ORIGIN: Icelandic
TYPE: Primarily god of war but also a deity of the sky, storms, sea journeys and the administration of justice.
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: Viking Period circa 700 CE and earlier, until well into the Christian era, probably until 1100 CE or later.
SYNONYMS: Horagalles (Lappish); Thunor (Anglo-Saxon)
CENTER(S) OF CULT: Uppsala (Sweden); Dublin (Ireland); many others throughout the Nordic region.
ART REFERENCES: Small sculptures and reliefs; probably the subject of other anonymous carvings.
LITERARY SOURCES: Icelandic codices; Prose Edda (Snorri); Historia Danica (Saxo); votive inscriptions; place names.
INFORMATION: This is one of the more important Aesir sky gods in the Norse religion, the chief defender of the realms of Asgard. His mother is said to be Iord, the prima materia of earth, and he lives in the hall Bilskirnir. He probably achieved greater popularity than Othin. Described as a massive red-bearded champion wearing iron gloves and a girdle of might, and wielding a short-handled hammer, Mjollnir, the creates lightning when struck against stone and becomes a thunderbolt when thrown. He may also carry an ax and both may represent fertility symbols. The swastika, thought to derive from the ax, becomes associated with him and he may be further symbolized by a sacred god or silver arm ring.
Thor possesses a prodigious appetite for food and drink. He rides the heavens in a chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngnoist and Tanngrisnir, whose wheels cause the sound of the thunder. He is strongly linked with trees and sacred groves. The name Thor is the origin of Thursday.