Thor was the most popular of the Norse gods. He was the weather—storm god of sky and thunder who was responsible for law and order in the world of humans. His power emanated from his father, the high sky god Odin. And as the son of the earth goddess Fyorgyn (“Earth”), he was also a god of fertility. Thor was dependable and steadfast, whereas Odin was unpredictable. One day while Thor was off hunting trolls and their unsavory kin, Odin became bored in Valhalla and decided to look for adventure in Jotenheim. He leapt upon the back of Sleipnir and galloped off disguised to the home of Hrungnir, the greatest, stoniest, and most dangerous of all the giants. Thor’s rage became overwhelming when he saw the drunken giant ogling his wife, Sif. When Thor reached for his hammer, however, Hrungnir reminded Thor of the sanctuary status of a guest. At this, Thor relented and agreed to Hrungnir's invitation to single combat. A date was set and a place—the House of the Stone Fence, on the border between Jotenheim and Asgard—and the drunken giant made his exit. Hrungnir himself was more determined, however, and he cast his mighty whetstone at Thor ; the two weapons met in a terrible crash and Hrungnir's was turned into a thousand flying fragments that landed in Midgard and are the whetstone people still use today. But a large chunk of whetstone also knocked Thor off of his feet and left him stunned. In fact, he discovered that he had a large piece embedded in his head, leaving him with a mighty headache. In this battle we see the betrayal of a father’s greed and the perserverance Thor had to fight for what was rightfully his.
