Thor is one of the most prominent superheroes in the Marvel movie series, with the ability to control lightning and possess the weapon of the hammer Mjolnir. The idea to build this superhero came from a God of the same name in Norse Mythology.
In the Marvel movies about Thor, there are many characters and places mentioned in Norse Mythology, but this is just an idea borrowed from the common mythology of filmmakers, so We cannot identify Thor in Marvel and the famous God Thor in Mythology.
This article mainly wants to introduce readers to the story of God Thor – the most powerful God in Norse Mythology, and is still worshiped and believed by people in northern European countries like Norway. threshold to this day.
Background of God Thor in Norse Mythology
The land of Asgard is the Heavenly Kingdom in Norse Mythology – the world of the Aesir Gods. The king who governs this land is the Supreme God Odin, and the second most powerful person after Odin is Thor, Thor is also the son of God Odin. Despite many similarities, the story of Thor in Mythology is still different from the Marvel movie series.
In the mind of the ancients, Thor is a God with a tall and strong physique, handsome and majestic appearance with a red beard, always holding the hammer Mjolnir. Thor is worshiped throughout Northern Europe, and legends about him are still widely circulated in folklore.
Thor holds control of the climate, rain, wind and crops, and also possesses the power to control thunder, so he is considered the protector of mankind when they are attacked by the ferocious giants. Thor rides on a thunderous chariot pulled by two magic goats, when rolling, his chariot will make a loud bang, so he is also called Riding-Thor. In addition, Thor also has the ability to reincarnate: He can kill his two goats at any time and then resurrect them, as long as their bones are wrapped in skin.
Thor possesses three treasures: a power belt, Mjolnir God hammer and God gloves that help him control his hammer easily. He is married to Goddess Sif and has a son, Modi. In addition, Thor has another stepchild, Magni.
There are many legends about the exploits of Thor, here we would like to tell the story of Thor’s adventure to Utgard – the realm of giants.
Thor’s Journey to Utgard
Once Thor and his followers set out to the world of giants – the land of Utgard. Giants in Norse Mythology are very cruel and violent people, seen as enemies of the Aesir Gods and humans.
On the way Thor met a giant named Skrymir, Thor hit the giant on the head three times with a hammer, but it was completely ineffective. On the first blow, Skrymir said: “Just as light as a falling leaf” , on the second hammer, Skrymir still scoffed: “Light as a fallen acorn.” In the final blow, Thor used all his might to strike down, and Skrymir said: “Just like something from a tree that just fell gently on my face.”
Skrymir then mocked Thor for being a weak little man and advised him not to go to the giants’ realm of Utgard, because there were people much stronger than him. Still, Thor and his entourage continued to advance.
Upon reaching Utgard, they entered the huge magnificent castle and met the king of Utgard there. The king of giants looked at Thor with disdain and asked, “Are you the Riding-Thor of the Aesir? Ha ha, you should know that only those with a little more ability than us giants are worthy of our respect. What talent do you have?”
“I can have a drinking contest with you.” Thor replied. King Utgard said: “Fine!” , then sent out a giant horn filled with wine, continued: “We giants can drink all the wine in this horn with a single sip. He’s so small, he must have taken two sips to finish. Maybe you’re not so bad that you have to take three sips?”
Thor saw that the horn was large, but he reckoned that he could drink it all in one gulp. Unexpectedly, when he put his lips in and took a long drink, the wine in his horns did not lessen at all. When Thor raised his head, the wine in his horns remained unchanged. The king laughed and said, “You’ll do better on the second sip, won’t you?”
Thor took another long, strong drink, but the amount of alcohol was almost the same as before. This time the king pouted his lips and asked, “Wow, so incompetent? Are you really that famous Thor?”
Derided, Thor raged with all his might to take a third sip, this time only stopping when he was completely unable to take another. At this time, the alcohol in the horn has indeed decreased a bit, but there is still a lot. The king laughed and said, “You are obviously much weaker than people say.”
