] A deity known as Hercules Magusanus was venerated in Germania Inferior; due to the Roman identification of Thor with Hercules, Rudolf Simek has suggested that Magusanus was originally an epithet attached to the Proto-Germanic deity *Þunraz.
The first recorded instance of the name of the god appears upon the Nordendorf fibulae, a piece of jewelry created during the Migration Period and found in Bavaria. The item bears an Elder Futhark inscribed with the name German, Old High (ca.750-1050);: Þonar (i.e. German, Old High (ca.750-1050);: Donar), the southern Germanic form of Thor's name.[9]
Around the second half of the 8th century, Old English texts mention English, Old (ca.450-1100);: Thunor (English, Old (ca.450-1100);: Þunor), which likely refers to a Saxon version of the god. In relation, English, Old (ca.450-1100);: Thunor is sometimes used in Old English texts to gloss Jupiter, the god may be referenced in the poem Solomon and Saturn, where the thunder strikes the devil with a "fiery axe", and the Old English expression English, Old (ca.450-1100);: þunorrād ("thunder ride") may refer to the god's thunderous, goat-led chariot.[10] [11]
A 9th-century AD codex from Mainz, Germany, known as the Old Saxon Baptismal Vow, records the name of three Old Saxon gods, UUôden (Old Saxon "Wodan"), [[Seaxnēat|Saxnôte]], and Thunaer, by way of their renunciation as demons in a formula to be repeated by Germanic pagans formally converting to Christianity.[12]
According to a near-contemporary account, the Christian missionary Saint Boniface felled an oak tree dedicated to "Jove" in the 8th century, the Donar's Oak in the region of Hesse, Germany.[13]
The Kentish royal legend, probably 11th-century, contains the story of a villainous reeve of Ecgberht of Kent called Thunor, who is swallowed up by the earth at a place from then on known as English, Old (ca.450-1100);: þunores hlæwe (Old English 'Thunor's mound'). Gabriel Turville-Petre saw this as an invented origin for the placename demonstrating loss of memory that Thunor had been a god's name.[14]
In the 11th century, chronicler Adam of Bremen records in his Latin: [[Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum]]|italic=yes that a statue of Thor, who Adam describes as "mightiest", sits in the Temple at Uppsala in the center of a triple throne (flanked by Woden and "Fricco") located in Swedish: [[Gamla Uppsala]]|italic=no, Sweden. Adam details that "Thor, they reckon, rules the sky; he governs thunder and lightning, winds and storms, fine weather and fertility" and that "Thor, with his mace, looks like Jupiter". Adam details that the people of Swedish: Uppsala|italic=no had appointed priests to each of the gods, and that the priests were to offer up sacrifices. In Thor's case, he continues, these sacrifices were done when plague or famine threatened.[15] Earlier in the same work, Adam relays that in 1030 an English preacher, Wulfred, was lynched by assembled Germanic pagans for "profaning" a representation of Thor.[16]
Two objects with runic inscriptions invoking Thor date from the 11th century, one from England and one from Sweden. The first, the Canterbury Charm from Canterbury, England, calls upon Thor to heal a wound by banishing a Norse, Old: [[jötunn|thurs]].[17] The second, the Kvinneby amulet, invokes protection by both Thor and his hammer.[18]
On four (or possibly five) runestones, an invocation to Thor appears that reads "May Thor hallow (these runes/this monument)!" The invocation appears thrice in Denmark (DR 110, DR 209, and DR 220), and a single time in Swedish: [[Västergötland]]|italic=no (VG 150), Sweden. A fifth appearance may possibly occur on a runestone found in Swedish: [[Södermanland]]|italic=no, Sweden (Sö 140), but the reading is contested.[19]
Pictorial representations of Thor's hammer appear on a total of five runestones found in Denmark (DR 26 and DR 120) and in the Swedish counties of Swedish: Västergötland|italic=no (VG 113) and Swedish: Södermanland|italic=no (Sö 86 and Sö 111). It is also seen on runestone DR 48. The design is believed to be a heathen response to Christian runestones, which often have a cross at the centre. One of the stones, Sö 86, shows a face or mask above the hammer. Anders Hultgård has argued that this is the face of Thor.[20] At least three stones depict Thor fishing for the serpent Norse, Old: [[Jörmungandr]]|italic=no: the Danish: Hørdum|nocat=yes|italic=no stone in Danish: [[Thy (district)|Thy]]|italic=no, Denmark, the Altuna Runestone in Swedish: Altuna|italic=no, Sweden and the Gosforth Cross in Gosforth, England. Sune Lindqvist argued in the 1930s that the image stone Ardre VIII on Swedish: [[Gotland]]|italic=no depicts two scenes from the story: Thor ripping the head of Hymir's ox and Thor and Hymir in the boat,[21] but this has been disputed.[22]
