Thor - Putting the Hammer Down

With the recent turn in weather, it seems an appropriate time to talk about my personal favorite Norse deity, Thor, god of thunder and lightning. He's been enjoying an upswing in popularity lately, thanks to Marvel Studios' excellent comic book movies, but there's still a lot more to learn about this surprisingly complex figure.

First, while Thor is the son of Odin, Frigga, Odin's wife, is not his mother (in some myths). Even for the son of Odin, Thor was immensely powerful. His strength grew so rapidly it astounded the other Asgard, but his temper grew equally quickly. Thor was known to fly into terrible rages, and his immense power made an enraged Thor incredibly dangerous. Unable to control his temper, Thor was sent to foster parents, Vingnir and Hlora, who found ways to help him control his anger. Even with his rage in check, however, Thor could still be provoked to terrible wrath, and he was so powerful even just being in his presence could be dangerous. Thor was the only Asgard who was not allowed to cross the Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge that connected Asgard to other places, for fear that the thunder of his footsteps and the heat of his lightning would destroy it.

As powerful as Thor is, his weapon of choice is more frightening still. The mighty hammer Mijolnir was so potent even Thor needed special gauntlets, Iarn-Grieper or Iron-Gripper, to hold it safely. And when Thor and his hammer's powers were further multiplied by a belt that doubled his strength, there wasn't much in the Nine Realms that could stand against him.

Thor's adventures mainly consisted of fighting the Frost Giants, evil beings of cold who represented the cruel, killing forces of winter. Thor would sally forth to do battle with them, hurling his mighty hammer. The thunderstorm is the sign of his battle, the loud crack and bright flash his hammer striking home, the rain the bodies of his shattered foes falling to Earth. Despite the terrible destruction a thunderstorm can unleash, there's no hint that the Norse people regarded them or their presumed cause as a negative. It seems to me that those times a thunderstorm did do harm to those below was regarded as unfortunate collateral damage in a war waged on our behalf, not the sign of an angry god's wrath with people who have displeased him.

Thor was ever seen as a protector and friend of humanity, and in many places his popularity eclipsed Odin's, with some even proclaiming Thor the true king of the gods. Despite his readiness and even eagerness for battle, Thor was no dumb brute. In one story, a dwarf came to Asgard seeking Thor's daughter's hand in marriage. Thor was away, but the other Asgard entertained their guest, fully expecting Thor to flatten the poor fool when he returned. Instead, Thor challenged the dwarf to prove his worthiness as a suitor, and engaged the dwarf in a test of wits and intellect that lasted all night. When the sun rose, the dwarf, as dwarves of Norse myth do, turned to stone, having been too preoccupied with proving his worth to avoid the sun's deadly rays. Now, one might think Thor was tricking the poor dwarf, and in a way, he was. But isn't is also a test of intellectual worthiness to be aware of danger, and safeguard yourself from it?

ERIK BJELKE