Flame of Olympus
the immortal fire of the gods
The Flame of Olympus was an absolute power, mightier than the gods themselves and lethal to any who touched it. Within it Pandora's Box was hidden, and only by extinguishing the flame could the King of the Gods be made to fall.
The Flame of Olympus was an absolute power, greater than the gods of Mount Olympus themselves, and despite its alluring glow it was lethal to any who touched it, divine or mortal alike. It was meant from the first to be the lock of Pandora's Box, and within it Hephaestus hid the box that held the evils of the world. So long as the flame burned, Zeus could not die, and only by extinguishing it could the King of the Gods be brought low.
The intended lock#
The Flame of Olympus was meant from the first to serve as the lock of Pandora's Box. To pacify the fire and reach anything sealed within it, a key was required, and that key would have to be sacrificed to the flame. Hephaestus had forged the key out of the very heart of the Flame: his daughter Pandora. To spare her, the smith god lied to Zeus, convincing him that the back of the Titan Cronos would be a safer place for the box than the Flame, and so the box was bound upon the Titan rather than left in the fire.
The box remained upon Cronos until Kratos opened it to gain the power he needed to destroy Ares, the former God of War. Afterward the box was returned to its first intended lock, the Flame of Olympus, where the fire would keep all from touching it, or the box within, unless Pandora herself were used to quell the flames.
The source of Zeus's strength#
The Flame of Olympus was the source of Zeus's strength, and the King of the Gods could not die so long as it burned. After Gaia betrayed Kratos and let him fall into the depths of the Underworld, the ghost of Athena returned to aid the de-powered Spartan, gifting him the Blades of Exile and guiding him toward the one thing that could fell a god. She told him that the Flame was the only way to defeat any god, the King of Olympus included, and that to extinguish it he must venture back up the mountain.
Helios tried to turn the Flame's lethal nature against Kratos, claiming that he would receive its power if he stepped into the fire. But Kratos, already warned by Hephaestus of the flame's deadly touch, saw through the Sun God's lie at once.
The extinguishing#
When Kratos reached the Chamber of the Flame, he discovered Pandora's Box at the fire's heart, the same box he had once used to slay Ares. Athena explained that the true power to kill a god rested within, but that to reach it he must first seek out Pandora, the key born of the Flame, who alone could pacify the fire.
Kratos rescued Pandora from the Labyrinth and, working a great mechanism, raised it through the caverns beneath the mountain so that he might bring her to the Flame, while the foundations of Mount Olympus crumbled around them. In the struggle that followed, Pandora moved to enter the Flame herself, but Kratos seized her and tried to pull her back, with Zeus urging him to save the girl. The King of the Gods soon turned his words to taunts of Kratos's failures, and in his rage the Spartan released Pandora into the fire to strike at Zeus. Her sacrifice extinguished the Flame of Olympus and granted Kratos the box at last, though when he opened it he found it empty.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Flame of Olympus?
- The Flame of Olympus was an absolute power, greater than the gods of Mount Olympus themselves, and lethal to any who touched it, divine or mortal alike. It was meant from the first to serve as the lock of Pandora's Box, and so long as it burned Zeus could not die.
- Why was Pandora's Box not originally kept in the Flame of Olympus?
- Hephaestus had forged the key to the Flame out of its very heart, his daughter Pandora, and reaching the box would have required sacrificing her to the fire. To spare her, the smith god lied to Zeus, convincing him that the back of the Titan Cronos was a safer place for the box, so it was bound upon the Titan instead.
- Why did Kratos need the Flame of Olympus to kill Zeus?
- The Flame of Olympus was the source of Zeus's strength, and the King of the Gods could not die while it burned. The ghost of Athena told the de-powered Kratos that the Flame was the only way to defeat any god, the King of Olympus included.
- Who was Pandora and why was she needed at the Flame?
- Pandora was the key born of the heart of the Flame of Olympus, the only thing that could pacify the fire and allow Pandora's Box to be reached. Athena told Kratos he must first seek out Pandora, whom he rescued from the Labyrinth and brought to the Flame.
- How was the Flame of Olympus extinguished?
- At the Chamber of the Flame, Pandora moved to enter the fire herself and Kratos tried to pull her back, but in his rage at Zeus's taunts he released her into the flames. Her sacrifice extinguished the Flame and granted Kratos the box, though when he opened it he found it empty.
