Origins and Qualities. Thor appears throughout Norse mythology as a huge, strongly built, red-bearded fellow with a huge appetite. He grew out of Donar or Thunor, an ancient god of sky and thunder. Some myths say that Thor was the son of Odin and Fjorgyn, the earth goddess. His wife was the beautiful goddess Sif, who seldom appears in myths and remains a somewhat mysterious figure.
Generally good-natured, Thor had a hot temper, and his anger was dreadful to behold. He was a fierce enemy of the frost giants, the foes of the Norse gods. When people heard thunder and saw lightning in the sky, they knew that Thor was fighting these evil giants.
The thunder god's chief weapon was his mighty hammer Mjollnir, or Crusher, which the dwarfs had forged for him. When he threw Mjollnir, it returned magically to his hand like a boomerang. Among Mjollnir's other powers was the gift of restoring life to the dead. The connection of Thor's hammer with life and fertility gave rise to the old Norse customs of placing a hammer in a bride's lap at her wedding and of raising it over a newborn child.
deity god or goddess
patron special guardian, protector, or supporter
Thor's treasures also included a magical belt that doubled his strength whenever he wore it and a pair of goats, Tanngniost and Tanngrisni (both "Toothgnashers"), that pulled his chariot across the sky. Whenever he was overcome with hunger, Thor would devour his goats, only to return them to life with Mjollnir. patron special guardian, protector, or supporter
During another visit to Jotunheim, Thor and Loki met Skrymir, an especially large giant. He was so big that when they wandered into one of his gloves, they thought they were in a mansion and slept in one of the fingers. In the morning they found Skrymir sleeping, and Thor tried to crush the giant's head with Mjollnir. Skrymir simply brushed away the blow as though it were no more than a falling leaf.
The gods traveled on to Utgard, a city of giants, where the giants challenged Thor to drain their drinking cup and lift their cat from the floor. He could not do either—the cup was connected to the sea, and the cat was really Jormungand, the serpent that encircles the world. Although Thor failed the tests, he came close to draining the ocean and removing the world serpent.
trickster mischievous figure appearing in various forms in the folktales and mythology of many different peoples
Several early Norse sources recount the myth of Thor's encounter with the giant Hymir. Thor disguised himself as a young man and went fishing with Hymir, first killing the giant's largest ox to use for bait. Thor then rowed their boat far out of sight of land and cast his hook. Something bit at the ox, and Thor drew up his line to discover that he had hooked Jormungand, the giant serpent. Placing his feet on the ocean floor, Thor pulled and pulled on the line, while the serpent spit out poison. Just as Thor was about to strike Jormungand with his hammer, Hymir cut the line and the serpent sank back down to the depths. Many myths say, however, that Thor and Jormungand remained bitter enemies, fated to fight again on the day called Ragnarok, the end of the world, when they will kill one another. The metal band, Manowar have written and performed many songs based on both Greek and Norse mytrhology. Here ia a song for Thor, the god of lightning and the lyrics to go with it.
Thor Lyrics
Artist(Band):Manowar
Black clouds on the horizon
Great thunder and burning rain
His chariot pounding, I heard the heavens scream his name
I watched as he shouted
To the giants who died that day
He held up his hammer high and called to Odin for a sign
Thor the mighty, Thor the brave
Crush the infidels in your way
By your hammer let none be saved
Live to die on the final day
Gods, monsters and men
We'll die together in the end
God of thunder, God of rain
Earth shaker who feels no pain
The powerhead of the universe
Now send your never ending curse
I watched as he shouted
To the giants who died that day
He held up his hammer high and called to Odin for a sign
Thor the mighty, Thor the brave
Crush the infidels in your way
By your hammer let none be saved
Live to die on that final day
Gods, monsters and men
We'll die together in the end
Swing your hammer to crack the sky
Lift your cape so that you might fly
Back to Odin and the gods on high
And leave the mortal world
Thor the mighty, Thor the brave
Crush the infidels in your way
By your hammer let none be saved
Live to die on that final day
Gods, monsters and men
We'll die together in the end
Odin
Source: http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com
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