He was the son of Odin and Jord, the earth goddess. Thor was the strongest of the Aesir, the collective name for the the principal race of Norse gods; they who lived in Asgard, and with the All-Father Odin, ruled the lives of mortal men. Known as the god of thunder, his hall is Bilskirnir, which is located in the region Thrudheim ("place of might").
Thor married the golden-haired Sif, a Goddess of fertility. He kept a mistress named Jarnsaxa (the "iron cutlass"), with whom he had two sons, Magni and Modi and his daughter is Thrud.Thor was usually portrayed as a large, powerful man with a red beard, flowing hair, hearty enjoyment of food and drink and eyes of lighting. 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, contrary to Odin, he did not require human sacrifices.
In his temple at Uppsala he was shown standing with Odin at his right side. The 11th century Christian missionary Adam of Bremen, on noting the great temple of the gods in Uppsala, Sweden, wrote, "Thor, they say, presides over the air, he governs the thunder and lightening, the winds and rains, fair weather and crops...If plague and famine threaten, a libation is poured to the idol Thor." This temple was replaced by a Christian church in 1080.
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