Only rarely does he go anywhere without it. His most famous possession, however, is his hammer, Mjöllnir (“Lightning” ). He even owns an unnamed belt of strength (Old Norse megingjarðar) that makes his power doubly formidable when he wears the belt. His courage and sense of duty are unshakeable, and his physical strength is virtually unmatched. No one is better suited for this task than Thor. He’s the indefatigable defender of the Aesir gods and their fortress, Asgard, from the encroachments of the giants, who are usually (although far from invariably) the enemies of the gods.

Thor, the brawny thunder god, is the archetype of a loyal and honorable warrior, the ideal toward which the average human warrior aspired. He was a major god of all branches of the Germanic peoples before their conversion to Christianity, although he reached the height of his popularity among the Scandinavians of the late Viking Age. Thor ( Old Norse Þórr, Old English Đunor, Old High German Donar, Proto-Germanic *Þunraz, “Thunder” ) is one of the most prominent figures in Norse mythology. “Thor’s Battle with the Giants” by Mårten Eskil Winge (1872)

Book Review: Neil Price’s The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia.

Who Were the Indo-Europeans and Why Do They Matter?.

The Swastika – Its Ancient Origins and Modern (Mis)use.

The Old Norse Language and How to Learn It.

The 10 Best Advanced Norse Mythology Books.

The Vikings’ Conversion to Christianity.

God of war mythology