The Alien Nature of Thor
We’ve all heard of the God of Hammers, woops, I mean the God of Lightning, Thor. Norse mythology is one of the most widely studied and disseminated mythologies today, next to Greek/Roman and Egyptian. But, of course, Thor took on a new life in pop culture as the Asgardian hero in his own and The Avengers comic books. Hopefully, we also know that those stories are not mythically accurate, but we can see how the hero of the long past is reshaped into a hero in the 1960s, and then again in his continuing comics and differently in the movies and series that come out today.
But, to disappoint, but that’s not the pop culture version I’ll be talking about today. No, I’ll be talking about a little grey alien, played by a puppet and voiced by Michael Shanks (the same actor as Dr. Daniel Jackson). Earth’s favorite alien from another galaxy, Thor.
Thor’s Hammer
In the “classic” style of 90s TV shows, there is a rundown of all the mythology/science that’ll be expected to play out within the first five minutes, then they can get to the action and the actual story. In the first episode featuring the Norse gods, Daniel discusses the two types of Sky Gods. The tyrants, who mythologically used their magic/technology to subjugate, “punish and control,” equated to the Goa’uld and the culture bearers, who used their technology to help and benefit humans. The example Daniel gave was the Vikings for the Norse gods. He explained that they were powerful warriors, especially Thor, who used his hammer (not naming it by the way), which released lightning and thunder on enemies of mankind like the Etins. The team surmises that the hammer is potentially an energy-based weapon that they’d like access to, along with making new allies.
And because the plot needs a way for the team to get to a place where the Norse gods might be found, Teal’c recognizes Thor’s Hammer as the symbol for a world called Cimmeria, where the Goa’uld would forbid others from going.
[The way they pronounced Cimmeria made it sound like Summeria. Without subtitles during another rewatch, I never would’ve known. Initially, I wondered why the Ancient Egyptian coded “gods” would call a place they’d never go the same as a place that was adversarial at times, but the nations were long-standing trade partners. Then I did some more research and “Cimmeria, land of Darkness and the Night” is the story about the home of Conan the Cimmerian, as a direct descendant of the Atlanteans as the backstory of Robert E. Howard’s fantasy novel series. This description would make more sense with a place of dread for the Goa’uld who invoked the warning. An ancient name of Crimea, a peninsula in the northern part of the Black Sea, the Bosporan Kingdom, also referred to as Cimmeria. Crimmeria was an ancient microcontinent separating the ancient Paleo-Tethys and Neo-Tethys oceans. It is also interesting to me that the people of Cimmeria and the Asgard also call the planet Cimmeria, so I wonder which history of the word they were going with, if not both.]
The show played its typical triumphant horn music before the Stargate opens and the team comes through. The Cimmerians around the gate laugh and chant “Thor” repeatedly. The “hammer” powers up and scans the team before focusing on Teal’c with his symbiote and transporting him and Jack, who grabbed Teal’c to help, to a labyrinth. The exit of which was the actual Thor’s Hammer, an energy field that blocked any Goa’uld from leaving alive (so they weren’t wrong when they said energy-based weapon).
Thor’s Chariot
The Hall of Thor’s Might - a hall of his powers to defend them, which Daniel hopes is a weapon. In the story, Daniel and Sam come to an obelisk that the people of Cimmeria are told it’s forbidden to touch. Daniel touches it anyway and they get transported to an actual interior hall area in which tests were put in place. The first was a test of bravery and compassion, and the second was knowledge through the:
Riddle of the Runes - Runes were words, ideas, and later numbers
P - Protective power - 3
C with extra lines - dice cup or fate - 14
M - movement or horse - 15
R - Thor’s Chariot or wagon - 9
But those are not the original meanings nor numerical values that are ascribed to the runes, as they didn’t always have specific numerical values in the first place, other than on a calendar, and then were ascribed to the art of magical rune casting as a form of divination. These numbers generally match their arrangement in the alphabet (Liestol 1968).
P means joy - 8 (nope - 3 is the “thorn" rune - could’ve connected that to Thor)
C + meaning is unknown; possibly "pear-tree". - 14 (is matching)
M means movement (is right) - 19 (nope, 15 is the yew tree rune, which also means protection, balance, the world tree, etc.)
R means "ride, journey", which could be taken in a wagon or chariot - 5 (9 is the H with two slanted lines between the parallel vertical lines
(Page 2005: 8, 15–16)
And depending on when and where you look at, in terms of the history and the sources, they have different information, which makes getting the numerology “right” even more difficult. Plus, the Vikings had Pentadic numerals, that act similar to Roman numerals, so I wonder why they didn’t just use those. But I guess it wouldn’t have been as much of a riddle. Which brings up the final wall art. There is a large scene painted out with a circle showing the two diameters/4 radii, as what looks like a very simple wagon wheel to me. However, the characters never even mention it; they barely even look. I guess it just proves there are multiple ways to solve a riddle, even though they picked the right solution using technically incorrect information.
Simple geometric symbols - triangle, pentagon, circle, square, with soft interiors that Daniel draws a radius into to depict pi. That reveals Thor not as the Viking warrior, but as a match of the Roswell grey, making it clear that the reason for the reveal is because they grew wise enough to “see them as [they] really are”.
