The Vikings admired strength, and their stories are full of it, from gods who wrestle giants to warriors who fight on with terrible wounds. They also valued the quieter kinds, such as endurance, nerve and the will to keep your word. The symbols below all appear in Viking age art or in the Old Norse poems and sagas, and each one stood for strength in a slightly different sense.
Mjolnir, Thor's hammer
Thor was the strongest of the gods and the one ordinary people seem to have loved best. His hammer Mjolnir could level mountains and always returned to his hand. Small hammer pendants have been found in their hundreds across the Viking world, which makes this the most widely worn symbol of the age. The myths add that Thor owned a belt, Megingjord, that doubled his strength, and a pair of iron gloves that he needed in order to hold the hammer at all.
Gungnir, Odin's spear
Where Thor's strength was muscle, Odin's was will. His spear Gungnir was made by dwarves and was said never to miss its mark. In the sagas, a war leader might throw a spear over the enemy army before a battle to dedicate the fallen to Odin. A spear therefore came to stand for authority and for the resolve to see something through.
The bear
The bear was the most powerful animal a Scandinavian was ever likely to meet. The famous berserkers probably took their name from it, since the word is usually explained as meaning bear shirt. The sagas describe them as warriors who fought in a furious trance and seemed to feel no pain. Bjorn, which simply means bear, was one of the most popular men's names of the period and is still in use today.
The wolf
Wolves carried a double meaning. Alongside the berserkers, the sagas mention the ulfhednar, or wolfskins, elite fighters who wore wolf pelts. Odin kept two wolves, Geri and Freki, at his side. Yet the wolf was also the great destroyer, since the monstrous wolf Fenrir is fated to swallow Odin at the end of the world. A wolf stood for a savage kind of strength that could not be fully tamed.
The boar
The boar belonged to the god Frey, who rode a golden bristled boar named Gullinbursti. Boars are brave and very hard to stop, and warriors in the centuries before the Viking age wore boar figures on the crests of their helmets for protection in battle. Swearing an oath on a boar at the midwinter feast is also described in the sagas, which ties the animal to strength of purpose as well as strength of arm.
The Uruz rune
Each rune had a name as well as a sound, and the second rune of the old alphabet was named after the aurochs. This was an enormous wild ox, far larger than modern cattle, which survived in European forests until the seventeenth century. The Old English rune poem calls it proud, with great horns, and a fierce fighter. Modern rune readers have taken Uruz as the rune of raw strength and stamina ever since. There is more on this in our guide to rune meanings.
Jormungand, the world serpent
Jormungand is the serpent that lies in the sea and encircles the whole world, biting its own tail. It is strong enough that Thor, in one famous story, hooks it while fishing and hauls so hard that his feet go through the bottom of the boat. The scene is carved on several Viking age stones, including one at Gosforth in Cumbria. The serpent stands for a strength that holds the world together and that will one day break loose.
Yggdrasil, the world tree
Not all strength is violent. Yggdrasil, the ash tree that supports the nine worlds, is gnawed at its roots by a dragon and grazed on by deer, and still it stands. It is the Norse image of endurance, of carrying a load without giving way.
Choosing a symbol
If you are picking a symbol for a tattoo, a gift or a design, it helps to decide which kind of strength you mean. Mjolnir is the obvious choice for power and for protecting others, the bear and the wolf suit courage in a fight, and Yggdrasil suits quiet resilience. Our guide to Viking symbols of protection covers the designs that overlap with these, along with a few popular ones that turn out not to be Viking at all.
Common questions
What is the Viking symbol for strength?
Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, is the clearest Viking symbol of strength. Thor was the strongest of the gods, and hammer pendants are among the most common pieces of Viking age jewellery ever found.
Which rune means strength?
Uruz is the rune most often linked with strength. It is named after the aurochs, a huge wild ox that the old rune poems describe as fierce and fearless.
What animals symbolised strength to the Vikings?
The bear, the wolf and the boar. Bears and wolves were tied to elite warriors known as berserkers and wolfskins, and the boar was the animal of the god Frey and appears as a crest on early helmets.
Last reviewed 12 November 2026