Cultural Report
Flanigan
12/01/12 Thor Originating from Pre-Christian Germanic speaking tribes, Norse Gods were heavily worshipped by the Vikings. Most of what we know about the Viking Gods comes from the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda, or Elder Edda, is a book containing stories of the Viking Gods. Scandinavian poems also offer some history of the Norse Gods (Myths Encyclopedia). These Gods all lived in their own halls of Asgard. The main God, Odin lived in the hall of Valhalla, which is also the Vikings version of a heaven and they are only admitted if they died fighting in Viking battle (Vikings Clan). Of the Viking Gods, other than Odin, Thor is most widely recognized. Thor, son of Odin and the earth goddess Jord, is said to be the God of Thunder. Thor wields a mighty hammer and rides a chariot lead by goats. His hammer and chariot can be seen and heard during a thunderstorm. Thor married Sif, the God of fertility and had a daughter named Thrud. He had two more sons, Magni and Modi. These sons came from his mistress, Jarnsaxa (Thor). Thor is also very much represented in present day. The weekday Thursday is derived from this Viking God. This Norse God shows great strength but a simplistic mind. In Viking mythology, the flash of his hammer is lightening and the roll of thunder is his chariot racing through the sky. In Greek mythology, Hercules has comparable attributes to Thor (Norse Thunder God). Both of them are mighty protectors but can be viewed as not the brightest gods in the sky.
Thors hammer is named Mjollnir, which means “smashes”, which is quite fitting because that is what Thor does. He is seen as such a powerful and somewhat scary god, but in reality he is also the protector (Thor - Norse God) He basically kills anything that seems threatening. Because of his simplistic mind he is often challenged by his more mischievous brother Loki. Thor is an important Viking God and seen as the most popular because he