The difference between Thor in Norse mythology and Thor in Stargate SG-1 is, of course, astonishing. Thor in Norse mythology is not a little grey alien walking around naked because they have no genitalia to hide. There's also no puppet or CGI involved. In Norse mythology, during the first episode and most of the second episode in which Thor appears, he looks like a Norse god with a curly brown beard, long wavy hair, wearing an authentic Norse helmet (with no horns), wielding Mjolnir, dressed in studded armour, metal arm bracers, and speaking with a deep, booming voice. This version of him is played by Mark Gibbon and is the closest to the actual Norse god that we see, though it is a hologram. The real Thor is the little grey alien, much like those described in many science fiction stories, especially from the fifties and sixties following Roswell.
The actual alien race, the Asgard, is very short, maybe 3 to 4 feet tall, very lanky, and ridiculously intelligent. More so than Thor in the Marvel universe — he’s typically kind and a bit dumb, but he's actually quite clever, as he understands science that we don't know on Earth yet. The Stargate Asgard Thor is much smarter than that, and they were part of an alliance of four races that formed a collective of genius aliens. Others being the Nox and the Furlings, the latter of whom we never actually meet in the series, although they do make a joke about it in the 200th episode. They show little Ewok-like teddy bear creatures. But that never happened, as well as the race of aliens known only as the Ancients, who are the builders of the Stargates. As O'Neill says the first time he meets the Asgard (after downloading all the Ancients' knowledge into his head, then having it removed), it's “a pretty heady group,” and he would be right.
Thor, in particular, is the “Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet”, leader of ships across the galaxies, because they travel between galaxies, and he fights the Goa’uld and the Replicators. Although he later needs help from the humans, specifically Sam, because he can't think in a way that's “dumb” enough to defeat the Replicators. After several adventures, he's already a big fan of Jack O'Neill and the rest of the Stargate team, and they always go to them for help because they constantly need it.
Other episodes with Thor in them include:
Fair Game - Thor travels to Earth to mediate peace talks between Earth and the Goa'uld System Lords, adding Earth to the Asgard Protected Planets Treaty.
Nemesis - O'Neill discovers that the Asgard's great enemy is a technological "bug," which has infested Thor's ship and taken it to Earth. Thor lays dying, trying to help SG-1 stop the Replicators -- by destroying his ship.
Small Victories - Saved by SG-1, Thor seeks help from Major Carter in defending his planet from a Replicator attack with her unusual strategies. The attack avoided, Thor pledges to help Earth in its struggle against the Goa'uld once their conflict with the Replicators has been won.
Revelations - Thor is defeated in battle by Osiris and captured. Anubis implants a device in Thor's brain that downloads his knowledge into the ship's computer. Though SG-1 rescues his body, Thor remains in a coma.
Descent - SG-1 discovers that Thor's consciousness remained behind in Osiris' mothership when it arrives abandoned in Earth's orbit. The team downloads his consciousness for the Asgard to transfer into a new body.
Prometheus - Thor finds SG-1 in deep space on board the X-303, and asks for their help in saving the Asgard homeworld from the Replicators.
Unnatural Selection - Thor sends SG-1 on a mission to trap the Replicators on their homeworld by reactivating a time-dilation device.
Disclosure - Thor visits Earth to install Asgard weapons and shields on the Prometheus, and to entreat other governments of the world to leave the Stargate program in the hands of the S.G.C.
Fragile Balance - When SG-1 finds a rogue Asgard scientist, Loki, conducting experiments on humans from a ship in Earth's orbit, and a clone of O’Neill goes wrong, they call on Thor to take him into custody.
New Order, Part 1 - Thor rescues Teal'c and Carter from a black hole, which the Asgard have just created to try and destroy the Replicators -- without success.
New Order, Part 2 - Thor saves O'Neill from the Ancients' knowledge in his head, and helps the team rescue Carter and defeat a Replicator invasion of the last Asgard planet.
Ripple Effect - Occupied in urgent matters with Heimdall, Thor sends his regrets for not helping Stargate Command. Instead, Kvasir is sent in his place.
Unending - Thor oversees the installation of an Asgard computer core in the Odyssey, then takes his leave of SG-1 when the Asgard destroy their civilization.
They are nothing like the Æsir in Norse mythology; the aliens may only seem that way because of their advanced technology. But let's dive into the god Thor’s identifiable attributes and his personality to see where the alien Thor’s might overlap.
Þórr
In the Poetic Edda, compiled during the 13th century from traditional source material reaching into the pagan period, Thor appears (or is mentioned) in the poems Völuspá, Grímnismál, Skírnismál, Hárbarðsljóð, Hymiskviða, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Alvíssmál, and Hyndluljóð (Larrington 1999:320). In the Prose Edda, Thor is mentioned in all four books; Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál, and Háttatal. In Heimskringla, composed in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, Thor or statues of Thor are mentioned in Ynglinga saga, Hákonar saga góða, Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar, and Óláfs saga helga.
The letter “Þ” is the letter "thorn," a rune that was once part of the Old English alphabet and still exists in the Icelandic alphabet. It makes the “th” sound, which is why Thor is spelled like that.
As has been corrected in many articles, podcasts, and videos before me, the version in Marvel comic books and films is not mythologically accurate. He was not the brother of Loki and is never depicted as clean-shaven or blonde-haired except in chapter 3 of the Prose Edda (composed c. 1220), a mythography of earlier Norse myths reworked by the Icelander Snorri Sturluson into one structured account, but written from a Christian context. Elsewhere, Thor is always described with long red hair and a great beard. Which Stargate gets closer, but as mentioned in the episode synopses, the actor they got (who played several other characters, featured and background, throughout the show’s run) had brown hair, not red.
