Thor

The tale of Thor

Thor is the son of Odin and of Jörd, the Earth herself, and he is the strongest of the gods. When thunder rolls across the North, it is the sound of his chariot, pulled by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, racing over the clouds. When he is hungry on a journey he cooks his goats for supper, and in the morning he blesses their bones with his hammer and they stand up alive again.

The hammer is Mjölnir, the crusher. The dwarf brothers Brokkr and Eitri forged it in a contest that Loki tried to spoil: he turned himself into a fly and bit Brokkr on the eyelid at the worst moment, so the handle came out a little too short. It did not matter. Mjölnir never misses, always returns to Thor's hand, and is the one weapon the giants truly fear. To swing it Thor wears iron gloves and a belt of strength that doubles his might.

Thor and the giants

Most of Thor's stories are about giants, and most of them end with a hammer. When the giant Thrym stole Mjölnir and asked for the goddess Freyja as his bride in return, Thor dressed up as the bride himself, veil and all, with Loki as his maid. At the wedding feast he ate a whole ox and eight salmon. When the hammer was laid in his lap to bless the marriage, the "bride" took it, and the wedding ended very badly for the giants.

Once he went fishing with the giant Hymir, using an ox's head as bait, and hooked the World Serpent Jörmungandr itself. He hauled the monster up until its venom-dripping head broke the surface. Then the terrified giant cut the line, and the serpent sank back into the sea.

The last battle

The two are fated to meet once more. At Ragnarök the World Serpent will rise from the ocean and poison the sky. Thor will kill it with Mjölnir, walk nine steps, and fall dead from its venom. His sons Módi and Magni will carry the hammer into the new world that rises afterwards.

Thor in Battle of Myths

Thor is a cost 4 Norse hero with two aspects. As the God of Thunder (warrior and guardian) he uses Earthshaker, slamming Mjölnir into the ground to damage and stun every enemy around him. As the Stormcaller (mage and warrior) he casts Storm of Asgard, calling lightning that jumps from enemy to enemy. Like every Norse hero he grows stronger with Ragnarök as a fight goes on.

Did you know?

• Thursday is Thor's day.
• Small hammer amulets were worn across Viking Age Scandinavia, and many have been found by archaeologists.
• His epithet in the game, Breaker of Giants, echoes the old poems, where his long list of slain giants is told with pride.