In the 12th century, more than a century after Norway was "officially" Christianized, Thor was still being invoked by the population, as evidenced by a stick bearing a runic message found among the Bryggen inscriptions in Bergen, Norway. On the stick, both Thor and Odin are called upon for help; Thor is asked to "receive" the reader, and Odin to "own" them.[23]
In the Poetic Edda, compiled during the 13th century from traditional source material reaching into the pagan period, Thor appears (or is mentioned) in the poems Norse, Old: [[Völuspá]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Grímnismál]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Skírnismál]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Hárbarðsljóð]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Hymiskviða]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Lokasenna]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Þrymskviða]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Alvíssmál]]|italic=yes, and Norse, Old: [[Hyndluljóð]]|italic=yes.[24] In the poem Norse, Old: Völuspá|italic=yes, a dead Norse, Old: [[völva]]|italic=no recounts the history of the universe and foretells the future to the disguised god Odin, including the death of Thor. Thor, she foretells, will do battle with the great serpent during the immense mythic war waged at Norse, Old: [[Ragnarök]]|italic=no, and there he will slay the monstrous snake, yet after he will only be able to take nine steps before succumbing to the venom of the beast:
In Norse, Old: [[Skírnismál]]|italic=yes, the god Norse, Old: [[Freyr]]|italic=no's messenger, Norse, Old: [[Skírnir]]|italic=no, threatens the fair Norse, Old: [[Gerðr]]|italic=no, with whom Norse, Old: Freyr|italic=no is smitten, with numerous threats and curses, including that Thor, Norse, Old: Freyr|italic=no, and Odin will be angry with her, and that she risks their "potent wrath".[29]
Thor is the main character of Norse, Old: [[Hárbarðsljóð]]|italic=yes, where, after traveling "from the east", he comes to an inlet where he encounters a ferryman who gives his name as Norse, Old: [[Hárbarðr]]|italic=no (Odin, again in disguise), and attempts to hail a ride from him. The ferryman, shouting from the inlet, is immediately rude and obnoxious to Thor and refuses to ferry him. At first, Thor holds his tongue, but Norse, Old: Hárbarðr|italic=no only becomes more aggressive, and the poem soon becomes a Norse, Old: [[flyting]]|italic=no match between Thor and Norse, Old: Hárbarðr|italic=no, all the while revealing lore about the two, including Thor's killing of several Norse, Old: jötnar|italic=no in "the east" and women on Norse, Old: Hlesey|italic=no (now the Danish island of Danish: [[Læsø]]|italic=no). In the end, Thor ends up walking instead.[30] Thor is again the main character in the poem Norse, Old: [[Hymiskviða]]|italic=yes, where, after the gods have been hunting and have eaten their prey, they have an urge to drink. They "sh[ake] the twigs" and interpret what they say. The gods decide that they would find suitable cauldrons at Norse, Old: [[Ægir]]|italic=no's home. Thor arrives at Norse, Old: Ægir|italic=no's home and finds him to be cheerful, looks into his eyes, and tells him that he must prepare feasts for the gods. Annoyed, Norse, Old: Ægir|italic=no tells Thor that the gods must first bring to him a suitable cauldron to brew ale in. The gods search but find no such cauldron anywhere. However, Norse, Old: Týr|italic=no tells Thor that he may have a solution; east of Norse, Old: [[Élivágar]]|italic=no lives Norse, Old: [[Hymir]]|italic=no, and he owns such a deep kettle.[31]
So, after Thor secures his goats at Norse, Old: [[Egil (Hymiskvida)|Egil]]|italic=no's home, Thor and Norse, Old: [[Týr]]|italic=no go to Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no's hall in search of a cauldron large enough to brew ale for them all. They arrive, and Norse, Old: Týr|italic=no sees his nine-hundred-headed grandmother and his gold-clad mother, the latter of which welcomes them with a horn. After Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no—who is not happy to see Thor—comes in from the cold outdoors, Norse, Old: Týr|italic=no's mother helps them find a properly strong cauldron. Thor eats a big meal of two oxen (all the rest eat but one), and then goes to sleep. In the morning, he awakes and informs Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no that he wants to go fishing the following evening, and that he will catch plenty of food, but that he needs bait. Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no tells him to go get some bait from his pasture, which he expects should not be a problem for Thor. Thor goes out, finds Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no's best ox, and rips its head off.[32]