Thor was furious, and said, “If you think I’m weak, let one of you compete with me.” King Utgard replied: “No one wants to be pitted against a little fellow like you, the children here often play by picking up a small cat and throwing it away, this trifle I hope you can. can do.”
With that, a huge gray cat ran into the hall, and Thor came over to support its belly and tried to lift it, but it was too heavy! He tried to turn his face red, but he couldn’t move it. Thor pulled out all the strength in his body, finally lifting the cat off the floor for a while, but he was completely unable to throw it away.
When he put the cat down, Thor saw the king’s expression change slightly, but then he laughed and said, “Unfortunately, but you failed! You are far below the hero image that we think! I’ll give you a hearty meal, and then you’ve got to get out of here.”
Thor feels frustrated, not eating well. He had to say goodbye and leave early. The king saw him outside and asked, “How do you feel about your journey here?” Thor shook his head and said, “This trip does not do me any good with the Aesir clan, I am ashamed to have to bear the name of a weakling.”
Then King Utgard said: “Actually, you have been deceived by me from the beginning without knowing it, and now I will tell you the truth. The giant Skrymir you met on your way here was me, each blow of your hammer would have surely killed me if I hadn’t defended, I relied on the protection of the giant mountains. Do you see over there three consecutive valleys, the latter deeper than the former? It was caused by your hammer blows.”
“When you drank from the horn, I gasped in surprise. The other end of that horn connects to the ocean, the wine in the horn is the water in the entire ocean, but you can make it a little less, now if you look carefully, you will see that the current sea water has also disappeared. a little less than before! The fact that he was able to lift the gray cat off the ground made me scared, because that cat is the great Jormungand python whose body is wrapped around 9 worlds! You’re not inferior, Thor, but you’re extraordinary!”
Knowing that after saying these words would make Thor angry because he was deceived, the king and his palace immediately disappeared. Although Thor has been surpassed, this trip still shows his extraordinary strength.
Thor and the end of the universe
The universe described by Norse Mythology is not an eternal universe, but over a very long time, it will gradually perish and perish, this also coincides with the law of “City – Universe – The Universe”. Destroy – Destroy” that Eastern religions often teach.
The last moment of the universe – called Ragnarok in Norse mythology – will be a fierce battle between Good and Evil. Many demons and demons will rise up against the Gods and destroy mankind, the world tree Yggdrasil will be burned, the 9 worlds from the earth to the sky will be engulfed in blood and fire. The great Jormungand python crawled up from the sea, with its infinite size wrapped around the Earth, its tail swept across the sky, causing countless stars to fall to the ground (this is also similar to the legend of the Red Dragon). in the Bible with his tail dropping ⅓ of the stars in the sky).
At that time the Gods also devoted all their strength to oppose, many warriors and Gods died together with monsters in brutal battles. God Thor, the greatest warrior of the Aesir gods, is the opponent of the great python Jormungand. The two sides fought for many days, finally Thor was able to kill the giant snake that destroyed the world, but partly because of exhaustion, partly because of its poison, he also died after walking nine steps. step.
After Thor and the great serpent both died, Ragnarok also gradually approached the inevitable end: The entire universe would be destroyed. However, at that moment, Norse Mythology prophesied that there would appear the “Supreme Almighty”. He is more powerful than the Supreme God Odin, He will not let everything end but will renew the universe.
After Ragnarok, the forces of darkness, demons, and evil completely disappeared, the earth began to emerge from the bottom of the sea, the sun dispels the clouds, the trees sprouted again, and the human race was also blessed. saved from destruction. After that, the Gods of Righteousness who died in Ragnarok were also revived and continued to protect their world. Thor’s two sons followed in their father’s footsteps as Gods of Thunder. The universe has been revived by the power of the “Supreme Almighty”.
Norse mythology ends here. Although Ragnarok is only a myth, it has many similarities with prophecies in major religions, such as the end-time prophecy in Buddhism and Taoism, or the Doomsday prophecy in other religions. Western religions,… Perhaps this myth comes from the ancient beliefs of the Norse people and is also a prophecy that the ancient Norse people have left for people today.
