THOR, The power of nature, benevolence towards humans Print

Twice, Thor protects the integrity of Freya, goddess of fertility, and the stakes of what she could represent for the gods as for men, the intrigues of the giants: When a giant, in the guise of a master builder, challenged the gods to erect a colossal palace in a limited time with the trophy hand Freya. When to give Thor his hammer that he had stolen from him, the giant Thrym demanded Freya's hand. With his hammer and benevolence towards humans, his primary role in agriculture, Thor is a protective god. A filiation that unites heaven and earth Thor is a key figure in the cosmogony, Odin creates it:   « Jord (earth) was his daughter and his wife; with her he begat his first son, and that is Asa-Thor. To him was given force and strength, whereby he conquers all living things. » Gylfaginning, verse 9 Thor - the thunder - will have with Sif - the earth-, a Thrud girl - the power ", with Jarnsaxa - who holds an iron sword -, a Magnificent strong son -, a third woman Modi - furious -. And adopted the son of Sif Uff - the march to glory. Force of Nature, fiery nature. His temperament, tempestuous, whose formidable anger and sometimes unavoidable and disproportionate, and his strength personify the paroxysm of nature. Thor appears to be as much a god of warriors as a god of farmers, assuming a productive or reproductive function. Moreover, his Hammer Mjöllnir is his weapon of choice, but also his tool, because it is with him that it triggers thunder, lightning, earthquakes, rain, allowing its fertilization. Acting primarily in the sky, his divinity is in fact linked to the fertility of the earth. Whole and rancorous nature Its attributes and characteristics give nature an exclusive, incomparable and inexhaustible power. Only Thor has the ability to manipulate his hammer, his belt amplifier effects and his iron gloves - Jarngreipr. His hammer always returns to him, true to himself, just as the two goats Tanngrisnir - creaky teeth - and Tanngnjostr - sparkling teeth - which compose his horse, regenerate themselves in one night after having served to live to sustain their master or after having perished. Only broken skeletons can hinder the resurrection of these sheep forces despite Thor's blessing. The importance of sparing his mount. And that's what happened to humans too greedy with respect to nature. They were enslaved. He thus punished the two peasants who, goulus, broke the bone of one of Thor's goats. Despite the blessing of the latter, the lame goat lame. Attracting Thor's fury, in compensation Thjalfi and Roskva served Thor. Nature is not invulnerable While traveling, Thor, arrives at the immense fort of Utgard, presenting himself to the king Útgarða-Loki. The latter challenges him to prove some superior talent, given its minor size. Thor fails all three trials: Thor declaring himself a good drinker, he receives a horn to empty but fails. Thor declares himself strong but can not lift the cat that the King submits Thor is beaten to fight by an old woman. Thor admits his defeat and admits his disgrace. The king confesses to him that he was deceived by illusions: the horn was connected to the immensity of the ocean, in which Thor managed to create the tides the cat was the Midgard snake, a monster that girdles and holds the world, that Thor has still moved the adversary who was right about him was nothing but old age. Thor himself will eventually perish in the prophetic battle of Ragnarök.