Daily Deity #72 Mjolnir

With the subject of Mjolnir we open up another area for the Daily Deity, that being enchanted objects.

Now, I don't doubt that most people are relatively familiar with the name Mjolnir (especially if you are a fan of Marvel comics or MCU like I am.) But, let me go into a bit more depth with the hammer of Thor.  

First, let's go into how the hammer came into being. Like most tales in Norse myth, it starts with the trickster, Loki and one of his more famed exploits.

Loki, one evening, decided to cut off the golden hair of Sif. Understandably, Sif is upset and humiliated by her current state. When her husband, the mighty warrior-god Thor, finds out of Loki's prank, he seeks out the sly one. When Thor finds Loki he is boiling over with rage and grabs Loki and threatens to crush every bone in his body if he doesn't right the wrong he has done. Loki, realizing that his life is very much at risk, tells Thor and Sif that he will right this wrong.

Luckily for Loki, he's a very smart guy and he knows exactly who to go to.

He heads down a few realms to Svartalfheim, the homes of the dwarves. Once there he seeks out Ivaldi, a master craftsman among many great builders, and asks him to create a new head of hair for Sif. Ivaldi does so, out of gold, which sounds like a step up for Sif to me. Yet, Ivaldi decides to make more items for Loki to bring back to the halls of Asgard. He forms the spear Gungnir, which was made to never miss it's mark (and eventually is given to Odin) and the ship Skidbalnir, which can expand from a pillbox size craft into the fastest ship around.

With these gifts and his task complete, Loki plans to head back to Asgard. However, another thought strikes him before he leaves. The trickster god thinks that maybe there is a way that he can get even more prizes for nothing.

He then visits the forge of the brothers Sindri (also known as Eitri) and Brokkr. Once there, Loki shows the two the amazing pieces that Ivaldi created for him, and bets the brothers that they won't be able to make such impressive items. The brothers take the challenge, especially prompted to do so when Loki says that his head will also be on the chopping block (literally) if Ivaldi's gifts are not chosen as the better.

Sindri and Brokkr begin their work. Now Loki is in no way willing to lose this bet and turns himself into a little stinging insect and flies into the forge as they work. Loki bites Brokkr on the hand to stop him, it doesn't work, and the first item that is made is the golden boar Gullinbursti. Loki bites Brokkr on the neck for this one, but Brokkr keeps on working.The second item is Draupnir, a ring that can produce eight replicas of itself every ninth night.  The last object that comes out is a hammer.

As Brokkr is pulling it from the fire to deliver some finishing touches, Loki comes a third time and bites Brokkr on the eye. Brokkr, blinded for a moment, smashes down the hammer he is using and snaps the handle of the hammer in half, making it shorter than normal.

Except, the dwarf brothers, when handing out the gifts (like Loki is also doing) chose to give the hammer to Thor. They present it to the god by calling the weapon Mjolnir, which means lightening. Thor is amazed at the weapon, especially when told that it will always return to his hand when thrown and that it has a flawless targeting system, insuring that it will always hit its mark.

Of course, Loki comes up with a way out of this, though it results in his lips getting sewn shut.

With Mjolnir now by his side at all times, Thor becomes the wielder of lightening, and earns the title of Thunder God. It also makes him a more formidable giant killer.

Yet, there is more to the hammer Mjolnir. It becomes a famed symbol of the gods, especially those who wanted to have Thor on their side in battle. It became common to carry a pendant that had been shaped into a tinier version of the great hammer.