THOR AND LOKI IN THE GIANTS' CITY

The following is an excerpt from "The Children of Odin - The book of Northern Myths"  part II. The chapter is titled "THOR AND LOKI IN THE GIANTS' CITY"
Read on........

All but a few of the Dwellers of Asgard had come to the feast offered by Ægir the Old, the Giant King of the Sea. Frigga, the queenly wife of Odin, was there, and Frey and Freya; Iduna, who guarded the Apples of Youth, and Bragi, her husband; Tyr, the great swordsman, and Niörd, the God of the Sea, Skadi, who wedded Niörd and whose hatred for Loki was fierce, and Sif, whose golden hair was once shorn off by Loki the mischievous. 

Thor and Loki were there. The Dwellers of Asgard, gathered together in the hall of Ægir, waited for Odin. Before Odin came Loki made the company merry by
the tales that he told in mockery of Thor. Loki long since had his lips unloosed from the thong that the Dwarf Brock had sewn them with. And Thor had forgotten the wrong that he had done to Sif. Loki had been with Thor in his wanderings through Jötunheim, and about these wanderings he now told mocking tales.......

This book is a retelling of the Ancient Norse Mythology, in which Thor played a pivotal role with Odin. It has been rewritten in story format especially aimed at younger readers and gives an excellent introduction to Norse Mythology and the residents of Asgard - home of the Viking gods.

A complete volume of all Norse myths can be found in "Myths of the Norsemen"
which aimed more at the adult reader. A whole chapter is assigned to Thor.

 

Abela Publishing has a range of 25 Viking and Norse books which in the main are used to raise funds for UNICEF. These cover the subjects of:

Children's Tales

Folklore

Mythology

Sagas

Norse Poetry

Viking Fiction

These can be viewed at http://www.abelapublishing.com/VikingandIcelandicTales.htmlhttp://www.abelapublishing.com/VikingandIcelandicTales.html

Will the real THOR please stand up!

Ahhhhhhh - so we now have it - another boyhood hero hits the screen.
 But who was the real Thor? In the most complete volume of Norse mythology "Myths of the Norsemen" (illustrated, follow the link) a whole chapter is devoted to the Norse god Thor - chapter 4 actually. It is one of the largest chapters of the 620 page illustrated volume so it is no surprise that Marvel ended up devoting a whole series to him. The sub-headings in the chapter are:

The Thunderer
Thor’s Hammer
Thor’s Family
Sif, the Golden-haired
Thor’s Journey to Jötun-heim
Utgard-loki
Thor and Hrungnir
Groa, the Sorceress
Thor and Thrym
Thor and Geirrod
The Worship of Thor

That the chapter on Thor appears so early on in the book is testament to his position in the Norse pantheon. Only Odin and Frigga rank higher.

Here is a short excerpt from the opening of THOR'S HAMMER -

Thor was the proud possessor of a magic hammer called Miölnir (the crusher) which he hurled at his enemies, the frost-giants, with destructive power, and
which possessed the wonderful property of always returning to his hand, however far away he might hurl it.

“I am the Thunderer!
Here in my Northland,
My fastness and fortress,
Reign I forever!
“Here amid icebergs
Rule I the nations;
This is my hammer,
Miölnir the mighty;
Giants and sorcerers
Cannot withstand it!”
Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).

As this huge hammer, the emblem of the thunderbolts, was generally red-hot, the god had an iron gauntlet called Iarn-greiper, which enabled him to grasp it firmly. He could hurl Miölnir a great distance, and his strength, which was always remarkable, was doubled when he wore his magic belt called Megin-giörd.

“This is my girdle:
Whenever I brace it,
Strength is redoubled!”
Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).

Thor’s hammer was considered so very sacred by the ancient Northern people, that they were wont to make the sign of the hammer, as the Christians later
taught them to make the sign of the cross, to ward off all evil influences, and to secure blessings. The same sign was also made over the newly born infant when water was poured over its head and a name given. The hammer was used to drive in boundary stakes, which it was considered sacrilegious to remove, to
hallow the threshold of a new house, to solemnise a marriage, and, lastly, it played a part in the consecration of the funeral pyre upon which the bodies of heroes, together with their weapons and steeds, and, in some cases, with their wives and dependents, were burned.

And finally a piece from Matthew Arnold -

“Thou camest near the next, O warrior Thor!
Shouldering thy hammer, in thy chariot drawn,
Swaying the long-hair’d goats with silver’d rein.”
Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).

In its comics Marvel has done justice to the character of Thor, his hammer and belt as described above. Lets just hope the movie does justice to the imaginations of millions of boys who devoured the Thor comics back in the 60's and 70's - who now just happen to be in their 50's, 60's and 70's.
 
And for you younger 'uns - if you see an army of middle-aged, greying men lining up at the box-office buying tickets for this movie, be kind, we're reliving our childhood - only now its on the Silver Screen and not in our imaginations.

If you're not so keen on a whopping 620 page volume on Norse mythology, you could try "The Children of Odin - the Book of Northern Myths" which is an easier and lighter introduction to Norse Mythology (338 pages, illustrated) and which has the reader, especially young readers, following Odin on a journey through the Norse or Northern Myths. It can be purchased online at discount at http://www.abelapublishing.com/Odin.html