Just in general, Thor is the Norse god of thunder, the sky, and agriculture. He is the son of Odin, chief of the gods, and Odin's consort Jord (Earth) and is the husband of the fertility goddess Sif, who is the mother of his son Modi and daughter Thrud; his other son, Magni, may be from a union with the giantess Jarnsaxa.
Thor has three valuable treasures. One is Mjölnir, “which the frost-giants and mountain-giants well know when it’s raised;[...] for with it he has split many a skull of fathers or friends” (translated from the Prose Edda by Sturluson in 1200). His second is the belt of strength (Megingjarder), which doubles his strength when worn (Sturluson 1200). The third are the iron gloves (Járngreipr or Járnglófar) that Thor needs to wear to wield his hammer. With these tools, Thor could be the defender of Asgard, the realm of the gods, and Midgard, the human realm, and is primarily associated with protection through great feats of arms in slaying giants (frost or otherwise). The majority of the tales featuring Thor put him in conflict with a giant or with his nemesis, the Midgard Serpent Jörmungandr, the “World Serpent”. He is one of Loki’s sons and after being thrown into the ocean, became the monstrous snake who coils and twists themself around the world. So, like Heracles with his club, a knight having a sword and shield, a regular person having a computer (diminishing returns with each example), there is still power or knowledge without the equipment (at least I’d hope so for that last one), but they give more of a direction, an extra boon.
It wasn’t just me who made the Heracles comparison, though I suppose in this case Herucles would be correct because it was the Romans when they encountered what would become the Norse religion. This history is based on the writings of Roman historian Tacitus's late first-century work Germania, about the religion of the Suebi (from a confederation of Germanic peoples)(Birley 1999).
Thor evolved from the earlier Germanic god Donar and emerged as the most revered deity in the Norse pantheon. His influence endures today, reflected in the modern English and German names for the fifth day of the week—Thursday and Donnerstag—which both reference Thor/Donar (“Thor's Day”/“Donar's Day”) (Mark 2018).
Thor's prominence reached its height during the Viking Age (approximately 790-1100 CE), when he was seen as the primary rival to Christ as Christianity started to spread throughout Scandinavia from the 10th century onward. This period is evidenced by the large number of amulets and charms featuring Thor's hammer, symbolizing the religious struggle between Norse paganism and the emerging Christian faith. Ultimately, Christianity prevailed, and by the 12th century, the veneration of Thor gradually declined in favor of the new religion (Mark 2018).
Though this interpretation could be reminiscent of the more ancient origination of Thor that was imported to or evolved as people moved over land, water, and through time to become what we consider to be Thor. He closely parallels other Indo-European thunder deities such as the Celtic Taranis, the Estonian Taara (or Tharapita), the Baltic Perkūnas, the Slavic Perun, and notably the Hindu Indra, whose thunderbolt weapon, the vajra, presents an evident similarity (De Vries 1957: 111; Simek 2007: 322; Turville-Petre 1964: 96-97; Müller 1897). Scholars have drawn comparisons between Indra's defeat of Vritra and Thor's battle with Jörmungandr (Simek 2007: 322). While earlier views posited Thor as either an indigenous sky god or a Viking Age Scandinavian import, the presence of these Indo-European connections has led to a consensus that Thor ultimately descends from a Proto-Indo-European deity (Simek 2007: 322; Dumézil 1973: 17; De Vries 1957: 151-53; Turville-Petre 1964: 103-05).
In Georges Dumézil's trifunctional hypothesis of Indo-European religion, Thor represents the second function, which is strength. Dumézil notes that over time, Thor no longer leads armies; many of roles have instead been taken over by Odin (Dumézil 1985:168). Several scholars connect Thor to fertility, especially in later folklore and in the Sami figure Hora galles ("Good-man Thor"), who reflects him. Dumézil explains this as a peasant tradition that preserves only the result of the god's atmospheric battles: the life-giving rain (Dumézil 1973: 71-72).
Fertility and Agriculture
Thor, beyond his role as a warrior and defender of societal order, was also significant in promoting agriculture and fertility. Others emphasize Thor’s close bond with humanity and everyday life (De Vries 1957: 152-53). The cult of Thor was connected to men's homes and belongings, as well as the health of the family and community and this included the fertility of the fields. Although Thor is mainly shown as a storm god in myths, he also played a role in fertility and maintaining the seasonal cycle. Even today, ancient stone axes have been used as fertility symbols, placed by farmers in holes made for the first spring seed. Thor arrives on Earth with the thunderstorm, bringing rain that makes fields fertile. Thus, Thor and Odin continue the cult of the sky god known since the Bronze Age (Davidson 1975:72).
This aspect is evident in his blessing of the lands settled by the first Icelanders, reflecting his identity as a sky god associated with rain essential for crop growth. The eleventh-century German historian Adam of Bremen highlights this, stating, “Thor, they say, presides over the air, which governs the thunder and lightning, the winds and rains, fair weather and crops” (Adam of Bremen c. 1080). Thor’s marriage to Sif, known primarily for her golden hair, symbolizes fields of grain. The golden-haired goddess, only briefly mentioned in myths, likely recalls an old symbol of the divine marriage between the sky god and earth goddess. Their marriage represents a “hierogamy,” or divine marriage, common among Indo-European cultures, a typical uniting of deities. This union symbolizes the fertility of the land and the resulting prosperity of the people through the sexual connection between sky and earth (Ellis-Davidson 1964: 84).
