Scandinavians and Germanic tribes worshiped Thor before their recorded history. In fact, the god probably predates European civilization. However, there is no record of the thunder god until the Romans arrive. The invaders recorded Germanic religious practices within the context of Roman religion. As a result, the Romanized version of Thor transformed into Hercules because the Latins identified categorized the Norse gods within their own terms.
Thor probably predates European civilization. Many societies worshipped thunder gods before the creation of civilization. However, the god did not receive literary mention until the Romans arrived. By the Viking Age, Thor developed into the preeminent Norse deity and eventually the symbol the Norse rallied around during the Christian conquest.
The Norse god of thunder’s popularity derived from his fierce warrior status as well as his human characteristics. Thor made mistakes. He came to personify the people who worshipped him. The god’s hammer, Mjolnir, came to symbolize him and unite his worshipers in the same way the cross defined Christ.
The Romans executed Christ and reported on Thor. When the Romans arrived, they tended to view Germania through their own cultural lens. This included the Germanic gods. The unwelcome visitors investigated the local gods and then made comparisons to their own. Once complete, they often referred to the Germanic gods as their Latin counterparts. For example, Odin became Mercury or Jupiter and Thor became Hercules.
Hercules carried a club and Thor wielded Mjolnir. Also, the half-human demi-god Hercules paid for the sins of his parents through trials. Essentially, Hercules represented mankind in the Greco-Roman world in the way Thor did in Germania and Scandinavia. The Roman authority on Germania, Tacitus, referred to the barbarian worship of Hercules in his works. In reality, the Germanics venerated Thor. Additionally, coins have been discovered in the region with “Hercules” inscribed. No doubt, this refers to Thor.
Thor predates European civilization. Many Indo-European civilizations claim a thunder god. Perhaps they all evolved from a single god somewhere down the line. Despite the long pedigree, Thor does not enter the historical record until the Romans appeared in Germania and even then he is erroneously referred to as “Hercules.” The Norse themselves do not mention Thor in their records until after Rome’s fall.
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