THOR, the god of thunder, was the son of Odin and Earth (Yard); his wife was Sif (= sib, friendship, love, and thus of the same import with Freyja). His palace, sup ported on 540 pillars, was called Thrudwanger; here he received the warriors that had fallen in battle. Thunder was caused by the rolling of his chariot, which was drawn by he-goats. He was in the vigor of youth, had a red beard, and was the strongest of all gods and men; the gods even called in his assistance when they were in straits. He was, in particular, a terror to the giants (q.v.), with whom he was perpetually at strife, and whom he struck down with his hammer Miolnir (i.e., the smasher or mauler), which had the property of returning to his hand after being hurled; it had been made by cun ning dwarfs. The sign of the hammer was among the heathen Teutons analogous to that of the cross among Christians. In the contest at the twilight of the gods, Thor slew the serpent of Midgard, but fell at the same time poisoned by the venom exhaled from its mouth. The name of Thor was The Saxons worshiped him as Thunar (high-German, Donar). Torden, the wrathful deity dreaded by the Lapps, who in his rage hurled down huge blocks from rocks, tore up trees, destroyed cattle and men, is evidently the Scandinavian Thor. The Gallic god Tarannis—in an old inscription Tanarus—mentioned by Liman, appears also to be identical, especially as torrunn in the Celtic languages still signifies thunder. The attribute of thunder is intimately asso.
ciated with the Latin Jupiter and the Greek Zeus (see also INDRA). Of all the Asa-gods, Thor had unquestionably the most worshipers. In Upsala, according to Adam of Bre men, he occupied the place of honor in the temple between Odin and Frikke. In Nor way, Thor was the national god, and here, as in Iceland, temples were almost exclusively erected to him. Offerings were made to him, particularly in times of pesti lence. On the ground of the superior respect enjoyed by Thor, and of his being called "old Thor," some place him in opposition to Odin, and consider him historically as an older divinity, only partly supplanted by the Odin doctrine. As rude force is the pre dominating element in Thor, the humorous element of the Scandinavian belief attaches to him. Thus, the giants often blinded him by magic, and made fuu of him; yet he always shows his extraordinary strength in these cases, and in the long-run his oppo nents are invariably overcome by the hammer. Thursday is so called from Thor; and the name survives in numerous names of places (Thuneresberg, in Westphalia; Thun derhill, in Surrey, Thurso), and also in personal names (Thorburn, in Scand. Thorbiorn). Compare Uhland, Der M)jthus von 7tor (Stutt. 1836); Grimme, Deutsche Afythologie.