mist that came from fields of ice.
They lived in a dreary country called Joetunheim, and were enemies of the
gods, who lived in the bright, beautiful city of Asgard.

To live the life of the old Norse folk required strength and courage,
for the little boats in which they went to fish were too small for
storm-tossed Arctic seas, and the weapons with which they hunted in the
cold, lonely forests were primitive. It is but natural, therefore, that
they should have idealized strength and courage and that they should
have represented the gods of Asgard as being large, strong, and
courageous. Although Thor, the eldest son of Odin, was small in
comparison with the giants, we are told in one of the myths that he was
a mile in height; also he had great strength and a wonderful hammer,
called Mjolmer, with which he always defeated the giants and kept them
from Asgard. Thunder was caused by the stroke of Thor's hammer; hence
Thor was called the Thunderer.

The spiritual ideals in Norse mythology are more important than the
physical ideals. The long, cold winter nights kept the Norse folk at
home; hence they had a love for home and family relations and a respect
for women that may not be found revealed in the mythology of Greece.
Wisdom and judgment, too, were more essential than craft and fraud in
encountering the hardships of their life; therefore they represented
Odin, the supreme god of Asgard, as being the god of wisdom. The gods of
Greek mythology often used craft and fraud to accomplish their purposes,
but only Loke among the inhabitants of Asgard relied upon deception.
Loke was descended from the giants, but was also related to the gods; so
he was permitted to live in Asgard. It is significant of the spirit of
the Norse folk that the gods did not trust Loke and came to regard him
as their enemy; and it was he who finally brought misfortune to the
gods.

264

This story of Thor's visit to the land of the
giants is taken from Bulfinch. It deals with
one of the favorite sections of Norse
mythology, satisfying, as it does, the
listeners' demand for courageous struggle
against great and mysterious forces. The use of
illusion by the giant forces of evil as a
method of defeating the open-minded forces of
truth is strikingly exemplified in the various
contests staged at Joetunheim.

THOR'S VISIT TO JOeTUNHEIM

One day the god Thor, with h