Mjölnir
Scandinavia has a tradition of wearing jewelry pendants shaped as tools as necklaces [Figure 1]. In Scandinavian countries, as well as those that experienced expanding migration from the region, that pendant is in the shape of Mjölnir, the hammer of Thor or Donar. Mjölnir is an extension of the solar god's hammer or battle-axe of light, which was used and brought to importance to crush, pound, or grind the ‘solid grains’. This was both meant literally for food and metaphorically for knowledge, just as Thor’s hammer was used to crush the Frost Giants to help the people of Midgard, Earth (Littledale, 1985: 282-3). He arrives at this conclusion based on language transliteration; Mjölnir originally came from the Proto-Germanic language word malanan, meaning “to grind or mill” meal or flour, and ultimately the Sanskrit mr̥ṇā́ti, meaning to “crush, smash, slay" (Grimm in Derksen 2008: 307). Mjölnir itself is thought to have the power to level mountains,
“Then [Brokkr, one of the two dwarfs who crafted Mjölnir] gave the hammer to Thor, and said that Thor might smite as hard as he desired, whatsoever might be before him, and the hammer would not fail; and if he threw it at anything, it would never miss, and never fly so far as not to return to his hand; and if be desired, he might keep it in his sark (shirt), it was so small; … This was [the Aesir’s] decision: that the hammer was best of all the precious works, and in it there was the greatest defence against the Rime-Giants…”
(Sturluson, 1200: 148).
This shows Mjölnir as more than a weapon [as shown in the painting of Figure 2], it was even said to be a tool to create and maintain order from the chaos and anarchy of the utengard (outside).
The hammer was used in formal ceremonies to bless marriages, births, and probably funerals as well (Ellis-Davidson 1964: 80). In one episode from the Prose Edda, it was said that Thor would often kill and eat his goats, then bring them back to life by hallowing their bones with his hammer (Sturluson 1200: 44). The medieval Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus records that huge hammers were kept in one of Thor’s temples in Sweden, and that periodically the people would hold a ritual there that involved beating the hammers against some kind of drum that would resound like thunder (Ellis-Davidson 1964: 81-82). This could have been a ceremony to bless and protect the community and ward off hostile spirits.
Figure 1: (from left to right and top down) Photo of Thor’s hammer, found in Nord-Trondelag, currently in Bergen Museum (Staecker, J., 1999). Drawing of a silver-gilted Thor's hammer found in Skåne, Sweden (Stevens, G. 1878). Drawing of a 4.6 cm gold-plated silver Mjolnir pendant found at Bredsättra on Öland, Sweden. (Source: Nordisk familjebok 1913 vol.18 p.716). Silver Thor's hammer amulet found in Fitjar, Hordaland, Norway (Rygh, O. 1885). Amulet in the form of a Thor's hammer, found in 1874, in Mandemark, Møn, Denmark. Plate 41 (Müller, S 1895).
Myths about MJÖLNIR
What’s clear is that the hammer itself is not what contains the magic, like an energy weapon would. Instead, it’s more like what is presented in the Marvel Comics, movies, and TV shows. It’s like a superconductor for Thor’s power that can funnel it into a single blast or concussive booming hit. It has to be specifically and specially made by the dwarves (Giant Space Dwarves in the comics, I guess) to be able to harness Thor’s power without being destroyed.
MJÖRNIR GETTING MADE
The whole story began with Loki cutting off Sif’s hair, which was known to be the most beautiful golden hair of all of the Æsir (another thing that Marvel got oh so wrong, even though they did play through an aftermath of this story early in Loki season 1). Thor’s wife (and another) was understandably pissed at Loki and made him fix it. Instead of him just magicing her hair back (which I presume he could have done) he went to the dwarven Sons of Ívaldi and asked them to forge new hair for Sif along with Skíðblaðnir, the flying ship of Freyr, and Gungnir, the spear belonging to Odin (World History Edu. 2021).
And because Loki couldn’t leave well enough alone, he made a bet with another pair of dwarf brothers Sindri and Brokkr, challenging them to create items of greater beauty than those made by the Sons of Ívaldi, a rival group of dwarves. The prize for the successful creation of gifts was Loki's head. Sindri and Brokkr began their work, creating the golden-haired boar Gullinbursti for Freyr and the ring Draupnir, which could reproduce itself, for Odin.
Loki was going to lose the bet and his head, so wanting to prevent the creation of the gods' treasures, disguised himself as a fly and buzzed around the dwarven brothers as they forged the hammer. Loki bit one of the dwarf brothers, the one working the bellows, either Sindri or Brokkr, to keep the forge hot enough, and caused him to flinch and momentarily lose control of the bellows, resulting in a manufacturing defect that led to an unusually short handle on the hammer. The intended design was for a longer, two-handed weapon, but Loki's interference made it a one-handed tool. Despite this imperfection, the Gods deemed Mjölnir worthy and the greatest of treasures, making it Thor's primary weapon. The short handle ultimately became a characteristic feature of the hammer in Norse mythology. Loki, still having lost the bet, tried to escape paying the price by arguing that while he promised his head, he had not promised his neck. The dwarves, with the gods' consent, sewed Loki's mouth shut to prevent him from speaking further lies, which didn’t last long.
How Thor Uses It
The Theft of Mjölnir and Thor's Deception
In another famous myth, as a shortened version, Mjölnir was stolen by the giant Thrym to force the gods to give him the hand of Freyja, the goddess of love and beauty, in marriage, which she was of course readily against.
