Thor, thunder and lightning! What were the Norse gods like before Marvel? Thor, Torr, Donar: Scandinavian pantheon of gods: Mythological encyclopedia

Beautiful red-bearded, with remarkable strength, protector of people, son of the great Odin - the god Thor (Donner), the most ancient of the Scandinavian-Germanic pantheon of deities. He was worshiped when waiting for rain, harvest, and the birth of children. Thor is a cheerful ace, loves to measure his strength and eat a bull in one sitting, protects the Universe from the thursian giants. His day of the week is Thursday.

Thor - who is this?

In Scandinavian mythology, Thor is the god of thunder and lightning, one of the people's favorites. Refers to the highest gods - the aces. He is called “thrice-born.” According to different versions, his mothers are considered to be: the earth goddess Jord, the giantess Fjörgyn, or Hlodyn. Father - Odin, the supreme god of all 9 worlds in the Universe. Since childhood, Thor was famous for his irrepressible and quarrelsome character, throwing stones and bear skins during outbursts of anger. Having matured, Thor took upon himself the function of protecting Asgard (the city of the gods) and Midgard (Earth) from hostile frost and fire giants (thurs) and jotuns.

Thor symbol

Powerful and good-natured with copper-colored hair, the god Thor is sometimes ridiculed by other gods, they consider him a simpleton and narrow-minded, which is not true. Donner is quick-tempered, but honest, straightforward and does not tolerate injustice. He has no equal in protecting from the enemy and eliminating troubles. With his magical equipment, Thor is virtually invincible. Symbolism and attributes of the thunder god:

Sword of Thor- in his youth, God tried to fight with swords, but this did not inspire him, he spent more time in competitions and throwing objects.
Thor's Hammer (Mjolnir)- a skillful product of miniature dwarfs from the world of Svartalheim. Made of iron, and so heavy that Toru can only lift it. Mjolnir is a formidable weapon, it always hits its target and returns like a boomerang to its owner. When thrown, the hammer causes thunder and lightning.
Yarngreipr (magic gauntlets)– help to hold the red-hot handle and throw Mjolnir over long distances, into other worlds.
Megingjord - magic belt. Thor's strength increases several times thanks to this attribute, gifted to the god by the giantess Grid.
Gridavol Staff– helps to cross deep rivers with strong currents.
Chariot pulled by goats(Tangniostr "grinding teeth" and Tangrisnir "grinding teeth") - Thor's means of transportation across the sky.

Thor - mythology

The Elder Edda, a literary monument of ancient Scandinavian culture, includes tales of the gods, and Donner is one of the key characters. The myth “The Song of Thrym” says that one day, Thor, the god of thunder, went to rescue Mjolnir, which had been stolen by an evil giant. Thrym agreed to give up the gun in exchange for marrying beautiful goddess Freie. Thor, dressed in Wedding Dress, arrived to the giants. During the wedding feast, Thrym placed a hammer on the “bride’s” lap to sanctify the marriage, the Thunder God was waiting for just this, grabbed the hammer and dealt a fatal blow to Thrym.

Thor and Loki

In any mythology of the world there is " a dark horse", in the mythology of the Scandinavian-Germanic peoples, this is Loki, the god of trickery and cunning. Thor and Loki are blood brothers, not a completely correct interpretation. In one version, he appears as Odin's brother-in-law, in another as the stepson of the All-Father. Lodur, his other name, is a representative of the natural giants the Jotuns, but for his extraordinary intelligence, resourcefulness and sense of humor, he is allowed to live in Asgard. Loki is a frequent companion of Thor and constantly either substitutes the god of thunder due to his dual nature, or helps him out of various troubles.

Thor and Odin

Thor in mythology, his father Odin, and all the aces will go out together to the sacred final battle on the day of Ragnarok. The wolf Fenrir (Loki's son) eats the sun, then kills and swallows Odin in battle. Thor will fight with another son of Loki, the monstrous serpent Jörmungandr (world serpent), who lives in the World Ocean. Thor will blow his head off with his hammer, but will not have time to move far (according to legend, only 9 steps) and the deadly poison gushing from the monster’s mouth will kill the god.

Son of Thor

Thor is a Scandinavian god who also personified the male principle. In this capacity, they called upon him so that the earth would bear fruit and babies would be born. Thor himself was married twice. The first wife, the giantess Yarnsax, gave him two sons Magni and Modi. Seth, his second wife gave birth to his daughter Trud. The son of Magni, in the prophecy of the three Norns (maidens of fate), will surpass his father in strength and become great. On the day of Ragnarok, Magni will pick up the hammer Mjolnir that fell from the hands of the defeated Thor and continue the tradition of his father in the new emerging world.

Thor is the god of thunder and lightning in German-Scandinavian mythology, the legendary son of the All-Father Odin, a great warrior. Thor is also the god of war and victory (along with Odin himself and Tyr). But if Odin is considered the god of kings, kings and jarls, then the god Thor patronized simple warriors, he embodied the courage and fortitude of the Scandinavian peoples.

