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.
Pandora's Temple, also called the Temple of Pandora, was a temple raised by the architect Pathos Verdes III on the orders of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades to house Pandora's Box, the most powerful weapon a mortal could wield. Its many traps and guardians were made to keep the Box from any who would turn it against Zeus and Mount Olympus. The temple stood chained to the back of the wandering Titan Cronos, and no one who entered had ever reached the Box. The only mortal to ever do so was Kratos. (God of War (2005))
A vault for the most dangerous weapon#
The building of Pandora's Temple was the largest architectural undertaking of its age. On the counsel of Hephaestus, Pandora's Box was to be stored on the back of the Titan Cronos, so that the smith god might protect his daughter Pandora, who had been created to serve as the key to the Box. To make this possible, riders mounted on pegasi tied Cronos down, allowing the temple to be raised and chained to the Titan's back. Once free, Cronos wandered the Desert of Lost Souls, carrying the temple with him. (God of War (2005); God of War III)
The trials of the temple#
Because the temple traveled upon Cronos through the desert, anyone seeking it first had to cross the Desert of Lost Souls, resist the song of the Sirens, and slay all three of them before they could even reach its gates. As construction had gone on, the temple came to reflect the growing madness of Pathos Verdes III. The earliest tasks within were straightforward, but the later ones grew far more demanding and gruesome. In the end, Pathos used the bodies of his own family members as part of the trials before taking his own life. (God of War (2005))
Many heroes and soldiers attempted to breach the temple, but none of them succeeded, and all died to its many traps and guardians. The temple was littered with the bodies of those who had tried and failed. When Kratos made his own attempt, soldiers were still inside, battling its guardians, and he even came upon one survivor still living within its halls. (God of War (2005))
The only mortal to reach the Box#
No one before Kratos had ever reached Pandora's Box. After crossing the desert, defeating the Sirens, and completing every challenge the temple held, the Spartan became the first and only person ever to claim it. Among the relics and dangers found within its bounds were the Blade of Artemis, the Shield of Hades, the Shield of Zeus, the Handle of Atlas, Poseidon's Trident, the Necklace of Hera, the Necklace of Aphrodite, and the Army of Hades. With the Box at last in his hands, Kratos had done what no one else ever had. (God of War (2005))
Frequently asked questions
- What is Pandora's Temple in God of War?
- Pandora's Temple was a vast trap-laden temple raised by the architect Pathos Verdes III on the orders of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades to house Pandora's Box. Its many traps and guardians were made to keep the Box from any who would turn it against Mount Olympus.
- Where was Pandora's Temple located?
- The temple stood chained to the back of the wandering Titan Cronos, in the Desert of Lost Souls. On the counsel of Hephaestus, the Box was stored on Cronos's back, and riders mounted on pegasi tied the Titan down so the temple could be raised and chained to him.
- Why did Pandora's Temple have such cruel trials?
- As construction went on, the temple came to reflect the growing madness of Pathos Verdes III. The earliest tasks were straightforward, but the later ones grew far more demanding and gruesome, and in the end he used the bodies of his own family members as part of the trials before taking his own life.
- Who was the only person to reach Pandora's Box?
- Kratos was the only mortal ever to reach the Box. After crossing the Desert of Lost Souls, resisting the song of the Sirens and slaying all three, and completing every challenge the temple held, the Spartan claimed the Box where everyone before him had failed.
Gallery
Images via God of War Wiki
Sources
- GameGod of War (2005), Santa Monica Studio, 2005
- GameGod of War III, Santa Monica Studio, 2010
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Mount Olympus: Zeus' seat, torn down
The golden mountain became the seat of the gods after the first Titanomachy, and none but a god could set foot on it. Kratos brought the whole thing down.
Aphrodite: Hephaestus' wife, lover of Ares
Aphrodite was married to the smith Hephaestus but had no love for him. In myth she took Ares as a lover, and in the games she gave Kratos Medusa's gaze.
Atlas: the Titan who holds up the world
Four-armed general of the Titans and the strongest of them. Kratos condemned him to carry the world on the Pillar of the World, then took his help.
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.
Cronos: the Titan who ate his children
Warned that his own children would depose him, Cronos swallowed each at birth. Rhea hid Zeus, Zeus deposed him anyway, and Kratos finished him.
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.
Mentioned in34 entries
Amphitrite
Amphitrite was the Olympian goddess of the sea and the wife of Poseidon. A chamber and a great statue were dedicated to her deep within Pandora's Temple.
Aphrodite: Hephaestus' wife, lover of Ares
Aphrodite was married to the smith Hephaestus but had no love for him. In myth she took Ares as a lover, and in the games she gave Kratos Medusa's gaze.
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.
Ballista: siege engine of the Greek world
The ballista was a great crossbow of the Greek world, fixed to the ground or mounted on a moving platform and built to hurl huge wooden bolts against ships and city walls. In the hands of Kratos, these engines sank a Persian warship, drove off the Basilisk, struck the Colossus of Rhodes, slew Pandora's Guardian, and knocked the sun god Helios from the sky.
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.
Body Burner: the cursed keeper of Pandora's Gate
The Body Burner was the first mortal to enter Pandora's Temple and, by his own account, the first to die there. Cursed by the gods for his failure, he kept watch year after year on the cliff beyond Pandora's Bridge, burning the corpses of every challenger who followed him, until Kratos passed his gate and carried Pandora's Box out of the temple.
Centaur
The Centaurs were monsters of the Greek world, part man and part horse, once renowned for poetry and wine-making in the forests of Mount Pelion. When the Lapiths encroached on their woods they took up arms, and in time were recruited across Greece for their martial prowess.
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.
Cronos: the Titan who ate his children
Warned that his own children would depose him, Cronos swallowed each at birth. Rhea hid Zeus, Zeus deposed him anyway, and Kratos finished him.
Cyclopes: the one-eyed giants of Greece
The Cyclopes were a race of burly, one-eyed giants of the Greek world. Once peaceful shepherds, they were dragged into the first War of the Titans and used thereafter as beasts of war in the armies of the gods.
Cyclops
The Cyclopes were burly, one-eyed giants who fought as beasts of war across the Greek games, from Ares's siege of Athens to the fall of Olympus. In the old myth the series draws on, they were sons of Heaven and Earth whom Zeus freed to fight the Titans.
Desert of Lost Souls: the wasteland east of Athens
The Desert of Lost Souls was a vast, monster haunted desert far to the east of Athens, the place where Zeus condemned the Titan Cronos to wander with Pandora's Temple chained to his back. Kratos crossed its sands in his quest for Pandora's Box, and there Ares struck him down with a pillar hurled from the ruins of Athens.
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