Gallery
Images via God of War Wiki
Sources
- WikiFlame of Olympus — God of War Wiki entry
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Related entries
Pandora's Box: the vessel of Olympus's evils and the power of Hope
Pandora's Box was an artifact forged by Hephaestus on Zeus's order to contain the Evils unleashed by the Titanomachy. It was the only means by which a mortal could gain the power to slay a god, and it carried within it the hidden power of Hope.
Ares
Ares was the first Olympian God of War, the eldest son of Zeus and Hera and the most hated god on Olympus. Coveting his father's throne, he tricked Kratos into killing his own family to forge the perfect weapon, and so set in motion the fall of the Gods before dying at that same Spartan's hand.
Athena
Athena was the Olympian Goddess of Wisdom, patron of Athens and chief ally of Kratos through his quests against Ares. She sacrificed herself to save Zeus, ascended beyond the Gods, and in the end turned against the very Spartan she had guided when she sought the power of Hope for herself.
Blades of Exile
The Blades of Exile were a refashioned form of the Blades of Athena, the third and final set of chained blades that Kratos wielded in Greece. Created by the astral form of Athena from his ruined weapons, they carried him through his last war against Olympus.
Cronos
Cronos was the Titan of Time and Harvest, last and mightiest of the Titans born to Gaia and Ouranos. He overthrew his own father, was overthrown by his son Zeus, and was condemned to bear Pandora's Temple before dying at the hands of Kratos.
Gaia
Gaia was the Primordial Goddess of the Earth, mother of the Titans and grandmother of the Olympians. She raised the infant Zeus, mourned the fall of her children, and bound her fate to Kratos in a war of vengeance that ended with both betrayed.
Mentioned in14 entries
Athena
Athena was the Olympian Goddess of Wisdom, patron of Athens and chief ally of Kratos through his quests against Ares. She sacrificed herself to save Zeus, ascended beyond the Gods, and in the end turned against the very Spartan she had guided when she sought the power of Hope for herself.
Blades of Exile
The Blades of Exile were a refashioned form of the Blades of Athena, the third and final set of chained blades that Kratos wielded in Greece. Created by the astral form of Athena from his ruined weapons, they carried him through his last war against Olympus.
Cronos
Cronos was the Titan of Time and Harvest, last and mightiest of the Titans born to Gaia and Ouranos. He overthrew his own father, was overthrown by his son Zeus, and was condemned to bear Pandora's Temple before dying at the hands of Kratos.
Greek Gods
The Greek Gods were the pantheon that ruled over Greece across three generations, the Primordials, the Titans, and the Olympians. Once the masters of mortals, monsters, and the natural world, they were brought to near extinction by Kratos in his war of vengeance against Olympus.
Helios
Helios was the God of the Sun and Guardian of Oaths, second only to the greatest Olympians in might. Once saved by Kratos from the Titan Atlas, he later fell to the same Spartan, who tore off his head and used it as a lantern through Olympus.
Hephaestus
Hephaestus was the Craftsman of Olympus, the smith who forged Pandora's Box, the Blades of Chaos, and the Gauntlet of Zeus. Cast down to the Underworld and stripped of his standing, he died protecting his daughter Pandora from Kratos.
Hera
Hera was the Olympian Goddess of Marriage and Queen of the Gods, the sister and wife of Zeus and mother of Ares. Embittered by her husband's affairs and her withering garden, she set Hercules against Kratos before the Spartan snapped her neck and the world's flora died with her.
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus was the sacred home of the Olympian gods and the center of all Greece, ruled by Zeus from a golden palace. It rose from the Underworld after the first Titanomachy and was destroyed by Kratos in his war of vengeance against the gods.
Pandora
Pandora was the living creation and adoptive daughter of Hephaestus, forged as the key to Pandora's Box. Imprisoned by Zeus and freed by Kratos, she sacrificed herself in the Flame of Olympus to release the power of Hope.
Pandora's Box
Pandora's Box was the artifact forged by Hephaestus to contain the Evils born of the Great War. Hidden within the Flame of Olympus and guarded across an age, it granted the power to slay a god to whoever opened it, and held within it one final power: Hope.
Pandora's Box: the vessel of Olympus's evils and the power of Hope
Pandora's Box was an artifact forged by Hephaestus on Zeus's order to contain the Evils unleashed by the Titanomachy. It was the only means by which a mortal could gain the power to slay a god, and it carried within it the hidden power of Hope.
Second Titanomachy
The Second Titanomachy was the war Kratos set in motion against the Olympian Gods, when he led the Titans up Mount Olympus to take his vengeance on Zeus. It ended with the death of nearly every god and Titan and the ruin of Greece.
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