Thor's main task has always been to protect the world of people () and the world of gods (Asgard) from the giants of the Jotuns living in the east and other monsters that threatened the harmony of the World Tree. The god Thor is the son of Odin and the giantess Jord (the embodiment of the earth), but although in fact he turns out to be half a giant, in the Eddic sagas he is called exclusively an ace and “thrice-born” (although the origin of this epithet is unclear). The son Thor was also revered as the god of the elements and storms; Thursday was dedicated to him (Odin - Wednesday). Among other European peoples you can find many similar mythological characters, for example, Indra (Hindus), Perun (Slavs), Taranis (Celts).

As for etymology, there is no consensus among modern linguists about the origin of the name of the Scandinavian god Thor. It is likely that the Old Icelandic "Þorr" could have come from the Proto-Germanic "thunaraz", which translated means "thunder" or "roar". According to this version, the German word "donner", the Danish "donder" and the Old English form "Þunor" also come from "thunaraz". In the Middle Ages, epenthesis could have resulted in either of these words giving rise to the traditional Norwegian "torden" and the English "thunder". There is also a version according to which the Old Icelandic “Þorr” goes back to the Irish “tarann” and the Celtic “taranis”, which also means “thunder”.

It is important to note that in ancient literature the god Thor is not identified with Jupiter, although their functions are similar, and not even with Mars, but with Hercules. In particular, Tacitus mentions this in his fundamental work Germanica.

Thor: characteristics, marital status, heritage

The Norse god Thor, being the son of Odin, was in all likelihood the second most important in the Old Norse pantheon. At the same time, in some regions he was revered as the god of fertility. In the Eddic sagas, the god Thor is described as a red-bearded (or blond-haired) hero with a violent temper and monstrous strength. Thor is hot-tempered, indefatigable in food and the art of war, in fact - the traditional archetype of the Viking warrior.

The wife of the god Thor was the beautiful Sif, the goddess of fertility and prosperity, who subsequently received golden hair to replace those that Loki cut off for her at the instigation of Freya (see the corresponding myth from “”). Sif and the thunder god Thor had two children - the beautiful Trud (or Froud, probably a Valkyrie) and Modi (the patron of the battle, after Ragnarok he will be one of the surviving aces).

However, according to Sturluson’s “Younger Edda,” Modi was not given birth to Sif at all, but to the giantess Yarnsaxa, who also gave birth to Thor and another son, Magni, a mighty warrior who saved his father in the battle with Hrungnir, and after Thor’s death managed to pick up Mjolnir and survived Ragnarok . Also in the “Younger Edda” Snorri Sturluson mentions a certain daughter of the Viking god Thor and the goddess Sif named Luridi, about whom nothing is known. The early Eddic sagas mention Thor's stepson (son of Sif) named Ullr, a master of archery, and a certain foster mother the god of thunder, Chlorus, about whom no explanatory information has also been preserved (she is mentioned only in Sturluson’s “The Language of Poetry”).

But the thunder god Thor is famous not only for his great descendants, who will eventually turn out to be one of the few aces who managed to survive the “death of the gods” in order to build the world anew together with people. Thor and his wife Sif rule the kingdom of Trudheim ("house of power" in Old Norse) or Trudvang ("field of power"), although it is unclear whether these names refer to the same place, which appear in different sources. It is important to note that the euhemeric version of the Elder Edda says that Thor (no longer as a mythological, but a very real historical character) conquered Thrace, “which we call Trudheim.”

The “Speeches of Grimnir” (the song of the “Elder Edda”) says that the god of thunder Thor lived in Bilshirnir (literally “rattle of lightning” from Old Norse), this is the most beautiful house in all of Asgard, it has 540 rooms, in each of which gods live.

Artifacts and magical equipment owned by Thor

In addition to the legendary Mjolnir, the irresistible hammer forged by the dark elves, the Viking god Thor also owned magical iron gauntlets, thanks to which he could hold the hammer's handle (in battle, Mjolnir became red-hot). Thor also has an unusual belt called Megingjord, which doubles the owner's strength.

The Scandinavian god Thor has a bronze chariot, about which the song “Haustläng” says the following (approximate translation from Old Norse without preserving the original syllable): “when Thor gallops in his chariot, the mountains shake and the earth burns.” Thor harnesses two goats to his chariot - Tangrisnir (“grinding his teeth” translated from Old Norse) and Tangniostra (“grinding his teeth”). The peculiarity of these magical goats is that, if necessary, the god Thor can roast and eat them. He then blesses the bones of the goats with Mjolnir and they come to life. The only restriction is that you can only eat meat, without touching the bones. In the myth about Thor's journey to Utgard, there is an episode in which the mortals Tjalvi and Röskva, with whom Thor is staying, neglect this instruction and chew a small bone. So one of Thor's goats became lame. As an apology, Tjalvi and Röskva began to serve the mighty Viking god.

