Thor

Þórr (Thor) — thunder-god of the Norse pantheon, son of Odin by the earth-giantess Jǫrð; foremost defender of Ásgarðr and Midgard against the jǫtnar. Wields the hammer Mjǫllnir (forged by the dwarves Brokkr and Eitri), the strength-belt Megingjǫrð, and the iron gloves Járngreipr; rides a goat-drawn chariot whose passage makes thunder. At Ragnarǫk he and the Midgard Serpent Jǫrmungandr kill each other, and his sons Magni and Móði inherit Mjǫllnir into the renewed world. The most popularly worshipped Norse god of the Viking Age (hammer amulets, Thórr-theophoric names); one of the Uppsala temple triad with Odin and Freyr per Adam of Bremen.

Parentage

• paternal: Odin
• mother: JǫrðGylfaginning 9; Skáldskaparmál (primary)

Children

• Magni
• Móði

Domains

• thunder and storm
• protection of Midgard and mankind

Powers

• physical strength extreme
• storm and thunder control
• Exert superhuman strength
• Hallow and resurrect with hammer
• Summon thunder and lightning

Epithets

• Ása-Þórr old-norse · eddicThor of the ÆsirSnorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning 21 & Skáldskaparmál (Prose Edda) (primary)
• Øku-Þórr / Ǫku-Þórr old-norse · eddicDriving Thor; Thor of the chariotSnorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning 44 (Prose Edda) (primary)
• Hlórriði old-norse · eddicCommon heiti of Thor (sense disputed; 'loud-rider' / 'fire-rider')Þrymskviða 7-8; Hymiskviða 4 (Poetic Edda) (primary); Simek, Dictionary of Northern Mythology, s.v. Hlórriði (secondary)
• Vingþórr old-norse · eddicThor the hurler / battle-ThorÞrymskviða 1 (Poetic Edda) (primary); Alvíssmál 6 (Poetic Edda) (primary)
• Véurr old-norse · eddicThe hallower / protector (of gods and men)Hymiskviða 11, 21 (Poetic Edda) (primary)
• Ásabragr old-norse · eddicPrince/foremost of the ÆsirSnorri, Skáldskaparmál (the heiti of Þórr) (primary)

Relations

• sibling: SigiFull sibling; shares the same complete attested parentage.
• sibling: BragiFull sibling; shares the same complete attested parentage.
• sibling: HeimdallFull sibling; shares the same complete attested parentage.
• sibling: VáliFull sibling; shares the same complete attested parentage.
• sibling: VíðarrFull sibling; shares the same complete attested parentage.
• mother: JǫrðGylfaginning 9; Skáldskaparmál (primary)
• enemy: Jǫrmungandr (the Midgard Serpent; Thor's doom at Ragnarǫk) · NorseThey slay each other at Ragnarǫk; Thor walks nine steps before falling from the serpent's venom.Vǫluspá 56; Gylfaginning 51 (primary)
• equated with: ThunorCognates < PGmc *Þun(a)raz 'thunder'; shared weekday calque (Þunresdæg/Þórsdagr) and the Old Saxon baptismal vow's Thunaer carry the English/Saxon god; no OE myths survive, so the equation is philological, not narrative.J. de Vries, Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte, 2nd ed. (1956-57) (secondary); R. Simek, Dictionary of Northern Mythology (1993), s.v. 'Thor' (secondary)
• spouse: SifReciprocal of norse_sif.spouse — Golden-haired Sif is the wife of Thor; her son Ullr (by an unnamed father) already lists Sif as parent.Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál (Prose Edda), ch. 35 (the shorn hair / dwarf-treasures tale); Gylfaginning ch. 31 (primary)

Sources

• existence: Poetic Edda (Þrymskviða, Hárbarðsljóð, Hymiskviða, Vǫluspá); Snorri's Prose Edda (Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál); Adam of Bremen 4.26-27 (Uppsala temple triad); Tacitus Germania 9 (Donar/Thor via interpretatio) (primary)