After a lacuna in the manuscript of the poem, Norse, Old: Hymiskviða|italic=yes abruptly picks up again with Thor and Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no in a boat, out at sea. Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no catches a few whales at once, and Thor baits his line with the head of the ox. Thor casts his line and the monstrous serpent Norse, Old: Jörmungandr|italic=no bites. Thor pulls the serpent on board, and violently slams him in the head with his hammer. Norse, Old: Jörmungandr|italic=no shrieks, and a noisy commotion is heard from underwater before another lacuna appears in the manuscript.[33]
After the second lacuna, Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no is sitting in the boat, unhappy and totally silent, as they row back to shore. On shore, Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no suggests that Thor should help him carry a whale back to his farm. Thor picks both the boat and the whales up, and carries it all back to Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no's farm. After Thor successfully smashes a crystal goblet by throwing it at Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no's head on Norse, Old: Týr|italic=no's mother's suggestion, Thor and Norse, Old: Týr|italic=no are given the cauldron. Norse, Old: Týr|italic=no cannot lift it, but Thor manages to roll it, and so with it they leave. Some distance from Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no's home, an army of many-headed beings led by Norse, Old: Hymir|italic=no attacks the two, but are killed by the hammer of Thor. Although one of his goats is lame in the leg, the two manage to bring the cauldron back, have plenty of ale, and so, from then on, return to Norse, Old: Týr|Ægir|italic=no's for more every winter.[34] In the poem Norse, Old: [[Lokasenna]]|italic=yes, the half-god Loki angrily flites with the gods in the sea entity Norse, Old: [[Ægir]]|italic=no's hall. Thor does not attend the event, however, as he is away in the east for unspecified purposes. Towards the end of the poem, the flyting turns to Norse, Old: [[Sif]]|italic=no, Thor's wife, whom Loki then claims to have slept with. The god Norse, Old: [[Freyr]]|italic=no's servant Norse, Old: [[Beyla]]|italic=no interjects, and says that, since all of the mountains are shaking, she thinks that Thor is on his way home. Norse, Old: Beyla|italic=no adds that Thor will bring peace to the quarrel, to which Loki responds with insults.[35]
Thor arrives and tells Loki to be silent, and threatens to rip Loki's head from his body with his hammer. Loki asks Thor why he is so angry, and comments that Thor will not be so daring to fight "the wolf" (Norse, Old: [[Fenrir]]|italic=no) when it eats Odin (a reference to the foretold events of Norse, Old: [[Ragnarök]]|italic=no). Thor again tells him to be silent, and threatens to throw him into the sky, where he will never be seen again. Loki says that Thor should not brag of his time in the east, as he once crouched in fear in the thumb of a glove (a story involving deception by the magic of Norse, Old: [[Útgarða-Loki]]|italic=no, recounted in the Prose Edda book Norse, Old: Gylfaginning|italic=yes)—which, he comments, "was hardly like Thor". Thor again tells him to be silent, threatening to break every bone in Loki's body. Loki responds that he intends to live a while yet, and again insults Thor with references to his encounter with Norse, Old: Útgarða-Loki|italic=no. Thor responds with a fourth call to be silent, and threatens to send Loki to Norse, Old: [[Hel (location)|Hel]]|italic=no. At Thor's final threat, Loki gives in, commenting that only for Thor will he leave the hall, for "I know alone that you do strike", and the poem continues.[36] In the comedic poem Norse, Old: [[Þrymskviða]]|italic=yes, Thor again plays a central role. In the poem, Thor wakes and finds that his powerful hammer, Icelandic: [[Mjölnir]]|italic=no, is missing. Thor turns to Loki, and tells him that nobody knows that the hammer has been stolen. The two go to the dwelling of the goddess Norse, Old: [[Freyja]]|italic=no, and so that he may attempt to find Norse, Old: Mjölnir|italic=no, Thor asks her if he may borrow her feather cloak. Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no agrees, and says she would lend it to Thor even if it were made of silver or gold, and Loki flies off, the feather cloak whistling.[37]
