Which traditions do they belong to?

Thor belongs to the Norse Pantheon; Tlaloc belongs to the Mesoamerican Pantheon.

Side by side

Thor vs Tlaloc

Both are thunder gods associated with storms and agricultural fertility

At a glance

Norse Pantheon

tradition

Mesoamerican Pantheon

thunder, lightning, strength, protection, storms

domains

rain, fertility, lightning, earthquakes

hammer Mjolnir, belt Megingjord, iron gloves, goats, red beard

symbols

goggle eyes, fangs, jade, water lilies

Donar, Thunder God

also called

He Who Makes Things Sprout, Tlaloque

Where they meet

Both are gods of lightning.

Where they part

Thor alone

thunder, strength, protection, storms

Tlaloc alone

rain, fertility, earthquakes

How each was worshipped

Thor

Cult sites: Uppsala temple beside Odin and Freyr, Wayside hammers and holy oaks more than a single great fane.

Festivals: Thursday observances, Hammer-blessings of marriages and land.

The most popular of the North's gods in the settlement period. Miniature hammers, Thursday, and oak. He fights giants and blesses the farm. Adam puts him in the high seat at Uppsala; farmers put him over the door.

Tlaloc

Cult sites: Northern half of the Templo Mayor, Mount Tlaloc and other mountain shrines, Maya Chaac is a cousin, not this temple.

Festivals: Atlcahualo and other rain veintenas, Child offerings in the Mexica rain cult.

Rain, mountains, and the dangerous gift of water. Blue, fangs, and Tlalocan as a drowned paradise. The Mexica state cult included child sacrifice for rain. Record it; do not soften it into a weather mascot.

Thor

Norse Pantheon

Son of Odin and the earth goddess Jord. God of thunder, lightning, and storms. Protector of mankind and the gods, wielding the mighty hammer Mjolnir.

Thor was born to Odin, the Allfather, and Jord, the personification of the earth itself. This union of sky and earth made Thor one of the mightiest beings in existence. From birth, he displayed incredible strength - as an infant, he could lift ten loads of bearskins. He grew quickly into the powerful protector of both gods and mortals. He married Sif, the golden-haired goddess, and with her had a daughter named Thrud. With the giantess Jarnsaxa, he fathered Magni and Modi, who will inherit Mjolnir after Ragnarok.

Thor is the defender of Asgard and Midgard, wielding the mighty hammer **Mjolnir**. Unlike the cunning Odin, Thor is straightforward, strong, and short-tempered, but fiercely loyal.

Read the full Thor entry

Tlaloc

Mesoamerican Pantheon

The Aztec god of rain, fertility, and water. Tlaloc's distinctive goggled eyes and fanged mouth make him one of the most recognizable deities in Mesoamerican art. He shared the summit of the Templo Mayor with Huitzilopochtli.

Tlaloc was one of the primordial deities who existed before the current creation. He presided over the Third Sun before its destruction by a rain of fire.

Tlaloc is one of the most ancient and important deities in Mesoamerican religion. His name derives from the Nahuatl word *tlalli* (earth) and may mean "He Who Makes Things Sprout." He controlled the **rain** essential for maize agriculture.

Read the full Tlaloc entry

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At a glance

Norse Pantheon

tradition

Mesoamerican Pantheon

thunder, lightning, strength, protection, storms

domains

rain, fertility, lightning, earthquakes

hammer Mjolnir, belt Megingjord, iron gloves, goats, red beard

symbols

goggle eyes, fangs, jade, water lilies

Donar, Thunder God

also called

He Who Makes Things Sprout, Tlaloque

How each was worshipped

Thor

Cult sites: Uppsala temple beside Odin and Freyr, Wayside hammers and holy oaks more than a single great fane.

Festivals: Thursday observances, Hammer-blessings of marriages and land.

Tlaloc

Cult sites: Northern half of the Templo Mayor, Mount Tlaloc and other mountain shrines, Maya Chaac is a cousin, not this temple.

Festivals: Atlcahualo and other rain veintenas, Child offerings in the Mexica rain cult.