Nemean Cestus

The Nemean Cestus were a pair of great metal gauntlets, each forged in the likeness of a snarling lion's head, that vastly increased the strength of whoever wore them. They were said to have come into the hands of their original owner, Hercules, after he slew the Nemean Lion as one of his twelve labours. When the demigod turned them against his half-brother Kratos, the Spartan wrested them away and made the gauntlets the instrument of Hercules' own death.

Appearance#

The Nemean Cestus took the form of a roaring lion, silverish gold in colour with black along the sides, and were studded with spikes, some curving back and others forward. Each gauntlet was made of three separate parts: the lion's head, a first ring of spikes, and a second ring of spikes attached to a sleeve into which the wearer fitted his arm. When the gauntlets were used, a pale blue aura often gathered around each individual part. They appeared to adjust to the hands of whoever wore them, fitting Hercules and later Kratos alike though the two were of different stature.

The duel of half-brothers#

The Cestus came into the saga when Hercules, locked in battle with Kratos, donned the gauntlets to face the Spartan. The fight turned against the demigod, and the Cestus were forced from his grip. Taking them up, Kratos used the lion gauntlets to batter his half-brother to death, claiming the weapon for his own as he had claimed others from the foes he overcame.

Power against Onyx#

The Nemean Cestus were among the most formidable weapons Kratos ever wielded, second only to the Blade of Olympus in raw might. Alone among his arsenal they could destroy Onyx, a hard stone that frequently barred his path in the form of shields, walls and armour. This made them the only weapon capable of slaying Skorpius, whose body was sheathed in the stone, and of breaking through the armour of the Three Judges of the Underworld. The gauntlets carried chains within them that allowed for ranged strikes and for evasive moves much like those of the Claws of Hades, and with every blow the faint roar or growl of a lion could be heard. They served Kratos well against the bronze giant Talos and, once fully mastered, against Zeus, the King of the Gods. In the end, like nearly all of Kratos' weapons save the Blade of Olympus and a few others, the Nemean Cestus were destroyed by the astral form of Zeus.