Blade of Artemis
the gift of the Goddess of the Hunt
The Blade of Artemis was a great curved sword once wielded by the Goddess of the Hunt to slay a Titan. Bestowed upon Kratos during his war against Ares, it carried him through that campaign and beyond before returning to its mistress.
The Blade of Artemis was a great curved sword, wielded with both hands, that once belonged to Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt. She had used it to slay a Titan, and she bestowed the weapon upon Kratos during his journey to destroy the war god Ares. Surrounded by raw energies, the blade became one of the most fearsome arms the Ghost of Sparta carried in his Greek campaigns. (God of War)
A weapon of the hunt#
The Blade of Artemis was forged for the goddess Artemis, who wielded it to slay a Titan. When Kratos entered Pandora's Temple in his quest to bring down Ares, Artemis bestowed the great curved sword upon him. Surrounded by raw energies, the weapon could pierce armour and easily cut down nearly any enemy that stood before its bearer. In the novel, Zeus calls it one of the most powerful weapons in creation. (God of War; God of War (novel))
In the hands of Kratos#
Kratos carried the Blade of Artemis through his war against Ares, and in Betrayal he still wielded it after he claimed the mantle of the new God of War. So formidable was the weapon that Ares, conjuring duplicates of Kratos in their final battle, armed some of those clones with copies of the blade. The sword is absent from his later wars in Greece, and what became of it is never shown. (God of War; God of War: Betrayal)
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Blade of Artemis?
- The Blade of Artemis was a large, curved two-handed sword once wielded by the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis, who used it to slay a Titan. She bestowed it upon Kratos during his journey to defeat Ares.
- What happened to the Blade of Artemis?
- Kratos continued to wield the blade even after he became the new God of War, but he no longer carried it by the time of his later wars. It was likely reclaimed by Artemis after his final battle against Ares.
Sources
- GameGod of War, Santa Monica Studio, 2005
- GameGod of War: Betrayal, Javaground, mobile phones, 2007
- BookGod of War (novel), Matthew Stover and Robert E. Vardeman, 2010
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Ares: the god who made Kratos a killer
Ares tricked Kratos into slaughtering his own wife and daughter to bind him as a weapon. Kratos killed him at Athens and took his place as God of War.
Artemis
Artemis was the Olympian Goddess of the Hunt, daughter of Zeus and twin sister of Apollo. When Ares besieged Athens, she turned the beasts of the wild against his armies, and later gave Kratos the Blade of Artemis, a weapon she had wielded against the Titans, to aid him in the conquest of Pandora's Temple.
God of War: the divine title
The God of War was a title held by a deity unmatched in battle, wielding peerless combat skill and brutal godly power. It passed from Ares to Kratos in the Greek age, while the Norse realms knew their own God of War in Tyr.
Kratos
Kratos was the demigod son of Zeus who rose from a Spartan general to the Greek God of War, destroyed the pantheon of Olympus in a quest for vengeance, and then began again in the Norse realms as a father seeking to leave his bloody past behind.
Pandora's Temple: The Vault of Pandora's Box
Pandora's Temple was a vast trap-laden temple built upon the back of the wandering Titan Cronos to house Pandora's Box and keep it from the enemies of Olympus. After failed attempts by countless heroes, Kratos became the only mortal to reach the Box within.
Sparta: Kratos' city, razed by Zeus
Sparta raised Kratos, worshipped Ares, then took Kratos himself as its patron god. Zeus destroyed the city in revenge for the Spartan's defiance.
Mentioned in3 entries
God of War (2005) Story Explained: Plot Summary and Ending
The whole story of the first God of War in order, from the Hydra in the Aegean to the death of Ares at Athens. Then the ending in plain terms: why Kratos jumped from the cliff, why Athena saved him, and how he ended up on Ares's throne.
God of War Weapons List: the Name of Every Weapon Kratos Has Used
Kratos has carried two dozen weapons across two lifetimes, from a Spartan spear to a spear built from a ring that copies itself. This list runs through them in the order he got them, Greek era first, then Norse.
Pandora's Temple: The Vault of Pandora's Box
Pandora's Temple was a vast trap-laden temple built upon the back of the wandering Titan Cronos to house Pandora's Box and keep it from the enemies of Olympus. After failed attempts by countless heroes, Kratos became the only mortal to reach the Box within.
Get new articles in your inbox
No spam. New lore drops, canon conflicts, and deep dives only when they’re worth reading.
Some links on Lore Fortress are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.