Thor

Thor, the god of thunder, was the son of Odin and Earth (Yörð); his wife was Sif. His palace, supported on 540 pillars, was called Thrudvang. Thunder was caused by the rolling of his chariot. He was in the vigour 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 Mjolner, which had the property of returning to his hand after being hurled. The name of Thor was wide-spread; the Anglo-Saxons worshipped him as Thunar, the High Germans as Donar. As rude force is the predominating element in Thor, the humorous element of the Scandinavian belief attaches to him. Thus the giants often blinded him by magic, and made fun of him; yet he always shows his extraordinary strength in these cases, and in the long run his opponents are invariably overcome by the hammer. Thursday is so called from Thor; and the name survives in numerous names of places (Thunderfield in Surrey; Thundersley in Essex; Thurso), and also in personal names (Thorburn; in Scand. Thorbiörn, 'son of Thor'). See SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY.