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Thor was the son of Woden and Jörd, goddess of the Earth.
His wife was Sif. He was also a god of marriage and fire.
The fifth day of the week, Thursday, is named after
him.
Thor was a warrior and always fighting giants, his
constant companion the hammer which, when thrown, always returned to
his hand. The peasants believed Thor used this hammer to hurl thunderbolts
at them while the wheels of his goat drawn chariot drummed on the roof
of Heaven to make thunder.
Thor's hammer was stolen by the giant Thryum and,
for its return he demanded that Freyja, goddess of love, marry him.
Freyja was so angry at the suggestion that her neck swelled with rage
and shattered her precious necklace, so the gods decided that Thor should
dress as a woman and take her place. He reluctantly agreed and took
Loki, his close friend and evil and cunning god, with him to the land
of the giants.
Thor’s great appetite amazed the giants so Loki explained that
this goddess had been so anxious to reach their land she had not eaten
for eight days. Thryum noticed the lightning flash in Thor’s eyes
from beneath the woman’s headdress. Loki explained it was because
she had been unable to sleep with the excitement of her forthcoming
marriage. Unable to wait, the giant produced Thor’s hammer to
seal the contract of marriage. As soon as his new ‘wife’
grasped the handle of the weapon he struck the gathering of giants down.
Thor has a long red beard, wears a belt that doubles
his strength when tightened, and iron gloves.
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