When you look at Greek and Roman mythology, it is not uncommon to see the same gods appearing under different names: Mars, the Roman god of war is known in Greek mythology as Ares and the Roman Goddess Juno was known in Greek mythology as Hera, mother of Hercules.
It is therefore not uncommon to find the same parallels in Northern Mythology. For example, in the KALEVALA, the epic poem of Finland, Thor appears under the name Ukko, the sky-god. The sky was known as Taivas.
The word, Ukko, seems related to the Magyar word Agg, or old, and meant, therefore, an old being, a grandfather; but ultimately it came to be used exclusively as the name of the highest of the Finnish deities. Frost, snow, hail, ice, wind and rain, sunshine and shadow, are thought to come from the hands of Ukko/Thor. He controls the clouds; he is called in the Kalevala, "The Leader of the Clouds," "The Shepherd of the Lamb-Clouds," "The God of the Breezes," "The Golden King," "The Silvern Ruler of the Air," and "The Father of the Heavens."
He wields the thunder-bolts, striking down the spirits of evil on the mountains, and is therefore termed, "The Thunderer," like the Greek Zeus, and his abode is called, "The Thunder-Home." In Myths of the Norsemen Thor too, is known as The Thunderer. Ukko is often represented as sitting upon a cloud in the vault of the sky, and bearing on his shoulders the firmament, and therefore he is termed, "The Pivot of the Heavens." He is armed as an omnipotent warrior; his fiery arrows are forged from copper, the lightning is his sword, and the rainbow his bow, still called Ukkon Kaari. Like the German god, Thor, Ukko swings a hammer; and, finally, we find, in a vein of familiar symbolism, that his skirt sparkles with fire, that his stockings are blue, and his shoes, crimson colored - all of which is a similar color scheme to the depictions of Thor in the Marvel Comics. OK OK there are a few differences, but who cares? After all it is THOR! the MIGHTY THUNDERER and RIGHTER of WRONGS.
Also of interest is Thor's winged helmet. The famous illustrator, Willy Pogany, used a similar winged helmet to depict Thor - get this - in 1920! It is used as the frontispiece to "The Children of Odin - the Book of Northern Myths" a retelling of the Northern Myths especially aimed at children. The similarity to Pogany's frontispiece is uncanny.
In RUNE VII of the Kalevala, Wainamoinen (also spelt Väinämöinen) - the wise old man, beseeches the gods for a return to his homeland so that he may see it one last time before he dies. In his prayer he prays to Ukko (Thor) asking him to grant his wish. The verse goes this:
Answers thus old Wainamoinen,
Grateful for the invitation:
"Never do I court strange tables,
Though the food be rare and toothsome;
One's own country is the dearest,
One's own table is the sweetest,
One's own home, the most attractive.
Grant, kind Ukko, God above me,
Thou Creator, full of mercy,
Grant that I again may visit
My beloved home and country.
Better dwell in one's own country,
There to drink Its healthful waters
From the simple cups of birch-wood,
Than in foreign lands to wander,
There to drink the rarest liquors
From the golden bowls of strangers."
He then of course had to give something in order for his wish to be granted. Such was the nature of pagan gods.
But the worship of Thor was more widespread. The Teutons, or Germans, knew him as Donar, and the Gauls named him Toran or Taran - all of which unsurprisingly mean Thunder. So from the cold wastes of the Arctic Circle to the warm lands of Galicia he was known by similar names.
It is therefore not uncommon to find the same parallels in Northern Mythology. For example, in the KALEVALA, the epic poem of Finland, Thor appears under the name Ukko, the sky-god. The sky was known as Taivas.
The word, Ukko, seems related to the Magyar word Agg, or old, and meant, therefore, an old being, a grandfather; but ultimately it came to be used exclusively as the name of the highest of the Finnish deities. Frost, snow, hail, ice, wind and rain, sunshine and shadow, are thought to come from the hands of Ukko/Thor. He controls the clouds; he is called in the Kalevala, "The Leader of the Clouds," "The Shepherd of the Lamb-Clouds," "The God of the Breezes," "The Golden King," "The Silvern Ruler of the Air," and "The Father of the Heavens."
He wields the thunder-bolts, striking down the spirits of evil on the mountains, and is therefore termed, "The Thunderer," like the Greek Zeus, and his abode is called, "The Thunder-Home." In Myths of the Norsemen Thor too, is known as The Thunderer. Ukko is often represented as sitting upon a cloud in the vault of the sky, and bearing on his shoulders the firmament, and therefore he is termed, "The Pivot of the Heavens." He is armed as an omnipotent warrior; his fiery arrows are forged from copper, the lightning is his sword, and the rainbow his bow, still called Ukkon Kaari. Like the German god, Thor, Ukko swings a hammer; and, finally, we find, in a vein of familiar symbolism, that his skirt sparkles with fire, that his stockings are blue, and his shoes, crimson colored - all of which is a similar color scheme to the depictions of Thor in the Marvel Comics. OK OK there are a few differences, but who cares? After all it is THOR! the MIGHTY THUNDERER and RIGHTER of WRONGS.
Also of interest is Thor's winged helmet. The famous illustrator, Willy Pogany, used a similar winged helmet to depict Thor - get this - in 1920! It is used as the frontispiece to "The Children of Odin - the Book of Northern Myths" a retelling of the Northern Myths especially aimed at children. The similarity to Pogany's frontispiece is uncanny.
In RUNE VII of the Kalevala, Wainamoinen (also spelt Väinämöinen) - the wise old man, beseeches the gods for a return to his homeland so that he may see it one last time before he dies. In his prayer he prays to Ukko (Thor) asking him to grant his wish. The verse goes this:
Answers thus old Wainamoinen,
Grateful for the invitation:
"Never do I court strange tables,
Though the food be rare and toothsome;
One's own country is the dearest,
One's own table is the sweetest,
One's own home, the most attractive.
Grant, kind Ukko, God above me,
Thou Creator, full of mercy,
Grant that I again may visit
My beloved home and country.
Better dwell in one's own country,
There to drink Its healthful waters
From the simple cups of birch-wood,
Than in foreign lands to wander,
There to drink the rarest liquors
From the golden bowls of strangers."
He then of course had to give something in order for his wish to be granted. Such was the nature of pagan gods.
But the worship of Thor was more widespread. The Teutons, or Germans, knew him as Donar, and the Gauls named him Toran or Taran - all of which unsurprisingly mean Thunder. So from the cold wastes of the Arctic Circle to the warm lands of Galicia he was known by similar names.
