In Norse mythology, Thor was the strong, hot-tempered god of thunder. His most famous weapon was a magic hammer called Mjölnir, which the legends say could smash through mountains and call down lightning bolts from the sky. Vikings believed thunderstorms were Thor swinging Mjölnir as he rode his goat-pulled chariot across the clouds.
The story says Mjölnir was forged deep underground by two dwarf blacksmiths. They worked carefully, but a shape-shifting trickster named Loki turned into a fly and bit one of the dwarves on the eyelid mid-forge. The dwarf flinched, and the hammer’s handle ended up too short. Thor still loved it.
The hammer had two amazing powers. It always flew back to Thor’s hand after he threw it, like a magic boomerang, and it could shrink small enough to hide inside his shirt. Vikings wore tiny Mjölnir charms around their necks for luck and protection, and many of those pendants have been dug up by archaeologists.
