The Mythology Of Thor Explained

Mythopedia explains that the name Thor derives from the Old Norse spelling Þórr, which is related to the Old Frisian thuner, the Old English thunor, and the Old High German donar, all of which were also names for Thor and derive from the Proto-Germanic Þunraz. You don't have to be a linguistics expert (though it helps to know that the letter Þ is a "th" sound) to figure out that all of these words, appropriately, mean thunder (the Old English thunor and Old High German donar are the sources of the Modern English "thunder" and Modern German "Donner," respectively). Thor is, of course, the personification of the natural phenomenon of thunder, so why not just call him Thunder, right?

When Roman culture spread out through Central Europe, the Romans identified the Germanic thunder god Donar with their own thunder god Jupiter, and so when the Germanic tribes adopted the Roman calendar, "Jupiter's day" ("dies Jovis," preserved as jeudi in French, jueves in Spanish, and giovedi in Italian) was translated as Þonares dagaz ("Thor's day") in Proto-Germanic, which became the Modern English Thursday and the Modern German Donnerstag.

Thor, a very popular god, had many other titles and epithets, including Atli ("the terrible,") Björn ("the bear"), Einriði ("the lone rider"), Harðhugaðr ("strong spirit"), and Vingthor ("the thunder-hurler"), among many other equally metal nicknames.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCCkHJvcWpfqbWmecyyq6GnnKS0unnOn2StoJ%2BneqbEz6WYoqaVmXw%3D