Thor Disguised as Freyja - Haukurth (Public Domain) based on the Old Norse Þrymskviða poem in which Thor dresses up as Freyja to travel to Giantland. The engraving is by Carl Larsson, and the xylographer is Gunnar Forssell.
Before the gods found out that it was Thrym, Thor assumed it was Loki and made him help. Loki burrowed Freyja’s feather cloak at flew to Jötunhiemr and found Thrym, who confessed to stealing the hammer to exchange for Freyja (Larrington 1999: 97-98). In a clever plot, Heimdall suggests disguising Thor as Freyja, even borrowing her necklace Brísingamen as the finishing touch. Thor goes along with the plan, pretending to be the giant's bride while Loki would pose as his maid servant, to get Mjölnir back (Larrington 1999: 99). They ride in on Thor’s chariot (Larrington 1999: 99). When the feast starts, Thor devours entire animals and drinks three casks of mead with fierce appetite. Þrymr, surprised by this behavior which conflicts with his expectations of Freyja, is reassured by maid Loki who explains that "Freyja" has not eaten for eight days out of eagerness to arrive. When Þrymr lifts "Freyja's" veil to kiss her, he is met with terrifying, fiery eyes. Loki attributes this to "Freyja" having stayed awake for eight nights. Then, the jötnar's "wretched sister" requests a bridal gift from "Freyja," and the giants produce Mjölnir to bless the bride by placing it on her lap, marrying the two through the goddess Vár (Larrington 1999: 100-101).
When Mjölnir was presented, Thor grabbed it and promptly did some killing. He smashed the skulls of all of the giants in attendance. This myth connects to ancient rites as is shown on a Bronze Age rock carving from Scandinavia that apparently depicts a couple being blessed by a larger figure holding a hammer, which indicates the considerable antiquity of this notion (Ibid. n.d. 80). Historian E.O.G. Turville-Petre suggests that part of this blessing consisted of imparting fertility to the couple, which would make sense in light of Thor’s connections with agriculture and the fertilization of the fields (Turville-Petre 1964: 81). The existence of this rite is assumed in the tale when the giants stole Thor’s hammer and he went to retrieve it by dressing as a bride to be married to one of the giants, knowing that the hammer would be presented during the ceremony.
The Hammer's Purpose
Beyond its power to level mountains and control storms, Mjölnir was also a sacred object used in rituals and ceremonies. It symbolized fertility and prosperity and was used to bless marriages and consecration events, making it a tool for both destruction and sanctity.
It also served as a symbol of protection, with both Viking warriors and everyday people (including women) wearing Mjölnir amulets for strength and courage, and they commonly appear in women’s graves too. This included the swastika, which has been identified as representing the hammer or lightning of Thor and dated back to the migration period and has been seen on a multitude of artifacts from the 3rd century (Worsaae 1882:169, Greg 1884:6). English Scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson, who studied and worked at the University of Cambridge comments that the form of the swastika primarily had connections with light and fire, and would have been linked with the sun-wheel. It may have been linked to Thor's lightning and was used as an alternative to the hammer, because it is found on memorial stones in Scandinavia beside inscriptions to Thor (1965). When it’s found on the pommel of a warrior's sword and on his sword-belt, scholars assume that the warrior was placing himself under the Thunder God's protection (Davidson 1965).
The hammer was a significant symbol of power, strength, and control. It certainly destroyed, but in Stargate, the hammer was more of an energy field that would kill the Goa'uld and allow humans to pass through. Of course, this happens on an alien planet, so they might have a different view of it and different mythology. Although it could be the same, because on Earth, it is a symbol of strength and protection, which it does seem to embody, as it protects humans from the demons. Goa'uld or Etins would, I suppose, just be the outside beings, the outsiders, the Utens.
Figure 2: Thor's [Þor’s] Fight with the Giants. M.E. Winge 1872. Stockholm.
Chariot
Also seen in Figure 2 is Thor’s chariot, is pulled by his goats Tanngrisnir (Old Norse: literal meaning "teeth grinder" or "one that grinds teeth") and Tanngnjóstr ("teeth thin", or "one that has gaps between the teeth"). Both the stories in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, contained stories that featured the chariot pulled by these goats. Scholar Rudolf Simek comments that the names were young when recorded, and may have been inventions of Sturluson (Simek 2007: 310).
In the Prose Edda, Odin tells Gangleri that when Thor is riding on his chariot he is known as Oku-Thor because “Oku-” means driver or rider. He says, every day, Thor can cook the goats; their flesh providing sustenance and then use Mjölnir, resurrect them the next day. According to one story, Thor and Loki once stayed a night at the home of peasant farmers for a feast of his large goats while they were on their way to Utgard-Loki. One of their children, Þjálfi, the son, broke one of the bones to suck out the marrow. The next morning one of the goats still had a broken leg, resulting in lameness upon resurrection. Which is still odd, as I suppose the magic can regrow muscle and skin, but nothing with bones. As a result, Thor keeps Þjálfi and his sister Röskva as his servants, even though the daughter did nothing wrong. They pull the chariot to their destination, not necessarily with Thor and Loki riding in it. Scholars have linked the ever-replenishing goats to the nightly-consumed beast Sæhrímnir in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folk beliefs involving herring bones and witchcraft, which doesn’t appear anywhere else in the legend.
