eity of the community, guardian of those who farmed the land and met in local assemblies, Thor was also the sky god, akin to Jupiter and Zeus, his axe hammer a symbol of thunder and lightning. Thunder and lightning marked his path across the heavens, and rocks and mountains shattered before him.
When Christianity came to Iceland, Thor was the god whose cult was most difficult to eradicate. There were various rituals associated with him. A hammer was laid in the bride's lap at weddings, raised over a newborn child, and depicted on boundary stones.