In Norse, Old: [[Jötunheimr]]|italic=no, the Norse, Old: jötunn|italic=no Norse, Old: [[Þrymr]]|italic=no sits on a barrow, plaiting golden collars for his female dogs, and trimming the manes of his horses. Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no sees Loki, and asks what could be amiss among the Norse, Old: [[Æsir]]|italic=no and the elves; why is Loki alone in Norse, Old: Jötunheimr|italic=no? Loki responds that he has bad news for both the elves and the Norse, Old: Æsir|italic=no—that Thor's hammer, Norse, Old: Mjölnir|italic=no, is gone. Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no says that he has hidden Norse, Old: Mjölnir|italic=no eight leagues beneath the earth, from which it will be retrieved, but only if Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no is brought to him as his wife. Loki flies off, the feather cloak whistling, away from Norse, Old: Jötunheimr|italic=no and back to the court of the gods.[38]
Thor asks Loki if his efforts were successful, and that Loki should tell him while he is still in the air as "tales often escape a sitting man, and the man lying down often barks out lies." Loki states that it was indeed an effort, and also a success, for he has discovered that Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no has the hammer, but that it cannot be retrieved unless Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no is brought to Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no as his wife. The two return to Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no and tell her to put on a bridal head dress, as they will drive her to Norse, Old: Jötunheimr|italic=no. Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no, indignant and angry, goes into a rage, causing all of the halls of the Norse, Old: Æsir|italic=no to tremble in her anger, and her necklace, the famed Norse, Old: [[Brísingamen]]|italic=no, falls from her. Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no pointedly refuses.[39]
As a result, the gods and goddesses meet and hold a thing to discuss and debate the matter. At the thing, the god Norse, Old: [[Heimdallr]]|italic=no puts forth the suggestion that, in place of Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no, Thor should be dressed as the bride, complete with jewels, women's clothing down to his knees, a bridal head-dress, and the necklace Norse, Old: Brísingamen|italic=no. Thor rejects the idea, yet Loki interjects that this will be the only way to get back Norse, Old: Mjölnir|italic=no. Loki points out that, without Norse, Old: Mjölnir|italic=no, the Norse, Old: jötnar|italic=no will be able to invade and settle in Asgard. The gods dress Thor as a bride, and Loki states that he will go with Thor as his maid, and that the two shall drive to Norse, Old: Jötunheimr|italic=no together.[40]
After riding together in Thor's goat-driven chariot, the two, disguised, arrive in Norse, Old: Jötunheimr|italic=no. Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no commands the Norse, Old: jötnar|italic=no in his hall to spread straw on the benches, for Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no has arrived to be his wife. Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no recounts his treasured animals and objects, stating that Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no was all that he was missing in his wealth.[41]
Early in the evening, the disguised Loki and Thor meet with Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no and the assembled Norse, Old: jötnar|italic=no. Thor eats and drinks ferociously, consuming entire animals and three casks of mead. Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no finds the behavior at odds with his impression of Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no, and Loki, sitting before Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no and appearing as a "very shrewd maid", makes the excuse that "Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no's" behaviour is due to her having not consumed anything for eight entire days before arriving due to her eagerness to arrive. Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no then lifts "Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no's" veil and wants to kiss "her". Terrifying eyes stare back at him, seemingly burning with fire. Loki says that this is because "Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no" has not slept for eight nights in her eagerness.[41]