In Stargate SG-1, of course, there is no chariot and no goats to be seen. When it comes to Thor's chariot in the show, it is, of course, a massive spaceship. It is identified as an Asgardian mothership from Jaffa Legend.
Þrúðvangr
In Norse mythology (plural: Þrúðvangar; Old Norse: "power-field", sometimes anglicized as Thrudvang or Thruthvang) is a field where the god Thor resides (Simek 2007: 330). In the Prose Edda and in Heimskringla, both written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century.
In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, the enthroned figure of High/Har (Odin) tells Gangleri (King Gylfi in disguise?) about the god Thor. Odin says the Asa-Thor or Oku-Thor (Asa meaning god) is the strongest of all the gods and men and that Thor's realm is Þrúðvangur and that his hall is Bilskírnir, the largest of all houses that men ever made (Faulkes 1995:22; Anderson 1879: 29).
Further in Gylfaginning, High mentions that Thor returned to Þrúðvangr after Útgarða-Loki's fortress disappeared (Faulkes 1995:46). In the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, Thor's battle with Hrungnir is recounted. The narration details that after defeating Hrungnir, leaving a whetstone lodged in his head, Thor returned to Þrúðvangr, where the völva Gróa unsuccessfully attempted to remove the stone (Faulkes 1995: 79-80). In the Heimskringla book Ynglinga saga, the field is again mentioned, but in a way that tries to connect with a real historical context; here Thor is a temple priest, and given Þrúðvangr, a location in Sweden, by Odin, here described as a powerful king rather than a god (Hollander 2007:10).
Attributes & Character
More Myths of Thor
Depending on the country, Thor might have represented something slightly different from others. The writings we still possess come the Icelandic sagas and the Poetic and Prose Eddas, the mythology there is expansive, especially regarding Thor, as he was such a major character. The stories that feature the god, besides noting his strength and impatience with delays, all emphasize his reliability. Even when Thor is tricked or outsmarted, his past victories and assurance of future triumphs give him the mental fortitude to keep going. He may not win a battle, but will eventually win the war. This concept is examined in Chapter 44 of the Prose Edda when the storyteller High responds to a question about Thor's victories and his defeats.
Travel to Utgard
Some of the stories where Thor doesn't win are among the most famous. One involves the Castle of Utgarda-Loki, a giant, and three tricks played on Thor. Generally, as a continuation of the story when Thor gets children as servants after having the goat feast, he, his servants, and Loki encounter the giant Skrýmir, who ties their food bag tightly, preventing Thor from opening it. Thor tries to attack Skrýmir three times while he sleeps, but each time Skrýmir wakes, asking if a leaf or an acorn has fallen on his head.
Afterward, they reach Utgarda-Loki's stronghold, where the giant mocks their size. To stay, they compete in contests. Loki loses a speed-eating contest to Logi, who eats meat, bones, and the trough itself. Thjalfi loses a race three times to Hugi. When it's Thor's turn, he chooses a drinking contest. Utgarda-Loki offers him a large horn, which Thor drinks three times but can't empty. Utgarda-Loki mocks him and offers the challenge of lifting a large gray cat off the floor; Thor can only manage to lift it high enough so that one paw is left on the floor. Once again, Utgarda-Loki mocks Thor, saying he can try to win at wrestling an old woman, his nurse Elli. Thor and Elli grapple through the hall until Thor is finally forced down onto one knee. At this point, Utgarda-Loki calls off the contests and allows the three or four to spend the night.
Either right after or the next morning, Utgarda-Loki reveals the truth: he was Skrýmir in the forest, and Thor’s blows actually struck mountains. The contests inside the castle were also deceptive and their other opponents were wildfire and thought (because the girl didn’t get involved).
According to Utgarda-Loki, in Thor's contest, the drinking horn's bottom was connected to the sea. No matter how much Thor drank, he couldn't empty it. However, he did manage to drink so much that the sea level dropped, creating tides. The gray cat was actually the Midgard serpent, which encircles the world, and Thor even being able to raise it as high as he did and get three paws off the ground was extremely dangerous for the stability of the world. The old woman he wrestled was none other than old age itself, which is unbeatable. Utgarda-Loki mentions that everyone was amazed and impressed when Thor was only forced down to one knee.
Thor responds to this speech by pulling out his hammer to crush Utgarda-Loki's skull, but the giant vanished, along with his stronghold. Thor and his companions leave the giant's land, but Thor vows revenge on the Midgard Serpent for getting the upper hand. Not long after, he goes fishing with the giant Hymir and manages to catch the serpent. However, Hymir, terrified of drowning since Thor's fight with the beast is putting their boat at risk, cuts the line. The Midgard Serpent escapes, and Thor, after tossing Hymir overboard, wades ashore.
Neither of these stories shows Thor at his best, as he's tricked in the first and betrayed just as he's about to bring the serpent aboard in the second. Yet, he remains a heroic figure, since his flaws are beyond his control. No one could have fared better against Utgarda-Loki's magic.
Vs. the Ferryman
Thor is the central figure in Hárbarðsljóð, where, after journeying "from the east," he arrives at an inlet and meets a ferryman named Hárbarðr (a guise of Odin). Thor requests passage, but the ferryman, shouting from the shore, responds with immediate rudeness and refuses to ferry him. Initially, Thor remains silent, yet Hárbarðr grows increasingly hostile, leading the poem into a flyting—a contest of verbal insults—between the two. Throughout their exchange, various lore is unveiled, including Thor’s slaying of multiple jötnar in "the east" and women on Hlesey, now known as the Danish island of Læsø. Ultimately, Thor is left to continue on foot because the ferryman couldn’t care less (Larrington 1999: 69–75).
