5/16/2023 0 Comments Angry giant forge man![]() But when Thor saw Hrungnir and his new sidekick, he wasn’t fazed instead, it was actually the clay giant who wet himself from fear. Like, really massive: it was 30 miles high and 10 miles wide, and was brought to life for the purpose of being Hrungnir’s right-hand man. In the meantime, the giants constructed a massive clay figure. The giant agreed, but it wouldn’t be then and there, as Hrungnir had no weapons on him they’d instead meet near Jotunheim. ![]() Thor did not take this joking well, and challenged Hrungnir to a fight. He got drunk and boastful, and joked about destroying Asgard and keeping their goddesses as concubine, including Sif, Thor’s wife. While Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged stallion, was victorious, Hrungnir was still invited to stay for a feast. Odin challenged him to race their horses back to Asgard. Odin was wandering around near Jotunheim, and encountered the giant Hrungnir. There are countless stories of Thor engaging in epic battles with the giants and other creatures, almost always for the sake of protecting others. Thor alone had the power and skill to fight the beasts and protect mankind. The wily figures of Odin and Loki (among other gods) didn’t give much hope to men sure, they were clever and wise, but didn’t possess the strength or courage to go to battle with the ogres. The gods of Asgard looked to Thor as a protector and defender so too did the humans of Midgard, whose daily lives were disrupted and threatened by interloping giants. He relied on his muscle and simple tools (more on those below) to overcome the fiercest of enemies. His power and prowess were unsurpassed in the Norse realm. Thor’s preeminent characteristic, like that of the Greek Hercules, was his strength. Let’s take a look at some of Thor’s most enduring myths thankfully, they’re more easily untangled than those of the complex Odin! The Power of Power Having failed to kill him in multiple previous attempts, Thor finally succeeds during Ragnarok, only to fatally succumb to the monster himself. This is why in Norse poems, he’s often referred to as the Thunder God.īeyond the giants, Thor’s other primary enemy was Jormungand, the giant serpent who encircled Midgard. When storms came, people knew that Thor was fighting on their behalf. Riding in his goat-drawn chariot, his incessant fighting with the giants was perceived as thunder and lightning in Midgard (the world of the humans). While sometimes cordial, the gods and giants got into frequent battles, with Thor almost always leading the charge and coming out on top. Thor’s most common foes were the giants who resided in Jotunheim - one of Norse mythology’s nine worlds. Thor had three children, two boys and a girl, who survived Ragnarok - the Norse apocalypse - and went on to help recreate the world. His wife was Sif, a goddess whom we don’t know much about, other than her having a role in the creation of his famed hammer. Whereas Odin was mysterious and favored royals and leaders, Thor was protective of not only his friends and family, but common humans as well. ![]() We don’t know much about his beginnings, other than that he quickly overtook his father in popularity. ![]() The eldest son of Odin (his mother was the giantess Jord), Thor had humble origins. In this article, we’ll look at how the God of Thunder earned the unmatched reverence of the Norse people, and what every man can learn from his mythology. Even today, Thor remains a popular name for boys in Scandinavia. to remember the strength and hope of the mighty god. His hammer, Mjolnir, was a symbol of this reverence, and much like the Christian cross, Vikings would don it in the form of necklaces, bracelets, skin markings, etc. (I had to get the red-haired part in right from the get-go as a fellow ginger, I’d be remiss not to call attention to this defining feature.)Įven though Odin carried the Allfather title, Thor was the most venerated god in the Norse pantheon. For one thing, rather than the flaxen-haired, neatly-groomed Marvel version, Thor was a red-haired, long-bearded half-giant. The Marvel comic books and films have of course spurred his fame, but they’ve also hampered our understanding of the Thor that Viking people worshiped and revered and looked to for protection. Thor - Giant-Slayer and God of Thunder - is the most well-known Norse god in our modern world. ![]()
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