Thor

Old Norse: Þórr
Meaning: "Courage", "Boldness"

Thor was the nordic god of thunder.

He was the son of Odin and Jörd, husband of Sif and with her, father of Thrud and Lorride and Stepfather of Ull. His mistress was the giantess Jarnsaxa and their sons were Magni and Modi.

Thor was the strongest of the Aesir and, with his hammer, Mjöllnir, always at war with the giants.

The two goats, that drew his chariot were called Tanngniost ("The Snarling") and Tanngrisni ("Who grinds his teeth"). His servant's name was Thjalfi and Röskva, Thjalfi's sister, was Thor's handmaid.

He lived in Thrudvang ("Field of Might") or Thrudheim ("Home of Might"). There stood his palace, "Bilskirnir".

POETIC EDDA:

There are many many adventures of Thor in the eddic poems.
- In the Hárbarðsljóð of the Poetic Edda, he's wrangling with Harbard (Odin in disguise).
- The Alvíssmál tells about the knowledge-contest between the god Thor and the dwarf Alvis. It all began, when Thor was on a journey.
Alvis forged weapons for the gods and as payment they promised him Thor’s daughter, Thrud as his wife.
Thor came home and heared that, but didn’t want to gave him his daughter. So the day came, when Alvis went to Thor’s hall. Thor, who wanted to trick the dwarf started a knowledge-contest. He asked Alvis for the names of different things in the language of all races of the worlds.
Alvis didn’t recognized, that the day was rising and was turned to stone when the fist sun rays fell upon him. (Click Here to read the Alvíssmál in english or Here to read it in Old Norse)
- Another story of Thor's told in the Þrymskviða: the giant Thrym stole Thor's hammer Mjöllnir and wishes as payment for the hammer Freyja as his bride. But instead of sending Freyja to the giants, the Aesir dressed Thor as bride and Loki as his bridesmaid. The two gods came to Jötunheim, and Thrym gave Thor the hammer, who then immediately killed the giant and returned home.
- In the Hymiskviða, Thor went to the giant Hymir (maybe father of Tyr) to lend the latters enormous kettle. The kettle was for Aegir, to warm the mead for all the gods. In this story there's also a short encounter between Thor and the Midgard-Serpent.

At Ragnarok he'll kill the midgard-serpent, Jörmungand, but will be killed by the poison of the snake.

PROSE EDDA:

Once, Thor fought the giant Hrungnir. After being killed by the god, Hrungnir fell forward upon Thor. No one of the Aesir was strong enough to remove the giant from Thor’s neck, all except Magni, Thor’s and Jarnsaxa’s son.
After that, Thor went home to Thrudvangr, where Groa sung her spells over Thor and tried to remove the hone inside Thor’s head. But then Thor told her that he brought her husband Aurvandil, in a basket on his back, out of Jötunheim and that one of Aurvandil’s toes freeced ‘couse it stucked out of the basket. Thor broke the toe off and threw it up the sky.
(Prose Edda: Skáldskaparmál XXV)

Another famous story of Thor is his encounter with Utgard-Loki and his loose against Elli (the personified Old Age) in a wrestling match. And his gight against the giant Geirröd and his daughters Gjalp and Greip.

According to the damn fat chaos, coused by Snorri, when he said that Thor was the grandson of King Priam (greek myth, I really don't know why the hell he said that), he killed his foster-father and ruled his land Thrace (Thrudheim). Then he found Sibil (Sif), a faire prophetess and married her, their son's name was Loridi.

"And thus sang Eysteinn Valdason:
With glowing eyes Thrúdr's Father
Glared at the sea-road's circler,
Ere the fishes' watery dwelling
Flowed in, the boat confounding."
(That's a piece of the Skáldskaparmál: Þórskenningar, click Here to read all)

"Their son was Lóridi, who resembled his father; his son was Einridi, his son Vingethor, his son Vingener, his son Móda, his son Magi, his son Seskef, his son Bedvig, his son Athra (whom we call Annarr), his son Ítermann, his son Heremód, his son Skjaldun (whom we call Skjöld), his son Bjáf (whom we call Bjárr), his son Ját, his son Gudólfr, his son Finn, his son Fríallaf (whom we call Fridleifr); his son was he who is named Vóden, whom we call Odin: he was a man far-famed for wisdom and every accomplishment. His wife was Frígídá, whom we call Frigg."
(That's a neck from the Prose Edda's prologue)

Thor's names:

Asabrag ("King of the Aesir")
Asathor ("Thor of the Gods")
Atli
Björn ("Bear")
Donar (Germanic)
Eindridi (or Einridi)
Ennilang
Hardveur
Hlorridi
Jupiter (Thor's roman equivalent)
Öku-Thor ("Driving-Thor")
Rym
Sonnung
Thunor (Anglo-Saxon)
Veud
Veur
Vingnir ("The Hurler")
Vingthor ("Thor the Hurler")
Zeus (Thor's greek equivalent)

Thursday ("Thor's Day") was called after him.

*Norse Mythology Home*