NAME

Þórr, simply and directly, takes his name from "thunder," (<Ger. *Thunaraz).

CHARACTERISTICS

Þórr is portrayed as a massively powerfully, red haired, warrior-god (as opposed to a god of warriors). He is an implacable foe of the disruptive giants, and frequently must resolve incidents created by Óðin's dealings with them. His weapon is the magical hammer Mjøllnir ("Crusher" [?]). He is the most essentially "Indo-European" of the Scandinavian gods, in the sense that he has clear parallels in Balto-Slavic and Indic traditions of the thundergod.

FOLLOWERS AND WORSHIP

While the unpredictable Óðinn appealed to the worldview of warriors and adventurers, the rock-steady Þórr appealed to more settled folk. Many names (especially of Norwegians and Icelanders) reflected the god's name as an element, and placenames also show his wide reverence. His very accessibility to commoners left him open to burlesque humor, but his worship persisted well into the Christian era. Human sacifice to Þórr may have occurred on extreme occasions, but animal sacrifice seems to have been the norm.

HUMOR

Þórr is often the butt of broad humor. If his slow wit -- he sometimes appears scarcely brighter than his hammer -- leaves him susceptible to the deceivers of the world, his steadfast adherence to his precepts allows him to triumph. Some scholars see humor as incompatible with belief, and suggest that this humor was introduced after Þórr was carried out to Iceland (where rain is plentiful and thus his importance may have diminished), or that humor was introduced after conversion to Christianity. Other scholars see no innate conflict between belief and humor, and see humor as an old element in the myths of Þórr. Compare Þórr-as-bride in the Þrymskviða to the warrior(-god) Arjuna in the Indic Mahabharata, who works in drag for several years as a female dance instructor. In general, humor is a powerful tool for dealing with ambiguity.

DECEIT AND NECESSITY

Þórr is the antithesis of a deceiving god. Often, he is himself temporarily deceived, but ultimately his honest aggression overcomes deception. His straightforward, confrontational approach to the problem of Ragnarøkr is neither more nor less successful than Óðin's deceitful approach: both are equally doomed to die. But Þórr will die as he lives -- an implacable fighter against the forces of chaos.

WARRIOR & GUARDIAN

Þórr is the diligent guardian of humankind. A central aspect of Scandinavian worldview is the idea that peace and stability are ephemeral; they are subject to constant outbreaks of chaos. One recurrent metaphor for this tension is the contrast of garðr and útgarðr. The garðr is the open area in the center of the farmstead (cognate to English "yard") and is a metonym for human habitation. By extension, the útgarðr is a metonym for all the forces opposed to peace and social cohesion. Above all, the útgarðr is the location of Jøtunheimr, "Giant Home." Þórr spends the majority of his time across the limin, roaming the útgarðr in a never-ending struggle to keep the world's chaos away from humankind.

NAME Þórr, simply and directly, takes his name from "thunder," (<Ger. *Thunaraz).	CHARACTERISTICS Þórr is portrayed as a massively powerfully, red haired, warrior-god (as opposed to a god of warriors). He is an implacable foe of the disruptive giants, and frequently must resolve incidents created by Óðin's dealings with them. His weapon is the magical hammer Mjøllnir ("Crusher" [?]). He is the most essentially "Indo-European" of the Scandinavian gods, in the sense that he has clear parallels in Balto-Slavic and Indic traditions of the thundergod.
FOLLOWERS AND WORSHIP While the unpredictable Óðinn appealed to the worldview of warriors and adventurers, the rock-steady Þórr appealed to more settled folk. Many names (especially of Norwegians and Icelanders) reflected the god's name as an element, and placenames also show his wide reverence. His very accessibility to commoners left him open to burlesque humor, but his worship persisted well into the Christian era. Human sacifice to Þórr may have occurred on extreme occasions, but animal sacrifice seems to have been the norm.	HUMOR Þórr is often the butt of broad humor. If his slow wit -- he sometimes appears scarcely brighter than his hammer -- leaves him susceptible to the deceivers of the world, his steadfast adherence to his precepts allows him to triumph. Some scholars see humor as incompatible with belief, and suggest that this humor was introduced after Þórr was carried out to Iceland (where rain is plentiful and thus his importance may have diminished), or that humor was introduced after conversion to Christianity. Other scholars see no innate conflict between belief and humor, and see humor as an old element in the myths of Þórr. Compare Þórr-as-bride in the *Þrymskviða* to the warrior(-god) Arjuna in the Indic Mahabharata, who works in drag for several years as a female dance instructor. In general, humor is a powerful tool for dealing with ambiguity.
DECEIT AND NECESSITY Þórr is the antithesis of a deceiving god. Often, he is himself temporarily deceived, but ultimately his honest aggression overcomes deception. His straightforward, confrontational approach to the problem of Ragnarøkr is neither more nor less successful than Óðin's deceitful approach: both are equally doomed to die. But Þórr will die as he lives -- an implacable fighter against the forces of chaos.	WARRIOR & GUARDIAN Þórr is the diligent guardian of humankind. A central aspect of Scandinavian worldview is the idea that peace and stability are ephemeral; they are subject to constant outbreaks of chaos. One recurrent metaphor for this tension is the contrast of garðr and *útgarðr. The garðr* is the open area in the center of the farmstead (cognate to English "yard") and is a metonym for human habitation. By extension, the *útgarðr* is a metonym for all the forces opposed to peace and social cohesion. Above all, the *útgarðr* is the location of Jøtunheimr, "Giant Home." Þórr spends the majority of his time across the limin, roaming the *útgarðr* in a never-ending struggle to keep the world's chaos away from humankind.