The "wretched sister" of the Norse, Old: jötnar|italic=no appears, asks for a bridal gift from "Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no", and the Norse, Old: jötnar|italic=no bring out Norse, Old: Mjölnir|italic=no to "sanctify the bride", to lay it on her lap, and marry the two by "the hand" of the goddess Norse, Old: [[Vár]]|italic=no. Thor laughs internally when he sees the hammer, takes hold of it, strikes Norse, Old: Þrymr|italic=no, beats all of the Norse, Old: jötnar|italic=no, kills their "older sister", and so gets his hammer back.[42] In the poem Norse, Old: [[Alvíssmál]]|italic=yes, Thor tricks a dwarf, Norse, Old: [[Alvíss]]|italic=no, to his doom upon finding that he seeks to wed his daughter (unnamed, possibly Norse, Old: [[Þrúðr]]|italic=no). As the poem starts, Thor meets a dwarf who talks about getting married. Thor finds the dwarf repulsive and, apparently, realizes that the bride is his daughter. Thor comments that the wedding agreement was made among the gods while Thor was gone, and that the dwarf must seek his consent. To do so, Thor says, Norse, Old: Alvíss|italic=no must tell him what he wants to know about all of the worlds that the dwarf has visited. In a long question and answer session, Norse, Old: Alvíss|italic=no does exactly that; he describes natural features as they are known in the languages of various races of beings in the world, and gives an amount of cosmological lore.[43]
However, the question and answer session turns out to be a ploy by Thor, as, although Thor comments that he has truly never seen anyone with more wisdom in their breast, Thor has managed to delay the dwarf enough for the Sun to turn him to stone; "day dawns on you now, dwarf, now sun shines on the hall".[44]
In the poem Norse, Old: [[Hyndluljóð]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: Freyja|italic=no offers to the Norse, Old: jötunn|italic=no woman Norse, Old: [[Hyndla]]|italic=no to Norse, Old: [[blót]]|italic=no (sacrifice) to Thor so that she may be protected, and comments that Thor does not care much for Norse, Old: jötunn|italic=no women.[45]
The prologue to the Prose Edda euhemerises Thor as a prince of Troy, and the son of Menon by Troana, a daughter of Norse, Old: [[Priam]]|italic=no. Thor, also known as Norse, Old: Tror, is said to have married the prophetess Sibyl (identified with Norse, Old: [[Sif]]|italic=no). Thor is further said here to have been raised in Thrace by a chieftain named Lorikus, whom he later slew to assume the title of "King of Thrace", to have had a pale complexion and hair "fairer than gold", and to have been strong enough to lift ten bearskins.[46] In later sagas he is described as red-bearded,[47] but there is no evidence for a red beard in the Eddas.[48]
The name of the Norse, Old: æsir is explained as "men from Asia", Asgard being the "Asian city" (i.e., Troy). Alternatively, Troy is in Norse, Old: Tyrkland (Turkey, i.e., Asia Minor), and Asialand is Scythia, where Thor founded a new city named Asgard. Odin is a remote descendant of Thor, removed by twelve generations, who led an expedition across Germany, Denmark and Sweden to Norway.
In the Prose Edda, Thor is mentioned in all four books; Prologue, Norse, Old: [[Gylfaginning]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Skáldskaparmál]]|italic=yes, and Norse, Old: [[Háttatal]]|italic=yes.
In Norse, Old: [[Heimskringla]]|italic=yes, composed in the 13th century by Norse, Old: [[Snorri Sturluson]]|italic=no, Thor or statues of Thor are mentioned in Norse, Old: [[Ynglinga saga]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Hákonar saga góða]]|italic=yes, Norse, Old: [[Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar|Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar]]|italic=yes, and Norse, Old: [[Separate Saga of St. Olaf|Óláfs saga helga]]|italic=yes. In Norse, Old: Ynglinga saga|italic=yes chapter 5, a heavily euhemerized account of the gods is provided, where Thor is described as having been a Norse, Old: [[gothi]]|italic=no—a pagan priest—who was given by Odin (who himself is explained away as having been an exceedingly powerful magic-wielding chieftain from the east) a dwelling in the mythical location of Norse, Old: [[Þrúðvangr]]|italic=no, in what is now Sweden. The saga narrative adds that numerous names—at the time of the narrative, popularly in use—were derived from Thor.[49]
Around the 12th century, folk traditions and iconography of the Christianizing king Olaf II of Norway (Saint Olaf; c. 995 – 1030) absorbed elements of both Thor and Freyr.[50] After Olaf's death, his cult had spread quickly all over Scandinavia, where many churches were dedicated to him, as well as to other parts of Northern Europe. His cult distinctively mixed both ecclesiastical and folk elements. From Thor, he inherited the quick temper, physical strength and merits as a giant-slayer. Early depictions portray Olaf as clean-shaven, but after 1200 he appears with a red beard. For centuries, Olaf figured in folk traditions as a slayer of trolls and giants, and as a protector against malicious forces.