The Adventures of Thor and His Companions

Most often, Odin's son, the thunder god Thor, traveled with the cunning and his mortal squires - Tjalvi and Röskva. There is a popular myth about how Thor, Loki and Thialvi ended up in the fabulous Utgard to Utgard-Loki, who tested them. So Loki competed with fire in the speed of eating food, Thialvi competed with thought in the speed of running, and Thor himself tried to drain the World Ocean, raise Jormungandr and put old age to rest.

Another myth tells of the journey of Thor and Loki to Jotunheim to the giant Thrym, who managed to steal Mjolnir. According to the plot of the myth, Thor disguises himself as Freya, enters Thrym's house, grabs a hammer and kills the giant. Also in the “Younger Edda” another myth is mentioned about Thor’s journey to Jotunheim. The giant Geirrod catches Loki and, on pain of death, forces him to bring Thor without his legendary weapon. Thor swims across the Vimur River, miraculously escaping from the stormy waters (at the last moment the god of thunder managed to grab a rowan branch). Then, in a strange competition, Thor crushes the daughters of Geirrod with a magic bench and kills him with a red-hot piece of iron, which the enraged giant threw at the ace (Thor is helped by his iron gloves).

Another famous myth is often called "Thor's Fishing". This saga from the “Younger Edda” tells how the god Thor and the jotun Gimir went fishing and Thor almost pulled Jormungandr himself out of the World Ocean, which pretty much frightened the giant. Another act of Thor, for which he was especially respected in Asgard, was that he managed to steal a huge cooking cauldron from the Jotun Hymir. The cauldron was so huge that it could feed all the inhabitants of Asgard who had gathered for a great feast.

The last feat of the great ace was the battle with Jormungandr during Ragnarok. Thor will defeat the serpent, breaking the monster's head with Mjolnir, but he himself will fall dead from its harsh poison. As already mentioned, Thor's hammer would later be taken by his son Magni.

Thor's battle with Hrungnir

A special place in the mythological stories associated with the god of war Thor is occupied by his fight with the giant Hrungnir, the lord of Jotunheim, who was probably the strongest Jotun of his generation. Hrungnir was famous for his military skill; in battle he used a huge shield that could reflect any blow (potentially even a blow from Mjolnir), and his weapon was a huge sharpener (Scandinavians argue about this image to this day).

The Prose Edda says that Hrungnir came to Asgard in pursuit of Odin, who said that there is no horse faster than Sleipnir. Hrungnir's horse Gulfaksi (from the Old Norse "golden mane") really did not catch up with Sleipnir, but the ace and the giant did not even notice how they ended up in Asgard. There Hrungnir was offered a drink of beer, the lord of the Jotuns openly got drunk and began to boast of his strength. But when Thor offered to split his skull for such words, Hrungnir reasonably noted that there is no honor in defeating an unarmed man. He suggested that the god of thunder fight on the border of Asgard and Jotunheim, at certain “Stone Courts”. For the battle, Hrungnir's subordinates created the clay golem Mökkurkalvi, placing the heart of a mare in its chest. But Mökkurkalvi did not particularly help his king; he wet himself at the sight of Thor and did not even engage in battle with him.

Tjalvi, who served Thor, ran ahead of him and when he saw Hrungnir, he shouted to him that Thor intended to attack him from underground. The giant threw his shield on the ground, stood on it and took the sharpener in both hands. The god of war, Thor, who suddenly appeared, threw a hammer at Hrungnir, but the giant also managed to react, throwing his weapon at the approaching enemy. The sharpener in flight hit Mjolnir and split in two: one part scattered on the ground, forming flint mountains, the other hit Thor in the head, so that he fell to the ground. The hammer split the giant's stone skull and he fell dead, crushing Thor's neck with his foot. At the same time, Tjalvi attacked the clay golem and tore it into pieces.

Thor tried to throw Hrungnir's leg off his neck, but could not. And so he lay until his son Magni, who at that time was “three nights old,” arrived in time. Magni easily threw the giant's leg off Thor's neck, freeing his father, and said that if he had appeared earlier, he could have easily defeated Hrungnir with one blow.

And the sharpener fragment remained in Thor’s head. The sorceress Groa tried to pull him out, she sang spells over Thor, but God began to tell her about how he freed her husband, Aurvandil, from Jotunheim. Groa was so happy that she forgot all her spells. From this myth was born a strange belief that existed among the peoples of Scandinavia in the Middle Ages: you cannot place a sharpener across the boards with which the floor is covered, otherwise the fragment of Hrungnir’s weapon, which remained in Thor’s head, will begin to move and cause the god of thunder unbearable pain.

God Thor, or as he is also called the “thunderer,” according to German-Scandinavian mythology, he was the God of fertility, storms and thunder. This is one of the sons of Fjergyn or Erd - the goddess of the earth and the supreme one. The name Mjolnir, the war hammer of God, once meant the word “lightning.” It should be noted that the most worst enemy giants - had a lot in common with them. Being a red-bearded hero, he had an amazing appetite and incredible energy. In just one sitting he could eat an entire bull. God Thor loved to measure his strength with everyone. His huge chariot, made of bronze, was pulled across the sky by two goats. Their names were Tangrisnir, translated as “grinding teeth”, and Tangniostr, translated as “grinding teeth”.

Thor had magical equipment. It consisted of: an iron gauntlet - without its help it was impossible to hold the handle of a hot weapon, a hammer - a lightning battle ax and a belt that doubled the strength. Mjolnir - a hammer that was forged for God by miniatures - dwarf brothers, was a symbol of destructive and creative forces, a source of luck and fertility. It had a short handle and always hit the target. God Thor was invincible with a belt and a red-hot hammer. True, it was not in his power to defeat the day of universal destruction - Ragnarok, but he saved the whole world from the terrible serpent Ermungandr.

Thor was constantly accompanied by Loki, the God of Fire. He usually held God Thor by the belt. The two of them went through many adventures. Thor did not deny that sometimes Loki’s agility and resourcefulness alarmed the giants. An example of this is the story of Thor's magic hammer, which was stolen by the giant Thrym. The new owner of the hammer asked for nothing more than the hand of Freya, the Goddess of Fertility, as a ransom for it. persuades Thor to change into Freya's attire and go to Tryma instead. Despite the fact that the “groom” was surprised by the voracious appetite of his bride, the “maid”, whom Locky disguised himself as, presented the “bride” as an example of girlish modesty. Rejoicing, Thrym gives the hammer to Thor, who, in turn, beats the giant and restores his reputation, which was slightly tarnished by the fact that he dressed in women's clothing.

With the help of Mjolnir - a combat weapon, the Gods defended themselves from the giants. He possessed a large number of magical properties. For example, he could bless marriages, bring animals back to life, and influence death and fertility. Many of the myths in which Thor participated indicate that his sword had unlimited destructive capabilities. Like Indra, the Indian God of lightning and thunder, God Thor was the destroyer of evil, and according to Scandinavian mythology, universal world evil was personified in the images of giants-etuns. On the day of Ragnarok, Thor accepts death from the serpent Ermungandr, the offspring of Loki. Thor blows off the monster's ugly head, and, moving nine steps away from him, drowns in a large stream of poison, which the dead creature spews from its gaping mouth.

Thor (mythology)

Etymology

Old Norse word Þorr comes from Proto-Germanic * thunaraz- “thunder”. From him they went dumb. Donner, date donder and other English Þunor, transformed by epenthesis into English. thunder. Swede. tordön, date donder and norv. torden contain the suffix -dön/-den, meaning “rumble” or “hum.” Scandinavian languages also have the word dunder, borrowed from Middle Low German.

Roman sources identified Donar with Jupiter, but more often with Hercules (for example, Tacitus in his Germania).

Characteristic

In Scandinavian mythology, the god of thunder and rain, storms and fertility, second in importance after Odin. The red-bearded hero had powerful strength, which he loved to compete with everyone, and an incredible appetite - he ate a bull in one sitting. Thor is the protector of people (they live in Midgard) and gods (they live in Asgard) from giants-jotuns and monsters.

Family

From his mistress, the giantess Jarnsaxa (Old Scand. Járnsaxa), Thor had a son Magni. With Sif he had a daughter, Trud, and a son, Modi.

Bilshirnir

Myths about Thor

Most myths tell of Thor's struggle with the giant Jötuns and his campaigns in their country Jötunheim.

The giant Thrym stole his hammer Mjolnir from Thor, Thor went after him to Jotunheim, accompanied by Loki. Dressed in the clothes of the goddess Freya, Thor deceives Thrym and kills him with a hammer.

The Younger Edda tells how the giant Geirrod demanded that Loki, whom he had captured, bring Thor to him without the hammer Mjollnir and without the belt of strength. Thor crosses the Vimur River, grabbing a rowan bush at the last moment. With the help of a magic staff, he holds himself on a wonderful bench and crushes the giant’s daughters with it. After which he uses iron gloves to catch a red-hot bar of iron thrown at him and kills Geirrod.

The Elder Edda tells that Thor, for the feast of the gods, obtained a cauldron for brewing beer from the giant Hymir.

On the last day before the end of the world (Ragnarok), Thor fights the world serpent Jormungandr, the offspring of Loki. Thunderer tore off the ugly head of the monster and, moving only nine steps away from it, drowned in a stream of poison spewing out from the gaping mouth of the dead creature. Thor's hammer was picked up by his son, Magni, who continued the fight for his father.

Thor in science

The 90th element of the periodic table, thorium, discovered by Jons Berzelius (1779-1848), was named after Thor. The mineral in which thorium was discovered was called thorite.
The asteroid (299) Thor, discovered in 1890, is named after Thor.

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Notes

Links

// Encyclopedia “Around the World”.
// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

Excerpt characterizing Thor (mythology)

- AND! “What fun you are having,” Rostov said, laughing.
- Why are you yawning?
- Good! That's how it flows from them! Don't wet our living room.
“You can’t dirty Marya Genrikhovna’s dress,” answered the voices.
Rostov and Ilyin hurried to find a corner where they could change their wet dress without disturbing Marya Genrikhovna’s modesty. They went behind the partition to change clothes; but in a small closet, filling it completely, with one candle on an empty box, three officers were sitting, playing cards, and did not want to give up their place for anything. Marya Genrikhovna gave up her skirt for a while to use it instead of a curtain, and behind this curtain Rostov and Ilyin, with the help of Lavrushka, who brought packs, took off the wet dress and put on a dry dress.
A fire was lit in the broken stove. They took out a board and, having supported it on two saddles, covered it with a blanket, took out a samovar, a cellar and half a bottle of rum, and, asking Marya Genrikhovna to be the hostess, everyone crowded around her. Some offered her a clean handkerchief to wipe her lovely hands, some put a Hungarian coat under her feet so that it would not be damp, some curtained the window with a cloak so that it wouldn’t blow, some brushed the flies off her husband’s face so that he would not wake up.
“Leave him alone,” said Marya Genrikhovna, smiling timidly and happily, “he’s already sleeping well after a sleepless night.”
“You can’t, Marya Genrikhovna,” the officer answered, “you have to serve the doctor.” That’s it, maybe he’ll feel sorry for me when he starts cutting my leg or arm.
There were only three glasses; the water was so dirty that it was impossible to decide whether the tea was strong or weak, and in the samovar there was only enough water for six glasses, but it was all the more pleasant, in turn and by seniority, to receive your glass from Marya Genrikhovna’s plump hands with short, not entirely clean, nails . All the officers seemed to really be in love with Marya Genrikhovna that evening. Even those officers who were playing cards behind the partition soon abandoned the game and moved on to the samovar, obeying the general mood of courting Marya Genrikhovna. Marya Genrikhovna, seeing herself surrounded by such brilliant and courteous youth, beamed with happiness, no matter how hard she tried to hide it and no matter how obviously shy she was at every sleepy movement of her husband, who was sleeping behind her.
There was only one spoon, there was most of the sugar, but there was no time to stir it, and therefore it was decided that she would stir the sugar for everyone in turn. Rostov, having received his glass and poured rum into it, asked Marya Genrikhovna to stir it.
- But you don’t have sugar? - she said, still smiling, as if everything that she said, and everything that others said, was very funny and had another meaning.
- Yes, I don’t need sugar, I just want you to stir it with your pen.
Marya Genrikhovna agreed and began to look for a spoon, which someone had already grabbed.
“You finger, Marya Genrikhovna,” said Rostov, “it will be even more pleasant.”
- It's hot! - said Marya Genrikhovna, blushing with pleasure.
Ilyin took a bucket of water and, dripping some rum into it, came to Marya Genrikhovna, asking him to stir it with his finger.
“This is my cup,” he said. - Just put your finger in, I’ll drink it all.
When the samovar was all drunk, Rostov took the cards and offered to play kings with Marya Genrikhovna. They cast lots to decide who would be Marya Genrikhovna's party. The rules of the game, according to Rostov’s proposal, were that the one who would be king would have the right to kiss Marya Genrikhovna’s hand, and that the one who would remain a scoundrel would go and put a new samovar for the doctor when he woke up.
- Well, what if Marya Genrikhovna becomes king? – Ilyin asked.
- She’s already a queen! And her orders are law.
The game had just begun when the doctor’s confused head suddenly rose from behind Marya Genrikhovna. He had not slept for a long time and listened to what was said, and, apparently, did not find anything cheerful, funny or amusing in everything that was said and done. His face was sad and despondent. He did not greet the officers, scratched himself and asked permission to leave, as his way was blocked. As soon as he came out, all the officers burst into loud laughter, and Marya Genrikhovna blushed to tears and thereby became even more attractive in the eyes of all the officers. Returning from the yard, the doctor told his wife (who had stopped smiling so happily and was looking at him, fearfully awaiting the verdict) that the rain had passed and that she had to go spend the night in the tent, otherwise everything would be stolen.
- Yes, I’ll send a messenger... two! - said Rostov. - Come on, doctor.
– I’ll watch the clock myself! - said Ilyin.
“No, gentlemen, you slept well, but I didn’t sleep for two nights,” said the doctor and gloomily sat down next to his wife, waiting for the end of the game.
Looking at the gloomy face of the doctor, looking askance at his wife, the officers became even more cheerful, and many could not help laughing, for which they hastily tried to find plausible excuses. When the doctor left, taking his wife away, and settled into the tent with her, the officers lay down in the tavern, covered with wet overcoats; but they didn’t sleep for a long time, either talking, remembering the doctor’s fright and the doctor’s amusement, or running out onto the porch and reporting what was happening in the tent. Several times Rostov, turning over his head, wanted to fall asleep; but again someone’s remark entertained him, a conversation began again, and again causeless, cheerful, childish laughter was heard.

At three o'clock no one had yet fallen asleep when the sergeant appeared with the order to march to the town of Ostrovne.
With the same chatter and laughter, the officers hastily began to get ready; put the samovar on again dirty water. But Rostov, without waiting for tea, went to the squadron. It was already dawn; the rain stopped, the clouds dispersed. It was damp and cold, especially in a wet dress. Coming out of the tavern, Rostov and Ilyin, both in the twilight of dawn, looked into the doctor’s leather tent, shiny from the rain, from under the apron of which the doctor’s legs stuck out and in the middle of which the doctor’s cap was visible on the pillow and sleepy breathing could be heard.
- Really, she’s very nice! - Rostov said to Ilyin, who was leaving with him.
- What a beauty this woman is! – Ilyin answered with sixteen-year-old seriousness.
Half an hour later the lined up squadron stood on the road. The command was heard: “Sit down! – the soldiers crossed themselves and began to sit down. Rostov, riding forward, commanded: “March! - and, stretching out into four people, the hussars, sounding the slap of hooves on the wet road, the clanking of sabers and quiet talking, set off along the large road lined with birches, following the infantry and battery walking ahead.
Torn blue-purple clouds, turning red at sunrise, were quickly driven by the wind. It became lighter and lighter. The curly grass that always grows along country roads, still wet from yesterday’s rain, was clearly visible; The hanging branches of the birches, also wet, swayed in the wind and dropped light drops to their sides. The faces of the soldiers became clearer and clearer. Rostov rode with Ilyin, who did not lag behind him, on the side of the road, between a double row of birch trees.
During the campaign, Rostov took the liberty of riding not on a front-line horse, but on a Cossack horse. Both an expert and a hunter, he recently got himself a dashing Don, a large and kind game horse, on which no one had jumped him. Riding this horse was a pleasure for Rostov. He thought about the horse, about the morning, about the doctor, and never thought about the upcoming danger.
Before, Rostov, going into business, was afraid; Now he did not feel the slightest sense of fear. It was not because he was not afraid that he was accustomed to fire (you cannot get used to danger), but because he had learned to control his soul in the face of danger. He was accustomed, when going into business, to think about everything, except for what seemed to be more interesting than anything else - about the upcoming danger. No matter how hard he tried or reproached himself for cowardice during the first period of his service, he could not achieve this; but over the years it has now become natural. He now rode next to Ilyin between the birches, occasionally tearing leaves from branches that came to hand, sometimes touching the horse’s groin with his foot, sometimes, without turning around, giving his finished pipe to the hussar riding behind, with such a calm and carefree look, as if he was riding ride. He felt sorry to look at Ilyin’s agitated face, who spoke a lot and restlessly; he knew from experience the painful state of waiting for fear and death in which the cornet was, and knew that nothing except time would help him.

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. Thor (Old Norse Torr), Donar (German Donar, possibly from ancient German Punra, lit. “thunderer”, cf. modern German Donner, “thunder”) in Germanic and Scandinavian mythology, the powerful god of thunderstorms and fertility, conquering giants and monsters. Son of Odin. Thor's main weapon is his hammer; instead of horses, he harnessed goats to his cart, which he ate if he was hungry. Thor guarded the city of the gods Asgard from the attack of giants. He fights and defeats the giant Hold , who stole his hammer, as well as other terrible monsters. On the eve of the death of the gods and the whole world, Thor fights a monstrous dragon Ermungad. He defeats the dragon, but he himself dies from the poisonous bites he receives.

