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20 Shocking Thor the Viking God Facts

Thor is the coolest of all the Norse Gods. Find out more about him here!

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Beano Facts Team
Last Updated:  August 21st 2024

Check out our other Thor Quiz or research Marvel’s awesome Thor character with our Ultimate Thor Ragnarok Quiz. You can even find out Which Thor Character Are You? Quiz

1. Thor’s Name Gives us the Word Thunder!

Thor’s the God of Thunder and Lightning. His name gives us many words we use today in English. One of the coolest words we get from the god Thor is “Thunder”!

2. Thor’s Favourite Day is Thursday!

A less-cool word we get from Thor is Thursday. But at least it’s not Monday. He also lends his name to the town Thor’s Acre, the mountain Thor’s Rock and the theme park Thorpe Park.

3. Thor is The Son of Odin, the Ruler of the Gods!

Odin, the ruler of the Gods, is Thor’s Dad and Jord (AKA Jörð, AKA The personification of the Earth) is his Mum. With those parents you know you’re going to achieve big things!

4. Marvel’s Thor is Based on the Legend of the Norse God!

The Marvel superhero Thor is based on the Norse god Thor. If you read up on your Norse mythology you can see how the creators of the Marvel hero have been inspired by tales told around viking firesides!

5. The God Thor had a Massive Warhammer!

The massive warhammer was called Mjollnir. Not only was it a powerful weapon but Thor also used it to bless things - and once bought an eaten goat back to life using it’s powers. It was this hammer that Thor used to batter a sea serpent. It was also once stolen by the goddess Freyja, who used it to totally spoil a wedding!

6. Vikings Wore Hammer Shaped Jewellery to Show They Weren’t Christian!

The hammer showed that they were fierce warriors who had dedicated their lives to following Thor. They held Viking’s who had converted to Christianity in contempt!

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7. Thor is described as having Red Hair!

The God Thor is described as red hair and a red beard. Weirdly, when Marvel designed the character Thor they gave him long yellow hair. We’d imagine that a god could choose whatever hot they wanted - so maybe it was both colours!

8. Thor Also Had a Magical Belt That Made Him Twice As Strong…

And also stopped his trousers falling down. It’s quite important to have twice as much strength when you spend all day battling trolls, giants and sea serpents, and ripping the heads of oxen (more of this later)

9. Thor had Iron Gauntlets!

Thor’s Iron Gauntlets protected his hands when he was throwing lightning bolts at his enemies and taking his dinner out of the oven! These gauntlets in the picture aren’t the actual gauntlets by the way but that doesn’t mean we haven’t ordered them from Amazon anyway!

10. Thor Enjoyed Feasting!

Who doesn’t! He once ate two entire oxen before a fishing trip, before ripping another ox’s head off to use as bait. He probably needed some lessons in table manners. I blame the parents (Odin and Jord)

11. Thor was an Enemy of Giants! 

Thor killed many giants in his time. His most famous giant lilling was with Hrungir - the mightiest of the giants - after he had an argument with Odin about Odin’s eight legged horse called Sleipnir! A lump of rock that Hrungir threw at Thor remained lodged in his head until Thor died. Ouch!

12. Thor killed Jormungand!

Jormungand was a Giant Serpent. According to legend, Thor and Jormungand met many times before Thor finally killed it either during a fishing trip or in the battle of Ragnarök! But snake fans, don’t dispair. The serpent got it’s grisly revenge (See later!)

13. Thor’s Huge War Chariot was Pulled by Giant Goats!

As far as we are aware this is the coolest use of goats in any myth or legend anywhere! Imagine doing the school run in a chariot pulled by giant goats!? Now that’s why Thor’s the coolest good around!

14. Thor’s Lightning Frightens Trolls

Next time you’re feeling a little bit frightened during a thunderstorm, spare a thought for the trolls, cowering in the dark, away from Thor’s rage. Thor’s got a bad record with trolls and once tricked a gnome that was in love with his daughter into staying up all night until he turned to stone at dawn.

15. Thor’s Not Just the God of Thunder and War

He’s also in charge of sacred groves, trees, strength, the protection of mankind, hallowing, and fertility - it’s just that Thunder and War is slightly more exciting, so Thor stories are mainly about those responsibilities. Btw Hallowing is when you make something sacred!

16. Thor has at least 15 Names!

These include (in English) Asabrag, Asa-Thor, The Terrible, Bjorn, and Ennilang! Great inspiration for when you get to name your pet gerbil, hamster or cat.

17. Thor Had a Wide Forehead!

The name Ennilang means “The One With The Wide Forehead.” To be honest, it’s not his coolest name so no wonder he went for Thor instead.

18. Thor Died From A Snake Bite

A famous poem tells of the death of Thor. “He will do battle and slay The Great Serpent, take nine steps then be overcome with the venom of the beast!” Legend tells that Thor died after his final battle with Jormungand!

19. Thor Has Inspired Artists Around the World!

From modern day film-makers to olden-day artists, the legend of Thor has inspired many spin offs, like the painting, Thor Battering the Midgard Serpent in 1790 by the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli. (We assume that battering means killing rather than coating in batter and deep frying then serving with chips!)

20. Thor was Born in a Cave!

The mighty god of thunder wasn’t born in the sky or a castle or a palace, but a cave. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom… Thor’s father Odin commanded a troop of Sprites to decorate the caves which is exactly the sort of the thing you’d do if you were king of the gods! It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!

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