Cerberus: the multi-headed hounds of Hades
The Cerberi were a race of fierce multi-headed hounds, most of them kept as the beasts of Hades in the Underworld. Kratos faced them across many of his journeys, from the breeders of Pandora's Temple to the Mole Cerberus that had swallowed Jason and the Golden Fleece.
The Cerberi were a race of fierce multi-headed hounds, most of them bred as the beasts of Hades and loosed to guard the Underworld. Kratos crossed paths with them again and again across his long road, from the breeders that haunted Pandora's Temple to the monstrous Mole Cerberus that had swallowed Jason whole. (God of War (2005); God of War II)
Hounds of the Underworld#
The Cerberi were a beast race of multi-headed hounds, fierce and dangerous, most of which were kept as the hounds of Hades and set to guard the gates and depths of the Underworld. Not all answered to the lord of the dead, however, for some lived on their own in the wild, as did those that prowled the Island of Creation. The race was not a single creature but a kindred of several distinct kinds, varying in size, color, and power. (God of War (2005); God of War: Betrayal; God of War II; God of War III)
Among the most common were the Cerberus Breeders and the smaller Cerberus Mongrels. The Breeders laid down Cerberus Seeds, which would swiftly mature into more Breeders if left alone too long, so that a single beast could give rise to a whole pack. The Mongrels, smaller and weaker, could be beaten into submission and turned against their own masters. (God of War (2005); God of War III)
The many kinds#
Kratos encountered the Cerberi across much of his life. The guardians of Pandora's Temple were Breeders and their Seeds, multiplying as he fought through their ranks. On the Island of Creation he met more of the same protecting the Sisters of Fate, and there too he faced a singular white horned beast, the Wild Cerberus, whose three heads bore horns and whose maw breathed flame. It set upon him alongside a pack of rabid hounds before he tore its heads from its body one by one. (God of War (2005); God of War II)
In the deeper realms he met the Hades Cerberus, far larger and stronger than the rest, its hide cracked and glowing like magma. Smaller one-headed hellhounds of the same stock ranged across Olympus itself. The brothers Deimos and Kratos also met the beasts in their youth, encountering a Cerberus in the Veiled Bog as they searched for Vasilis. (God of War III; God of War Sons of Sparta)
The Mole Cerberus#
The strangest of all the Cerberi was the Mole Cerberus, an enormous beast that made its lair in the Bog of the Forgotten. It had laid waste to the Argonauts and had killed and swallowed their leader Jason, who bore upon him the Golden Fleece. Kratos hunted the creature down and slew it, cutting the Golden Fleece free from within the dead beast and claiming it for his own. (God of War II)
Frequently asked questions
- What were the Cerberi in God of War?
- The Cerberi were a race of fierce multi-headed hounds, most of which served as the beasts of Hades in the Underworld. Some lived apart from him in the wild, such as those found on the Island of Creation, and the race included several distinct kinds rather than a single creature.
- What kinds of Cerberus did Kratos encounter?
- Kratos faced many varieties across his journeys. Among them were the Cerberus Breeders and their Seeds that guarded Pandora's Temple and spawned more of their kind, the white horned Wild Cerberus that breathed flame, the larger Hades Cerberus with magma-like skin, and the smaller Cerberus Mongrels he could turn against his foes.
- What was the Mole Cerberus?
- The Mole Cerberus was an enormous beast that dwelt in the Bog of the Forgotten. It had devastated the Argonauts and had killed and swallowed Jason while he carried the Golden Fleece. Kratos slew the beast and recovered the Fleece from within it.
Sources
- GameGod of War (2005), Santa Monica Studio, 2005
- GameGod of War II, Santa Monica Studio, 2007
- GameGod of War III, Santa Monica Studio, 2010
- GameGod of War: Betrayal, Javaground, mobile phones, 2007
- GameGod of War Sons of Sparta, Mega Cat Studios and Santa Monica Studio, 2026
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Deimos: the brother Kratos failed to save
Ares and Athena seized Deimos as a boy because his birthmark matched the prophecy of the Marked Warrior. Thanatos crushed him at Suicide Bluffs.
Golden Fleece
The Golden Fleece was a powerful golden armlet that had once belonged to the Argonaut Jason. Worn by Kratos, it could turn aside and reflect any attack, from a Gorgon's stone stare to a blow from the Blade of Olympus itself.
Hades: the god whose soul Kratos tore out
Eldest son of Cronos, Hades ruled the Underworld and held life and death in balance. Kratos turned the Claws of Hades on him and ripped his soul out.
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.
The Underworld
The Underworld was the realm of the dead in Greece, a hellish landscape below the living world where the River Styx carried mortal souls to their rest. It was ruled by Hades until his death, and Kratos descended into it many times across his Greek campaigns.
Mentioned in11 entries
Aeetes: the king of Colchis
Aeetes was the king of Colchis, a son of the sun god Helios and the father of the sorceress Medea. The Golden Fleece came to rest in his kingdom as a gift of gratitude, and its theft by Jason of the Argonauts cost the king his daughter, his son, and the greatest treasure of his house.
Chimera
The Chimera was a great three-natured monster, bearing the heads of a goat and a lion and a serpent for a tail. Loosed as a minion of Olympus, it breathed fire and venom against Kratos in the temples and ruins of Greece.
God of War II Story Explained: Plot Summary and Ending
The whole story of God of War II in order, from Zeus's betrayal at Rhodes to the Titans climbing Mount Olympus. Then the ending in plain terms: why Athena died, what she told Kratos about his father, and how it sets up God of War III.
Golden Fleece
The Golden Fleece was a powerful golden armlet that had once belonged to the Argonaut Jason. Worn by Kratos, it could turn aside and reflect any attack, from a Gorgon's stone stare to a blow from the Blade of Olympus itself.
Hercules
Hercules was a son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, a demigod who had completed twelve labors to atone for killing his family. Consumed by jealousy of his half-brother Kratos, he named the killing of the Ghost of Sparta his unofficial thirteenth labor and died for it in the Forum of Olympus.
Island of Creation: cradle of the Greek world
The Island of Creation was the place where all life in Greece began, lying at the very edge of the world. It became the seat of the Sisters of Fate and one of the most heavily guarded places known to man, until Kratos broke through its defenses, slew its guardians, and left it in ruin.
Medea: the sorceress of Colchis
Medea was a sorceress and priestess of Hecate, a princess of Colchis born of the bloodline of Helios. Her craft won Jason the Golden Fleece, and her jealousy later destroyed his household, driving the Argonaut on the doomed voyage that ended on the Island of Creation.
Monster: the beasts of the mythic world
Monsters, also called Beasts, were the hostile creatures of the mythic world, beings that could be counted neither as mortals nor as gods or Titans. From the minotaurs and gorgons of Greece to the trolls and dragons of the Norse realms, they haunted every land that Kratos ever walked.
Peirithous
Peirithous was a demigod of Thessaly who descended into the Underworld to claim Persephone and was condemned by Hades to eternal suffering. Caged behind brambles, he bargained the Bow of Apollo for his freedom and burned to death at Kratos' hand.
Pelias: the king of Iolcus
Pelias was the demigod king of Iolcus, a son of Poseidon who feared the claim of his nephew Jason and sent him across the sea to fetch the Golden Fleece. The quest failed to rid him of his rival, and on Jason's return the sorceress Medea turned the king's own daughters into his executioners.
The Argonauts: the crew that carried the Golden Fleece
The Argonauts were the company of Greek heroes who sailed under Jason aboard the Argo and took the Golden Fleece out of Colchis. Their last voyage brought them to the Island of Creation, where the monsters of the Bog of the Forgotten killed every one of them and a Mole Cerberus swallowed the Fleece.
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.