Thor is the son of Odinn and Earth (also named Hlodgyn or Fjorgyn). His wife is Sif. They have a daughter, Thrudur and the two sons Modi and Magni. Thor lives in Thrudheimi (or Thrudvangar). His palace is called Bilskirnir. Bilskirnir and is the world's biggest house with 640 floors and 540 doors. Thor appears as a big muscular man with red hair and beard and huge fiery eyes. He likes to eat and drink to excess. Thor is the god of the common man.

Thor was originally the god of thunder like Zeus and Jupiter, and one of the main gods of Old Norse mythology, Thor was also worshipped as the god of winds, rain and fertility in other countries. It's easy to see the comparison between Jupiter and Thor by observing the names of the week. The fifth day of the week, in English, is named after Thor, "Thursday". In Latin rooted languages it is named after Jupiter. Thor is also often called Jupiter in scripts written in Latin. Some scholars believe that he is related to the Indian god Indra who is almost identical to him.

Thor is the strongest of the gods. His weapon is the hammer Mjollnir, which is the most common object known to gods and men. Thor has iron gloves, which he wears when he uses his hammer. Thor protects Midgard and Asgard against the menacing beings that would destroy the world. In most stories, Thor is said to be in the east fighting Jotuns. Thor is the only god that Loki seems to respect.

Thor is also the protector of living men and he was adjured when men found them selves in troubles. Little hammers were also made as amulets. These hammers were later used as wands.

Without his hammer Thor would be powerless. In one of the stories, the hammer (Mjollnir) is stolen by Jotuns. They demanded Freyja in return for the hammer. Thor had to dress up as Freyja to get the hammer back. The story of the dealings between Thor and the Jotuns is one of the most humorous of the stories of the gods.

Thor travels endlessly, like Odinn, but he almost never changes his name or masquerades like Odinn often does. Most of Thor's journeys are made to fight Jotuns. Thor travels alone most often, but sometimes he takes Thjalfi with him, and in the beginning he often took Loki with him. Thor travels either by foot or in his wagon, drawn by the two goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngjostur. The goats are also Thor's food, because he can revive them each morning. When the goats fly, thunder and lightning follow