God of thunder, guardian of humans and the realm of the gods
Son of Odin and the earth goddess Jörð — red-bearded, hot-tempered, and immensely strong, the thunder god. He wields the hammer Mjölnir, wears a belt of strength and iron gloves, and rides a chariot drawn by two goats that rumbles across the sky. Where his scheming father is subtle, Thor is direct: whoever threatens the realm of gods or of humans meets the hammer. The Norse farmer loved him best of all — when giants came, the first to charge was always Thor.
The giant Thrym stole Mjölnir and would return it only for the goddess Freyja’s hand. Thor had to dress as the bride, veiled, and slip into the giant’s wedding feast. When the hammer was carried in to "bless the bride," he seized it and smashed the whole hall of giants to pulp — the most famous comic scene in Norse myth.
Thor put out to sea with the giant Hymir and, with an ox-head for bait, hooked Jörmungandr, the serpent that girdles the world. He raised his hammer to strike, but Hymir, terrified, cut the line, and the serpent sank back into the deep. This man and this serpent are fated to meet again at Ragnarök — and that time no one will cut the line.
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