Tales about Thor, or influenced by native traditions regarding Thor, continued into the modern period, particularly in Scandinavia. Writing in the 19th century, scholar Jacob Grimm records various phrases surviving into Germanic languages that refer to the god, such as the Norwegian Norwegian: Thorsvarme ("Thor's warmth") for lightning and the Swedish Swedish: godgubben åfar ("The good old (fellow) is taking a ride") as well as the word ("Thor's rumble" or "Thor's thunder") when it thunders. Grimm comments that, at times, Scandinavians often "no longer liked to utter the god's real name, or they wished to extol his fatherly goodness".[51] In Sweden, it was probably as a euphemism that people referred to thunder as "the ride of the god" – *ās-ækia (OWN: *áss-ekja) resulting in the modern Swedish word for thunder – åska.[52]
Thor remained pictured as a red-bearded figure, as evident by the Danish rhyme that yet referred to him as Danish: Thor med sit lange skæg ("Thor with his long beard") and the North-Frisian curse Northern Frisian: diis ruadhiiret donner regiir! ("let red-haired thunder see to that!").[51]
A Scandinavian folk belief that lightning frightens away trolls and Norse, Old: jötnar|italic=no appears in numerous Scandinavian folktales, and may be a late reflection of Thor's role in fighting such beings. In connection, the lack of trolls and ettins in modern Scandinavia is explained as a result of the "accuracy and efficiency of the lightning strokes".[53]
In the Netherlands, The Sagas of Veluwe has a story called Ontstaan van het Uddeler- en Bleeke meer which features Thor and his fight with the Winter Giants.[54]
Around 1000 pendants in distinctive shapes representing the hammer of Thor have been unearthed in what are today the Nordic countries, England, northern Germany, the Baltic countries, and Russia. Most have very simple designs in iron or silver. Around 100 have more advanced designs with ornaments. The pendants have been found in a variety of contexts (including at urban sites, and in hoards) and occur in a variety of shapes. Similarly, coins featuring depictions of the hammer have also been discovered.
The Eyrarland Statue, a copper alloy figure found near Icelandic: [[Akureyri]]|italic=no, Iceland dating from around the 11th century, may depict Thor seated and gripping his hammer.[55]
The swastika symbol has been identified as representing the hammer or lightning of Thor.[56] Scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson (1965) comments on the usage of the swastika as a symbol of Thor:
The protective sign of the hammer was worn by women, as we know from the fact that it has been found in women's graves. It seems to have been used by the warrior also, in the form of the swastika. ... Primarily it appears to have had connections with light and fire, and to have been linked with the sun-wheel. It may have been on account of Thor's association with lightning that this sign was used as an alternative to the hammer, for it is found on memorial stones in Scandinavia besides inscriptions to Thor. When we find it on the pommel of a warrior's sword and on his sword-belt, the assumption is that the warrior was placing himself under the Thunder God's protection.[57]
Swastikas appear on various Germanic objects stretching from the Migration Period to the Viking Age, such as the 3rd century Danish: Værløse|nocat=yes|italic=no Fibula (DR EM85;123) from Zealand, Denmark; the Gothic spearhead from Brest-Litovsk, Belarus; numerous Migration Period bracteates; cremation urns from early Anglo-Saxon England; the 8th century Danish: Sæbø|nocat=yes|italic=no sword from Norwegian: [[Sogn]]|italic=no, Norway; and the 9th century Snoldelev Stone (DR 248) from Danish: [[Ramsø]]|italic=no, Denmark.
Numerous place names in Scandinavia contain the Old Norse name Norse, Old: Þórr. The identification of these place names as pointing to religious significance is complicated by the aforementioned common usage of Norse, Old: Þórr as a personal name element. Cultic significance may only be assured in place names containing the elements Norse, Old: -vé (signifying the location of a Norse, Old: [[vé]]|italic=no, a type of pagan Germanic shrine), Norse, Old: –hóf (a structure used for religious purposes, see heathen hofs), and Norse, Old: –lundr (a holy grove). The place name Norse, Old: Þórslundr is recorded with particular frequency in Denmark (and has direct cognates in Norse settlements in Ireland, such as Irish: Coill Tomair), whereas Norse, Old: Þórshof appears particularly often in southern Norway.[58] Swedish: [[Torsö]]|italic=no (Thor's Island) appears on the Swedish west coast. Thor also appears in many place names in Uppland.