Heavy Drinking
In the poem Hymiskviða, Thor is the central figure who, after the gods finish hunting and eating, feels the urge to drink. The gods shake twigs to interpret messages and decide to find suitable cauldrons at Ægir's home. When Thor arrives, Ægir is cheerful but annoyed, telling Thor that the gods must first bring a suitable cauldron to brew ale. Unable to find one, the gods learn from Týr that Hymir, who lives east of Élivágar, owns a deep kettle (Larrington 1999: 78-79).
Thor secures his goats at Egil's home, then he and Týr visit Hymir’s hall seeking a large cauldron. They are welcomed by Týr’s nine-hundred-headed grandmother and his gold-clad mother, who offers them a horn. Despite Hymir’s displeasure at Thor’s arrival, Týr's mother helps them find a strong cauldron. Thor consumes a large meal of two oxen (others eat just one) and then sleeps. The next morning, Thor announces plans to fish that evening and requests bait. Hymir directs him to his pasture, expecting no issue. Thor then retrieves Hymir's best ox and violently removes its head as bait (Larrington 1999: 79-80).
After a gap in the manuscript (a lacuna), the Hymiskviða resumes with Thor and Hymir at sea in a boat. Hymir catches several whales simultaneously, while Thor baits his fishing line with an ox’s head. When Thor casts his line, the monstrous serpent Jörmungandr bites it. Thor hauls the serpent aboard and strikes its head fiercely with his hammer, causing Jörmungandr to shriek and an underwater uproar to ensue before another gap appears in the text (Larrington 1999: 81).
Following a second gap, Hymir is silent and displeased as they row back to shore. Upon arrival, Hymir asks Thor to help carry a whale back to his farm. Thor effortlessly lifts both the boat and the whales and transports them to Hymir’s farm. Later, prompted by Týr’s mother, Thor throws a crystal goblet and shatters it against Hymir’s head. As a reward, Thor and Týr receive the cauldron. While Týr is unable to lift it, Thor manages to roll the cauldron away with them. As they travel away from Hymir’s farm, they are attacked by an army of many-headed creatures led by Hymir, but Thor slays them with his hammer. Despite one of his goats having a lame leg, Thor and Týr successfully bring the cauldron back, ensuring they have plentiful ale and thus continue Ægir’s feast each winter (Larrington 1999: 82-83).
As his most important attribute, Thor frequently wields Mjölnir against the giants (Jötnar), emphasizing his role as the protector of the gods and humanity. Each battle highlights the relentless struggle between the gods and the forces of chaos represented by the giants. Creating the difference between the world safe, or made for humans, vs. the outside, the dangerous world the gods have not conquered for us, or rather with us. The Viking Age Scandinavians especially revered Thor not only as a guide across the seas due to his regularly pushing the boundaries between Inngard and Utgard, but also as a protector from storms since he could also bring them about, and obviously as a champion in battle.
All of these stories embellish Thor's great strength, which is his main feature, and Thor also has a quick temper and often shows impatience with following others' rules. I couldn’t find a single myth depicting Thor as subtle or careful, and he prefers direct action over discussion or planning in solving any problem. Thor is only shown with guile or the capacity to deceive when Heimdall tells him to crossdress. So Thor cannot recognize these qualities in others; as a result, he is often tricked by magical spells or shape-shifting entities.
Thor’s Role in the Viking Age Social World
Archaeological findings trace the veneration of Thor back to the Bronze Age, highlighting how his cult evolved over time and across regions (Simek 1993: 322). A consistent feature from the Bronze Age through the Viking Age is Thor's role as the chief deity of the second tier in the traditional European three-tiered social hierarchy—specifically, the warrior and military function (Dumézil 1973). The first tier represented rulers and sovereignty, while the third encompassed farmers and fertility. Notably, Thor maintained strong ties to the third function, a connection that deepened during the Viking Age—a period marked by social upheaval and change—elevating him as the primary god of the common people in Scandinavia and its Viking colonies (Simek 1993: 322).
This social role becomes clearer when contrasted with Odin, Thor's functional counterpart. Odin was the favored deity of rulers, outcasts, and societal elites, embodying values such as ecstasy, knowledge, magical power, and creative agency. These refined traits starkly contrast with Thor’s more accessible and grounded virtues. The Eddas and sagas often depict tension between the two gods. For instance, Odin mocks Thor by claiming, "Odin’s are the nobles who fall in battle, but Thor’s are the thralls" (The Poetic Edda, Hárbarðsljóð, stanza 24). Another episode shows Odin bestowing blessings on his champion Starkaðr, which Thor counters with curses—in particular, Odin grants Starkaðr favor among nobility, while Thor proclaims he will be scorned by common folk (Gautreks Saga 7).
During the Viking Age (c. 793-1000 CE), demographic shifts blurred the distinctions between the second and third functions of Norse deities, resulting in Thor's rising prominence at Odin's expense. Earlier, Odin and his Anglo-Saxon and continental counterparts held the chief position among the gods, but by the late Viking Age, Thor had become described as the foremost of all the Æsir (Sturluson, The Prose Edda, Gylfaginning 21). This change was especially marked in Iceland, settled in the ninth century by colonists who had fled the oppressive rule of a Norwegian king devoted to Odin. The Icelandic sagas emphasize Thor’s veneration, with the Landnámabók revealing that about a quarter of the approximately four thousand settlers bore names referencing Thor (Simek 1993: 320). In these late Viking Age Icelandic texts, Thor emerges not only as the chief god of the settlers but also as protector of their settlements, ensuring laws are followed and there is stability and subsequently civilization (Turville-Petre 1964: 86).