Thor also patronizes peasants - cultivators. he vigilantly guards the fields from the evil giants Grimturs. Thor has magic belt increasing his strength by 2 times, he has iron gauntlets on his hands. One has only to pronounce the name of God and he immediately comes to the rescue.
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Tacitus (1st century AD) describes Donar under the Roman name Hercules. In the area of the spread of Germanic languages, Donar was dedicated to the same day of the week as in Rome Jupiter(i.e. Thursday; German: Donnerstag). However, if Roman Jupiter united all the main functions of the god of the sky, then in German mythology (as well as in Indo-Iranian, Celtic, etc.) these functions turned out to be separated (next to Donar-Thor there was Tiu-Tyur, later greatly displaced by Odin) . Donara - T. is rightly compared, on the one hand, with the Indo-European gods Indra, Taranis, Perkunas. ( Perun), and on the other - with the Finno-Ugric gods of thunder and sky (Ukko, Taara, etc.); Finno-Ugric parallels suggest that Thor was originally thought of as the god of the sky. A. Olrik believes that the “thundering old man” in the beliefs of the Scandinavian Sami, to whom miniature hammers are sacrificed, directly reflects the Scandinavian cult of Thor of the Bronze Age. A wider range of functions of T. in the past seems to be evidenced by rock paintings in Southern Scandinavia of a god with an ax (sometimes with a hammer) and a wheel (solar sign), next to which is an alleged image of a goat. The West Germans have traces of the cult of Donar: in addition to the name of the day of the week, the mention of Thunaer next to Wodan (Wodan) in the Saxon spell formula, Wigiponar next to Wodan in an inscription originating from the land of the Franks, toponymy among the Franks and in England, where the name of the thunderer is mostly associated with the designation of the field, which indicates the function of fertility. Toponymy of Thor, traces of cult places, reflection of his name in personal names, etc. are very abundant in Scandinavia, especially in Norway. There are clear traces of Thor's connection with the cult oak, indicating the initial connection of the thunderer with the world tree (there are Balto-Slavic parallels). Apparently, Odin gradually pushed him away from the world tree.

In Scandinavian mythology, Thor (also known as Veor, Vingnir, Chloridi) is a god from the genus of the Aesir, second in importance (after Odin), the son of Odin and Erd (either Hlodyn or Fjörgyn). Erd is literally “earth”, and Fjörgyn is etymologically identical to Perkunas - Perun and points to genetic connection Torah with Balto-Slavic thunderer. Thor is the husband of Sif, a goddess with golden hair (which emphasizes Thor's attitude towards fertility), mother of the god Ullr. Thor has a daughter, Trud, and sons, Magni and Modi, and Magni was born to the giantess Yarnsaxa. Apparently, the names of the sons (Magni - lit. “strong”, Modi - lit. “brave”) personify the “strength” of Thor. Heavenly home of God - Trudheim . Thor is depicted as a red-bearded hero armed with a war hammer Mjollnir . Thor rides in a carriage drawn by goats. The hammer is the original weapon of the thunderer (Old Norse Mjollnir has the same root as Russian word“lightning”) - was originally thought to be made of stone, but in the “Younger Edda” in the history of making treasures of the aces by blacksmiths - miniatures (dwarfs), we are talking about an iron hammer. In myths, it is mainly a battle ax (returning to the owner like a boomerang), with which T. beats jotuns (giants). The hammer is Thor's specific weapon, as Odin's spear , Tyr's sword . The giants are trying to steal the hammer (or have Thor arrive in their country without the hammer and the belt of power). It is based on the motif of the theft of a thunder instrument by demons, also known to Finnish and Estonian folklore. The names of the Torah goats - Tanngniostr and Tanngrisnir - indicate the gnashing of teeth and clearly go back to the very phenomenon of thunderstorms, but the goat is also related to fertility. In the Younger Edda, goats not only act as Thor’s “horses,” but also serve as a source of inexhaustible food (cf. a similar situation with the boar, which fallen warriors feed on in Valhalla - Einherjar ). Thor, stopping for the night, kills and roasts the goats for dinner (leaving only the bones intact), and then brings them back to life. When Tjalvi and his sister Röskva, with whom Thor stopped for the night, were feasting on meat, Tjalvi violated the ban and began to gnaw bones, which is why one of the goats became slightly lame; as a ransom, Thialvi and his sister were forced to become servants of T. Thialvi often appears as a companion of Thor, sometimes instead of Thialvi Loki appears in this role, and once even Tyr.
In Scandinavian mythology, Thor is primarily a cultural hero or hero who protects Midgard(world of people) and Asgard(heavenly village of the gods) from the giants (Jötuns); he is the enemy of the world serpent Yermunganda. Thor thus also performs a military function in protecting “his own” from “strangers,” people from giants and monsters, as if modeling an armed people, in contrast to Odin, the patron of the military squad. A favorite topic is the so-called. shield drapes (poems that describe the pictures reproduced on an expensive shield given by the king to the skald) skalds - description of the so-called. “fishing” of Thor, i.e. his fight with the world serpent; “fishing” Thor is also mentioned in Eddic poetry and prose. According to the "Divination of the Völva" (Elder Edda), in last battle before the end of the world ( Ragnarok) Thor fights with Jörmungandr, kills him and after that, having managed to take nine steps, he himself dies from his poisonous bites. The fight between the thunderer and the serpent, the dragon, is a classic plot in Indo-European mythology. It is possible that Thor's dragon-fighting is a prototype of the dragon-fighting of Germanic epic heroes - Beowulf, Sigmund and Sigurd.
Most of the stories associated with Thor tell of campaigns to the east in the land of giants - Jötunheim, or Utgard. After the giant Thrym steals Thor's hammer, Mjollnir, he goes to the land of giants to Hold in the clothes of the goddess Freya - supposedly the bride destined for Thrym (using the wedding custom of “imaginary” brides), and accompanied by Loki, dressed as a maid. At the feast, the “bride” (i.e. Thor) shows a heroic appetite, greatly embarrassing the groom, and then, having received a hammer (which is brought to consecrate the wedding ceremony), beats the giants (“Song of the Hold”, “Elder Edda”). The Song of Hymir (Elder Edda) tells the story of the acquisition of Thor. (and Tyr who accompanied him) the giant Hymir had a cauldron for brewing beer needed at the feast of the gods at the sea giant Aegir. Carrying out the difficult tasks of Hymir, Thor defeats a bull and makes fishing bait out of its head, and instead of a fish, he almost pulls out a world serpent from the bottom of the sea, breaks a cup (possibly a semantic doublet of a cauldron) on the giant’s forehead. J. Dumezil sees at the basis of these stories (which he compares with the story of Odin’s extraction of the honey of poetry) the myth of a drink of immortality, similar to Indian amrita; F. R. Schroeder, also based on Indian analogies, believes that Hymir was originally not a giant, but an old heavenly god (therefore Tyr is called his son) and that initially there was a coherent series of motives: the birth of a divine son threatening the power of the heavenly god, stealing a drink that gives invulnerability, fighting a serpent, killing and overthrowing the old heavenly god.
The Younger Edda tells about Thor's campaign to the giant Geirrod (also mentioned by the skald Eilif Gudrunarson and Saxo Grammaticus). Having caught Loki (in falcon plumage), the giant demands that he bring Thor without a hammer and a belt of strength. Thor, however, defeats Geirrod with the help of a wonderful staff and iron gloves given to him (along with a belt of strength) by the giantess Grid, the mother of the god Vidar. Thor, thanks to his belt of strength and staff, happily crosses the Vimur River, grabbing a rowan bush at the last moment. With the help of a magic staff, Thor is held on a wonderful bench and at the same time crushes the daughters of Geirrod with the bench. Using iron gauntlets, Thor catches a red-hot bar of iron thrown at him and kills Geirrod.