In English place names, Old English English, Old (ca.450-1100);: Thunor (in contrast with the Old Norse form of the name, later introduced to the Danelaw) left comparatively few traces. Examples include Thundersley, from *English, Old (ca.450-1100);: Thunores hlæw and Thurstable (Old English "Thunor's pillar").[58] F. M. Stenton noted that such place names were apparently restricted to Saxon and Jutish territory and not found in Anglian areas.[10] [59]
In what is now Germany, locations named after Thor are sparsely recorded, but a number of locations called German: Donnersberg (German "Donner's mountain") may derive their name from the deity German: Donner, the southern Germanic form of the god's name.[58] In as late as the 19th century in Iceland, a specific breed of fox was known as Icelandic: holtaþórr ("Thor of the holt"), likely due to the red coat of the breed.[60] In Sweden in the 19th century, smooth, wedge-shaped stones found in the earth were called Icelandic: Thorwiggar ("Thor's wedges"), according to a folk belief that they were once hurled at a troll by the god Thor. (Compare Thunderstones.) Similarly, meteorites may be considered memorials to Thor in folk tradition due to their sheer weight. On the Swedish island of Gotland, a species of beetle (Scarabæus stercorarius) was named after the god; the Icelandic: Thorbagge. When the beetle is found turned upside down and one flips it over, Thor's favor may be gained. In other regions of Sweden the name of the beetle appears to have been demonized with Christianization, where the insect came to be known as Icelandic: Thordedjefvul or Icelandic: Thordyfvel (both meaning "Thor-devil").[61]
In the northwest of Spain, there is a river called Torío in the municipality of Cármenes (León) that take name from the god Thor.[62]
Thor closely resembles other Indo-European deities associated with the thunder: the Celtic Taranis,[63] [64] the Estonian Taara (or Tharapita), the Baltic Lithuanian: [[Perkūnas]]|italic=no, the Slavic Perun,[65] and particularly the Hindu Sanskrit: [[Indra]]|italic=no, whose thunderbolt weapon the Sanskrit: [[vajra]]|italic=no is an obvious parallels noted already by Max Müller.[66] Scholars have compared Indra's slaying of Sanskrit: [[Vritra]]|italic=no with Thor's battle with Norse, Old: [[Jörmungandr]]|italic=no.[64] Although in the past it was suggested that Thor was an indigenous sky god or a Viking Age import into Scandinavia, these Indo-European parallels make him generally accepted today as ultimately derived from a Proto-Indo-European deity.[64] [67] [68] [69]
In French: [[Georges Dumézil]]|italic=no's trifunctional hypothesis of Indo-European religion, Thor represents the second function, that of strength. French: Dumézil|italic=no notes that as a result of displacements, he does not lead armies; most of the functions of Indra have been in effect taken over by Odin.[70] Many scholars have noted the association of Thor with fertility, particularly in later folklore and in the reflex of him represented by the Sami Southern Sami: [[Hora galles]]|italic=no ("Good-man Thor"). For French: Dumézil|italic=no, this is the preservation by peasants of only the side-effect of the god's atmospheric battles: the fertilizing rain.[71] Others have emphasized Thor's close connection to humanity, in all its concerns.[72] Scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson summarizes:
The cult of Thor was linked with men's habitation and possessions, and with the well-being of the family and community. This included the fruitfulness of the fields, and Thor, although pictured primarily as a storm god in the myths, was also concerned with the fertility and preservation of the seasonal round. In our own times, little stone axes from the distant past have been used as fertility symbols and placed by the farmer in the holes made by the drill to receive the first seed of spring. Thor's marriage with Norse, Old: Sif|italic=no of the golden hair, about which we hear little in the myths, seems to be a memory of the ancient symbol of divine marriage between sky god and earth goddess, when he comes to earth in the thunderstorm and the storm brings the rain which makes the fields fertile. In this way Thor, as well as Odin, may be seen to continue the cult of the sky god which was known in the Bronze Age.[73]
In modern times, Thor continues to be referred to in art and fiction. Starting with German: F. J. Klopstock|italic=no's 1776 ode to Thor, German: Wir und Sie|italic=yes, Thor has been the subject of poems in several languages, including Danish: [[Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger]]|italic=no's 1807 epic poem Danish: Thors reise til Jotunheim|italic=yes and, by the same author, three more poems (Danish: Hammeren hentes|italic=yes, Danish: Thors fiskeri|italic=yes, and Danish: Thor besøger Hymir|italic=yes) collected in his 1819 Danish: Nordens Guder|italic=yes; German: Thors Trunk|italic=yes (1859) by German: [[Wilhelm Hertz]]|italic=no; the 1820 satirical poem Swedish: Mythologierne eller Gudatvisten|italic=yes by Swedish: J. M. Stiernstolpe|italic=no; Danish: Nordens Mythologie eller Sinnbilled-Sprog|italic=yes (1832) by Danish: [[N. F. S. Grundtvig]]|italic=no; the poem Swedish: Harmen|italic=yes by Swedish: [[Thor Thorild]]|italic=no; German: Der Mythus von Thor|italic=yes (1836) by German: [[Ludwig Uhland]]|italic=no; German: Der Hammer Thors|italic=yes (1915) by German: W. Schulte v. Brühl|italic=no; German: [[Hans Friedrich Blunck]]|italic=no's German: Herr Dunnar und die Bauern|italic=yes (published in German: Märchen und Sagen|italic=yes, 1937); and German: Die Heimholung des Hammers|italic=yes (1977) by German: H. C. Artmann|italic=no.[74] In English he features for example in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Challenge of Thor" (1863) and in two works by Rudyard Kipling: Letters of Travel: 1892–1913 and "Cold Iron" in Rewards and Fairies. L. Sprague de Camp's Harold Shea met with Thor, as with other Norse gods, in the first of Shea's many fantasy adventures.
