Nordic index

Thor


Title:The Thunder God
Viking name:Thor
Relations:Son of Odin
Day of week:Thursday
Thor

Thor was the Thunder god. His weapon is a hammer. On the left, he is holding it, although it looks as if it's part of his beard! Thor's enemy was the World Serpent, another one of Loki's horrible children. It was an enormous snake which wrapped itself round the whole world, and bit its own tail. Thor meets the serpent three times.

The first time was at a giant's hall. The giant sneered at Thor for being weak, and challenged him to pick up the old cat sitting in front of the fire. Thor, who was the strongest of the gods, grabbed the cat by the middle and tried to lift him. The cat didn't budge. So Thor tried as hard as he could, and managed to lift the cat a few inches from the floor. The giant gasped, and hastily told Thor to drop the cat. It was really the head of the World Serpent in disguise, as big as the world, and Thor had lifted it up.

Thor

Another time, another giant and Thor went out fishing in a boat, using an ox's head as bait. The World Serpent took the bait, and Thor nearly hauled it aboard. The frightened giant cut the line, and the World Serpent escaped. These pictures show Thor fishing. On the right, he is pulling up the serpent so hard that his feet have gone through the boat!

The last time Thor and the Serpent will meet is at Ragnarok.

Thor fishing for the Serpent