God of War: the divine title
the mantle of war held by Ares, Kratos, and Tyr
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.
The God of War was a title held by a deity unparalleled in the arts of battle, possessed of peerless combat skill and brutal godly power that made them a force to be reckoned with. In the Greek age the mantle passed from Ares to Kratos, the demigod who slew him, while the Norse realms knew their own God of War in Tyr.
The mantle in Greece#
The title of God of War was first held by Ares, who was overthrown and killed by Kratos in vengeance for the role Ares had played in the deaths of his family. Kratos then became a god himself, the new God of War. After Zeus stripped him of his powers and struck him down, the title was left empty, for there was no other to take it up. Yet Kratos returned to life, reclaimed his godhood and his place as God of War, and exacted his revenge upon Zeus and the rest of the Olympians, slaying nearly all the gods of Greece. He survived even his own attempt to give away the power of Hope by impaling himself with the Blade of Olympus, leaving him the only surviving Greek God of War before he migrated to the Norse realms.
Powers of the title#
The powers of the God of War were those of any of the mightiest gods, but more brutal and violent in their nature. A God of War could set entire armies aflame and grant them the protection of fire, and could destroy whole cities on a whim. The title carried immortality, elemental power, flight, and command of any weapon, and a deific vision that let its holder perceive wars and conflict across all time and space. Both Ares and Kratos embodied war itself as a kingdom over which they held total dominion, and their favor turned each of their armies invincible. So great was their strength that they stood nearly on a level with the three foremost gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, and like Zeus they could grow to the size of a Titan.
The Norse God of War#
The Norse realms held their own God of War in Tyr, who differed wholly from his Greek counterparts. A pacifist and a diplomat, Tyr did not kindle conflict but used his gifts to prevent it, even proposing that all the races of the Nine Realms cooperate to ensure lasting peace and to forestall Ragnarok. In time Tyr invited Kratos to Valhalla to prepare him to take up the mantle of God of War in the Norse lands. There Kratos confronted his past and, after repeated trials, reconciled with it and agreed to Freya's proposal to become the God of War of the Norse realms. Such a role appeared to be one of duty, the maintaining of peace among the realms, rather than the conceptual dominion over war itself that he had held as part of the ruling pantheon of Olympus.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the title of God of War?
- The God of War was the title of a deity unparalleled in battle tactics and combat skill, wielding godly power more brutal and violent in nature than that of other gods. It was first held by Ares and passed to Kratos after Ares' death.
- What powers did the God of War hold?
- The God of War held the brutal extreme of divine power: setting whole armies aflame and shielding them with fire, destroying cities on a whim, immortality, and the deific vision to perceive wars across all time. Their favor made their armies invincible, and they could grow to the size of a Titan.
- How did the Norse God of War differ?
- In the Norse realms the title belonged to Tyr, who, unlike the Greek war gods, was a pacifist and diplomat who used his gifts to prevent conflict. After Tyr, Kratos agreed to take up the mantle as God of War of the Norse lands.
Sources
- WikiGod of War (God) — God of War Wiki entry
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Related entries
Blade of Olympus
The Blade of Olympus was the sword Zeus forged from the heavens and the earth to banish the Titans to Tartarus and end the Great War. Capable of slaying gods and Titans alike, it later held the godly power of Kratos and became one of the most powerful weapons in the world.
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.
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.
Freya
Freya was the Vanir goddess of love, war, and magic who married Odin to end the Aesir-Vanir War and was cursed to remain in Midgard. Once the Witch of the Woods, she aided Kratos and Atreus, swore vengeance after the death of her son Baldur, and at last turned her wrath on Odin himself.
Hades
Hades was the Olympian God of the Dead and ruler of the Underworld, the eldest son of Cronos and brother of Zeus and Poseidon. He kept the balance of life and death over the Greek world until Kratos turned his own Claws against him and tore out his soul, loosing chaos upon the realm of the dead.
Olympians
The Olympians were the third and final generation of gods to rule over Greece, led by Zeus after they overthrew the Titans in the Titanomachy. First the allies of Kratos and then his enemies, they were slain almost to the last across his years of vengeance, their fall bringing ruin upon all of Greece.
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Aegaeon: the Hecatonchires made a prison
Aegaeon was one of the three Hecatonchires, a giant of many hands who broke a blood oath with Zeus and was punished by the Furies. His vast body was transformed into the living dungeon called the Prison of the Damned, in which Kratos was once chained.
Aesir Royal Family: the Ruling Dynasty of Asgard
The Aesir Royal Family was the ruling dynasty of gods who reigned from Asgard over the Nine Realms. Descended from the first god Buri and led by Odin the Allfather, the line counted Odin's brothers Vili and Ve and his sons Thor, Tyr, Heimdall, and Baldur among its most prominent members.
Alrik
Alrik, the Barbarian King, was the leader of the Barbarian horde from the east and one of Kratos' oldest enemies. His assault drove Kratos to pledge his soul to Ares, beginning the Spartan's tragedy, and his hatred outlasted even death.
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.
Athens
Athens was the great Greek city of the goddess Athena, a hub of culture and worship. When Ares laid siege to it, Kratos was sent to save the city, a quest that ended with his slaying of Ares and his rise as the new God of War.
Blade of Artemis
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.
Blade of Olympus
The Blade of Olympus was the sword Zeus forged from the heavens and the earth to banish the Titans to Tartarus and end the Great War. Capable of slaying gods and Titans alike, it later held the godly power of Kratos and became one of the most powerful weapons in the world.
Blade of the Gods
The Blade of the Gods was a colossal sword forged by the gods, set into the ground outside Athens as a footbridge to a great statue of Athena. Grown to the size of a god, Kratos wrenched it free and used it to kill Ares, claiming the mantle of God of War for himself.
Blades of Athena
The Blades of Athena were the chained blades the goddess Athena bestowed upon Kratos when he became the God of War. They served as his primary weapons during and after his reign on Olympus, until they were ruined in the River Styx and reforged into the Blades of Exile.
Blades of Chaos
The Blades of Chaos were a pair of fire-imbued chained blades forged in the Underworld for Ares and bound to the arms of Kratos. They became the signature weapons of his Greek era and the symbol of the bloodshed that earned him the name Ghost of Sparta, returning years later in the Norse realms.
Calliope
Calliope was the beloved daughter of Kratos and Lysandra, a gentle and innocent child of Sparta. Killed by her father during a frenzy contrived by Ares, she found rest in the Elysium Fields, only for Kratos to be forced to abandon her there to save the world.
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