As I understand it, Germanic/Norse people didn't use hammers as weapons, and certainly nothing that looked like a blacksmith's hammer. So why is Mjolnir a hammer rather than, say, a sword, or a spear like Gae Bulg?
The Finnish god Ukko, seems to be a based on Thor (or vice versa). He also carries a hammer, but as I understand it, sometimes he's depicted carrying an axe, which makes a lot more sense. Was Mjolnir originally a stone axe, and something got lost in translation post-stone age?
I have a follow-up question. I've always wondered if the shape of clouds during thunderstorms, they tend to look like anvils, had something to do with the fact that Thor uses a hammer. Is that true?
Does Thor fulfill a role in Norse mythology similar to the Greek Hephaestus?