Artists have also depicted Thor in painting and sculpture, including Henry Fuseli's 1780 painting Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent; German: [[Hermann Ernst Freund|H. E. Freund]]|italic=no's 1821–1822 statue Thor; B. E. Fogelberg's 1844 marble statue Thor; Mårten Eskil Winge's 1872 painting Thor's Fight with the Giants; K. Ehrenberg's 1883 drawing German: Odin, Thor und Magni|italic=yes; several illustrations by German: E. Doepler|italic=no published in German: Wilhelm Ranisch|italic=no's 1901 German: Walhall|italic=yes (Thor; German: Thor und die Midgardschlange|italic=yes; German: Thor den Hrungnir bekämpfend|italic=yes; German: Thor bei dem Riesen Þrym als Braut verkleidet|italic=yes; German: Thor bei Hymir|italic=yes; German: Thor bei Skrymir|italic=yes; German: Thor den Fluß Wimur durchwatend|italic=yes); J. C. Dollman's 1909 drawings Thor and the Mountain and Sif and Thor; G. Poppe's painting Thor; German: E. Pottner|italic=no's 1914 drawing German: Thors Schatten|italic=yes; H. Natter's marble statue Thor; and U. Brember's 1977 illustrations to German: Die Heimholung des Hammers|italic=yes by German: H. C. Artmann|italic=no.[74]
In the fields of science and technology, Swedish chemist Swedish: [[Jöns Jacob Berzelius]]|italic=no (1779–1848) discovered a chemical element that he named after Thor – thorium.[75] Thor is also the namesake of the PGM-17 Thor missile.
In 1962, American comic book artist Jack Kirby, Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee and his brother Larry Lieber created a feature in the comic book Journey Into Mystery a series featuring Thor as a superhero.[76] This version of Thor is portrayed as a clean-shaven blonde, instead of red-haired and bearded. The magazine soon added the backup feature "Tales of Asgard" in which Kirby illustrated stories from Norse mythology; eventually, the magazine was retitled Thor. Lee and Kirby included Thor as a founding member of their superhero team the Avengers. Thor has been portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, appearing in Thor, The Avengers, , , Doctor Strange, Team Thor, , , and .[77] Thor has also been featured in comic books by other publishers. In the Savage Dragon comics, Thor is portrayed as a villain. In Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic, Thor is portrayed as a buffoon who wields a tiny toffee hammer.
First described in 2013, Thor's hero shrew (Scutisorex thori) is a species of shrew native to the Democratic Republic of Congo. It and its sister species, the hero shrew (Scutisorex somereni), are the only mammal species known to have interlocking vertebrae.[78] The team named the shrew after Thor due to the god's association with strength.[78]
From 2015 to 2017, a fictionalised version of Thor was a supporting character in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, a trilogy[79] of fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan and published by Disney-Hyperion, set in the same fictional universe as the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, and The Kane Chronicles series by the same author. Neil Gaiman's books American Gods and Norse Mythology also feature Thor.
In January 2020, the streaming service Netflix produced Ragnarok. In the show, a high school student, Magne Seier, receives Thor's powers and abilities to fight the giants that are polluting Norway and murdering people. Netflix released the second season on 27 May 2021. Thor/Magne is portrayed by David Stakston.[80]
Thor is also featured in a number of video games. In the 2002 Ensemble Studios game Age of Mythology, Thor is one of three major gods Norse players can worship.[81] [82] [83] In Santa Monica Studio's 2018 video game God of War, Thor is mentioned throughout and his sons Magni and Modi are secondary antagonists. Thor makes an appearance at the end of the main storyline if certain difficulty conditions are met by the player.[84] [85] He makes a much more substantial appearance in the game's 2022 sequel God of War Ragnarök as a primary antagonist, played by Ryan Hurst.[86] Thor is also mentioned in Ubisoft's 2020 game Assassin's Creed Valhalla, where items of his such as Mjölnir can be found and used by the player in combat.[87] Thor is also one of the playable gods in the third-person multiplayer online battle arena game Smite.[88]