The Prose Edda tells of Thor's struggle with the giant Hrungnir. Hrungnir, having outstripped Odin in the equestrian competition, began to boast to the Aesir in Asgard that he would kill the gods and take away the goddesses Freya and Sif. Then the gods call Thor, and he, together with Thialvi, goes to Hrungnir in Etunheim. In the duel with Hrungnir, Thor wins by splitting his skull with his hammer, and Tjalvi knocks down the clay giant Mekkurkalvi, molded to fight Thor (cf. the image of Ullikumme in Hittite-Hurrian mythology). However, Thor himself found himself wounded in the head by a millstone (grindstone, flint), and the foot of the murdered Hrungnir crushed his throat (a similar motif in the Georgian myth about Amirani). Hrungnir’s leg is thrown off by Thor’s son Magni, a hero “at the age of three nights,” and the sorceress Groa almost took the flint shard out of Thor’s head, but not completely, because she stopped casting a spell with joy when she learned from Thor that her husband Aurvandil would soon return. (Thor carried him out of the land of giants on his shoulders; he threw Aurvandil’s frostbitten finger into the sky, turning him into a star); the fragments of the sharpener remained in Thor's head. In this plot, J. Dumezil sees traces of a ritual action (with a clay giant); he considers a wound in the forehead to be a sign of initiation. During Thor's campaign, accompanied by Tjalvi and Loki, to the giants in Utgard, Thor, confused by the ruler of Utgard Utgard-Loki (who called himself Skrymir when meeting Thor), seems to get into trouble all the time: he spends the night in Skrymir's glove, cannot untie his bag (a popular motive meeting of a hero with a giant, cf. Ilya And Svyatogor in Russian epic). Thor and his companions seem to not be able to withstand the test: T. can neither drink a horn filled with moisture, nor overcome Ellie, nor lift a cat high from the ground; Hugi overtakes Thialvi, and Logi eats faster than Loki. But in the end it turns out that Hugi is a thought, Logi is fire, Ellie is old age, the cat is the world serpent, the water in the horn is the whole ocean (“Younger Edda”). In this and other stories, Thor is presented as a simple-minded and noble strongman-hero; his simplicity is partly compensated by the intelligence of his companions, especially Loki. In the same regard, Thor is sharply contrasted with Odin in the Song of Harbard (Elder Edda). Unrecognized by Thor, Odin, who took the form of a carrier, refuses to transport the mighty Thor, who had returned from Etunheim, across the strait and makes fun of him in every possible way. This humorous song in the genre of altercation contributed to the emergence of an erroneous theory about the sharp social opposition between the “aristocratic” religion of Odin and the “peasant” religion of Thor. In “The Speeches of Alvis” (“Elder Edda”) Thor himself shows cunning and deceit; he “tests” the mythological knowledge of the dwarf Alvisa(lit. "know-it-all"), wooing Thor's daughter until dawn comes, when the dwarf should be petrified.