Wednesday, October 09, 2013

My Favorite Norse God: Thor

In celebration of the release of SECRETS OF THE ASH TREE by Siv Maria Ottem, she's hosting a blog hop wherein we all post a post about our favorite Norse God. You know I couldn't say no to a blog hop about Norse Gods, guys, come on.

I think it goes without saying who my favorite Norse God is, at this point. Especially if you're a regular reader of the blog! But if you aren't, and somehow we have never crossed paths in the blogosphere -- in my life, there is no competition for the title. My absolute most favorite Norse God is Thor, and from this love a great number of creative endeavors have been born. The Fate of the Gods series, for one, and Thor in Zombie Land, of course. A number of sketches of dubious quality, and my sometimes-avatar image of Mjolnir, created in paint. Pretty much my whole web presence is an ode to Thor Love, and my personal slogan on social media (which I didn't come up with myself so I cannot take credit) is "Come for Thor, Stay for More." (and you should check out my twitter background if you've been enjoying Name that Butt, just sayin')

You might be asking yourself, "but why do you love Thor so much?" And if so, allow me to quote from a blogpost I wrote a while back about his essential character:

I think the reason Thor was so beloved was because he always helped his people. Thor was the god that could be depended on, no matter what had happened, to go out and do what had to be done-- whether that was beating down on Loki, or killing off giants, or drinking a ton of mead, or dressing up as a woman. Thor was intensely loyal, unwavering, and good.
[...]
Thor might have had a short temper, but just because he was angry didn't mean he wouldn't help you out. And maybe that was what was most appealing about him. Unlike many of the other gods, in any pantheon, Thor was not a god to hold a grudge. He was quick to forgive. Quick to move on. And for humans, imperfect as we are, as we know ourselves to be, a god who forgives would be attractive.
[...]
This is Thor's character. This is the god who was loved by his people, and honored more than all the others. The god who showed, if not love, at least benevolence toward those who did not have his strength, and called themselves his friend, regardless of whether their actions proved their words or not. Is it any wonder that he was so popular? In his essence, Thor was not just a god of thunder, and wielder of incredible raw power, Thor was also, in character, a god of friendship.

Maybe that's why he's my favorite, when it comes down to it. For all his faults, for all his violence, his heart was in the right place.

 And if you want to know more about my love of Thor, and particularly, my most favorite version of Thor in pop culture, as well as Thor's role in my Fate of the Gods novels, tune back in November 5th for my own Thor Love blog hop, to celebrate the release of FATE FORGOTTEN, book two in the Fate of the Gods trilogy!

32 comments:

  1. A Thor love blog hop! Sounds like fun. Nice to meet you, new follower, can't believe we have not crossed paths before! I love Thor and he is a major player in my book! Fate of the gods trilogy, I can't wait to check it out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! I'm always thrilled to find another Norse Myth lover in the blogosphere! This is a great blogfest and I'm excited to read up on everyone's favorite gods!

      Delete
  2. A man of passion! Nice choice Amalia
    -Maurice Mitchell
    The Geek Twins

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, Amalia,

    Nice to meet you... visiting from the hop.

    I can feel your passion for Thor. He seems to be very popular today. And for the reasons you listed here.

    Congrats to Siv... All the best!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did you really expect anything else? :) Thor has always been the Everyman's god!

      Delete
  4. How do you feel about the Thor movies? He was the stand-up Norse god, always there for a good fight or a lusty laugh. Who could hate a guy like that? Oh, I forgot ... Loki! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the first Thor movie was a really great translation of the comic book to the silver screen, but I think there was too much going on and we didn't get enough of his time on earth to really feel like his love for humanity was cemented -- that said, I think Marvel does a great job of adapting Mythology!Thor into Superhero!Thor in such a way that it's respectful of the people who still believe in him and honor him. They get his essential character right, and that's what matters the most to me! :) Thanks for stopping by Roland!

      Delete
  5. Hi, Amalia,
    Nice to meet you. You've done a good job of describing Thor as one of the good guys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! He makes it pretty easy :)
      Glad you stopped by!

      Delete
  6. Thor is a very popular choice for this fest, rightly so. Visiting from the blogfest today. Congrats to Siv.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's the everyman's god for a reason, definitely :) There's a lot to appeal! Thanks for stopping in!

      Delete
  7. LOL somehow I thought I'd find Thor in pride of place at your blog! I love your Thor stories.

    ReplyDelete
  8. He certainly forgave his brother often enough!
    Thor was my pick as well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good Luck To Siv! I liked your reasons for picking Thor. I'll watch for your own launch.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thor, the god of friendship. I'll remember that.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think you've sold me on Thor. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I played "name that butt" a few times, but couldn't really name any of them. I enjoyed the butts though. And I used to come around a lot - don't know what happened to my bloghopping - and I knew you were a Thor fan. My fav is Loki, and Thor could often be as reckless as Loki. Ah love, what a merciless mistress :)

    ........dhole

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I was trying not to make it too easy, but I think I ended up going too far in the other direction!

      I know just what you mean -- my bloghopping has been failing me, also, so no worries :)

      Delete
  13. Who doesn't love Thor? He's not my favorite on this hop, but Hemsworth definitely does the character justice. Sorry I'm late making rounds on the hop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No worries at all! Thanks for stopping by!
      Hemsworth DOES do a good job -- but mythology!Thor is still superior, imho :)

      Delete
  14. I've long been a big fan of Thor. ^_^ Love your interpretation of his character as well.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are Love!

(Nota Bene: During #NAMEthatBUTT season, all comments are moderated and your guesses are hidden until after the butt is revealed!)