Thor is the Norse god of thunder. He is a son of Odin and Jord, and one of the most powerful gods. He is married to Sif, a fertility goddess. His mistress is the giantess Jarnsaxa ("iron cutlass"), and their sons are Magni and Modi and his daughter is Thrud. Thor is helped by Thialfi; his servant and the messenger of the gods. Thor was usually portrayed as a large, powerful man with a red beard and eyes of lightning. Despite his ferocious appearance, he was very popular as the protector of both gods and humans against the forces of evil. He even surpassed his father Odin in popularity because, in contrary to Odin, he did not require human sacrifices. One of his temples was in Uppsala where he stood with Odin at his right side. This temple was replaced by a Christian church in 1080.
The Norse believed that during a thunderstorm, Thor was riding through the heavens on his chariot pulled by the goats Tanngrisni ("gap-tooth") and Tanngnost ("tooth grinder"). Lightning flashed whenever he threw his hammer Mjollnir. Thor wears the belt Megingjard which doubles his already considerable strength. His hall is Bilskirnir, which is located in the region Thrudheim ("place of might"). His greatest enemy is Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent. At the day of Ragnarok, Thor will kill this serpent but will die from its poison. His sons will inherit his hammer after his death.
Donar is his Teutonic equivalent, while the Romans see in him their god Jupiter. Thursday is named after him.
In Norse mythology, the Aesir are the warrior gods who live in Asgard, one of the nine worlds. They were formerly opposed by the Vanir, an elder race of gods, but the Vanir were eventually assimilated are often considered to be Aesir.
Among the gods and goddesses prominent in the myths are Odin, Frigg, Thor, Balder, Loki, Freya, Forseti, Heimdall, Njord, Vidar, and Ull.
Aesir might be derived from the old-Teutonic word Ase, the common word for "god".
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