Thor

Actor

BIOGRAPHY

In Germanic mythology, Thor (θɔr; from Þórr, runic þur) is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of mankind and also hallowing and fertility. Besides Old Norse Þórr, extensions of the god occur in Old English as and in Old High German as (runic ). All forms of the deity stem from a Common Germanic (meaning thunder). Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of , 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, , were worn and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity. Due to the nature of the Germanic corpus, narratives featuring Thor are only attested in Old Norse, where Thor appears throughout Norse mythology. Norse mythology, largely recorded in Iceland from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, provides numerous tales featuring the god. In these sources, Thor bears at least fifteen names, is the husband of the golden-haired goddess , is the lover of the , and is generally described as fierce eyed, red haired and red bearded. With , Thor fathered the goddess (and possible valkyrie) ; with , he fathered ; with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered , and he is the stepfather of the god . By way of Odin, Thor has numerous brothers, including . Thor has two servants, and , rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, and (that he eats and resurrects), and is ascribed three dwellings (, , and ). Thor wields the mountain-crushing hammer, , wears the belt and the iron gloves , and owns the staff . Thor's exploits, including his relentless slaughter of his foes and fierce battles with the monstrous serpent —and their foretold mutual deaths during the events of —are recorded throughout sources for Norse mythology. Into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural 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 , '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.

Bio from Wikipedia - See more on en.wikipedia.org Text under CC-BY-SA license

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