Thor's appeal extended beyond the Viking warrior; his strength and straightforward problem-solving made him accessible to all social classes. Housewives, farmers, weavers, and brewers alike invoked Thor for assistance with everyday challenges, demonstrating his role as the dependable god of the everyman. Consequently, Thor became the Norse deity who embodied common sense and reliability, a figure to whom everyone could relate and depend on.
Though Thor is doomed to die at Ragnarök, the end of the world and twilight of the gods, but falls only after killing the great serpent with his powerful Mjölnir, dying after walking a specific number of steps, due to its poison. His sons Magni and Modi survive the end and subbequent rebirth of the world along with a small number of other gods and inherit his hammer, which they use to restore order.
Asgard/Vanir vs Æsir/Vanir
Intelligence and Bravery
However, if we want to compare the personalities of the different versions, it isn’t easy, because they seem to have little in common. The mythological seems like a hot-headed hubristic hero from Greece, but hubris is not much of a fatal flaw in Norse mythology, or rather for Thor himself. He always saves the day, but is constantly getting into fights because he’s bored, but his bravery and husbah are depended upon, more or less so, depending on the story. He has a wife, Sif, and children (the latter of whom survive Ragnarök), and he goes out as a hero, killing the Jörmungandr serpent for the new world to continue.
The alien Thor is brave, as the Supreme Commander who appears calm through every problem, but he’s very aloof, as seems to be the Asgard way. He doesn’t REALLY help the humans of Earth THAT much, at least not directly (we are still “too young”), but he and the rest of the Asgard constantly need SG-1’s help. They keep warning the team not to do things, and sometimes bail them out of the trouble they get themselves into. At the end of the series, the Asgard finally give the Earth ship all the Asgard upgrades and knowledge since the cloning process leads the entire civilization to degrade too much to continue, which sort of causes all the issues of the final episode of the final season. But either way, they are still calm and kind in the face of their own destruct, and wipe out the evil wherever they can. So just like how they were first introduced, the Asgard and Thor specifically were friends to humans. While telling people what they shouldn’t do and, perhaps slowing development a bit, the humans of Earth saw that we could be brave and wise after they were gone, pick up the mantle, and that’s really what the show is all about: the optimistic view of our future that shows what the best of us can become.
Thor is one of the highest-ranking leaders of Asgard, so that is mythologically accurate, but there is never any mention of Odin or any female Asgardians from mythology. We only ever hear about Freyer, Heimdall, and Loki. This may be due to the cloning they underwent, where they don't actually have specific genders since they reproduce asexually through cloning. Or it could have been because female Æsir and the Vanir (another branch of Norse gods, which includes Freyr, Freyja, and Njord), especially in the 90s, might not have been as well known, like how Freyja, Frigg still often get confused with each other, Sif/Sigyn (Sif as priestess in some stories), or others.
Strangely, you also never hear of Balder as an individual, and he was one of the most famous Æsir in mythology, dying and inevitably kicking off the path that led or leads to Ragnarök. [Which may not have happened yet, since the world didn’t end, although that could be why there aren’t any gods; all the mythological end of the world stuff happened already. But I know that’s not accurate to the myths either.] But perhaps he was already deceased before the show ever started and the Baldur-designated science class starship made by the Asgard and the Vanir (a rogue group of Asgard who don’t actually show up until Stargate Atlantis) (stargateapocalypse.fandom.com).
The myths tend to show that he is a brute, but also a very protective individual (hence his being worshipped as such). A father, a dedicated hero, and a son somewhat connected to Odin. Rather than following the mythology accurately at all, on a surface level, someone decided to go in a completely different direction by portraying Thor as an Asgardian. But, deeper down, he is a symbol of civilization, especially in spreading civilization. For the Vikings, that included acts of brutishness and brutality, in exploration, conquest, and making a land yours, also connecting to his aspect of agricultural fertility.
It is becoming ever more clear that the creators and writers of the show may have burrowed some of the big ideas of which Gods they wanted to work with from our world’s history and mythology, but they are really creating their own variations of who the gods were to suit their own stories. It doesn’t mean I don’t like them and it doesn’t mean I’m stopping this series. I think it just means that, like mythology and legends continue to change in the real world, this is just another version of that.
SO WHY IS THIS THOR VALUABLE IN THE MODERN (IN THE 90S) WORLD?
Coming from someone who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s I am so far from supporting the Viking brutality and most of what the mythological god Thor stood for. For people in general, I’d hope, we don’t want the people in charge, the gods people follow, or our scifi “betters”, the more advanced civilizations, to be fighters, to be brutish, to destroy us, or to solve their problems with conflict (unless it’s a last resort) even if they are tricksters in some contexts. We want them to be peaceful, but strong, and above all, wise. Strangely, the wisest of the mythological Æsir/Asgard didn’t seem to make appearances. They were probably the ones sitting back, not on the front lines, making decisions, which the historical Vikings sometimes appreciated, while other times not. But we are not Vikings, we are older as a civilization now, and maybe following the path that SG-1 generally tried to follow, we can become worthy of being the fifth race.
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