THOR

The brawny but proud warrior Thor is cast out of the marvellous domain of Asgard and directed to dwell amidst humankind on Earth, where he before long turns one of their best shielders.


In Germanic paganism, Thor (from Old Nordic Þórr) is a hammer-wielding god assorted with thunder, lightning, tempests, oak trees, intensity, demolition, prolificacy, healing, and the protection of mankind. The cognate deity in broader Germanic mythology was known in Old English as Þunor and in Old High German Donar, stemming from a Common Germanic *Þunraz (meaning "thunder").
Ultimately stemming from Proto-Indo-European religion, Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of Germania, to the tribal 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, Mjöllnir, were worn in defiance and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his fame. Into the advanced period of time, Thor bore on to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout Germanic regions. Thor is frequently referenced in place names, the day of the week Thursday ("Thor's day") bears his name, and names stemming from the pagan period containing his own continue to be used today.
In Norse mythology, largely recorded in Iceland from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, numerous tales and information about Thor are provided. In these sources, Thor bears at least fourteen names, is the husband of the golden-haired goddess Sif, is the lover of the jötunn Járnsaxa, and is generally accounted as fierce-eyed, red-haired and red-bearded.With Sif, Thor fathered the goddess (and possible valkyrie) Þrúðr; with Járnsaxa, he fathered Magni; with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered Móði, and he is the stepfather of the god Ullr. The same sources list Thor as the son of the god Odin and the personified earth, Fjörgyn, and by way of Odin, Thor has numerous brothers. Thor has two servants, Þjálfi and Röskva, rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr (that he eats and resurrects), and is ascribed three dwellings (Bilskirnir, Þrúðheimr, and Þrúðvangr). Thor wields the mountain-crushing hammer, Mjöllnir, wears the belt Megingjörð and the iron gloves Járngreipr, and owns the staff Gríðarvölr. Thor's exploits, including his relentless massacre of his foes and boisterous battles with the grotesque serpent Jörmungandr—and their prognosticated mutual deaths during the outcomes of Ragnarök—are commemorated throughout sources for Norse mythology.

In modern times, Thor continues to be referenced in popular culture. Starting with F. J. Klopstock's 1776 ode to Thor, Wir und Sie, Thor has been the subject of various poems, including Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger's 1807 epic poem Thors reise til Jotunheim and, by the same author, three additional poems (Hammeren hentes, Thors fiskeri, and Thor besøger Hymir) amassed in his 1819 Nordens Guder; Thors Trunk, Thor kams als Gast in Riesenlande (1859) by W. Hertz; the 1820 satirical poem Mythologierne eller Gudatvisten by J. M. Stiernstolpe; Nordens Mythologie eller Sinnbilled-Sprog (1832) by N. F. S. Grundtvig; the poem Harmen by Thor Thorild; Der Mythus von Thor (1836) by L. Uhland; Der Hammer Thors (1915) by W. Schulte v. Brühl, Herr Dunnar und die Bauern (published in Märchen und Sagen, 1937); and Die Heimholung des Hammers (1977) H. C. Artmann.
Artists have depicted Thor in painting and sculpture, including Henry Fuseli's 1780 painting Thor in Hymirs Boot bekämpft die Midgardschlange; H. E. Fruend's 1821–1822 statue Thor; B. E. Fogelberg's 1844 marble statue Thor; M. E. Winge's 1880 charcoal drawing Thors Kampf mit den Riesen; K. Ehrenberg's 1883 drawing Odin, Thor und Magni; several illustrations by E. Doepler published in W. Ranisch's 1901 Walhall (Thor; Thor und die Midgardschlange; Thor den Hrungnir bekämpfend; Thor bei dem Riesen Þrym als Braut verkleidet; Thor bei Hymir; Thor bei Skrymir; Thor den Fluß Wimur durchwatend); J. C. Dollman's 1909 drawings Thor and the Mountain and Sif and Thor; G. Poppe's painting Thor; E. Pottner's 1914 drawing Thors Schatten; H. Natter's marble statue Thor; and U. Brember's 1977 illustrations to Die Heimholung des Hammers by H. C. Artmann.
Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848) discovered a chemical element that he named after Thor; Thorium. Donner appears as a character in German composer Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold (1869), and was originally written for a baritone voice. In 1962, American comic book writer Stan Lee and his brother Larry Leiber, together with Jack Kirby, created the Marvel Comics superhero Thor, which they based on the god of the same name.