Persephone
Queen of the Underworld
Persephone was the Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld, embittered by a marriage she never wanted. She conspired to destroy the world and herself with it, freeing Atlas to shatter the Pillar of the World before Kratos struck her down.
Persephone was the Olympian Goddess of Spring and the Queen of the Underworld, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Abducted and bound to the Lord of the Dead Hades, she grew so embittered by the life forced upon her that she sought to end not only her own existence but the entire Greek world. Her scheme freed the Titan Atlas to destroy the Pillar of the World, and it was Kratos who stopped her, at the cost of his own reunion with his dead daughter.
Abduction and bitterness#
Born of the union of Zeus and Demeter, Persephone shared her mother's love of nature, and her beauty drew the attention of many gods. The most persistent was Hades, Lord of the Dead, who ruled alone over his vast kingdom. Knowing that Demeter would never consent to the marriage, Hades schemed with Zeus to abduct Persephone into the Underworld and claim her as his wife.
Demeter, distraught, made the Earth infertile in her grief until the Sun God Helios revealed the truth and she demanded her daughter's return. Hades complied, but only after deceiving Persephone into tasting the pomegranate of his garden, which bound her to spend part of each year below. The seasons were born of her mother's sorrow and joy at her leaving and returning. Though Hades's love for her was true and he granted her rule over the Elysian Fields, Persephone resented her fate. Over the long centuries her nature darkened and she mastered the magical arts of the Underworld, dreaming of escape.
The plot to end the world#
Worn down by her forced marriage and her duties over the fallen, Persephone resolved to destroy the world along with herself. She allied with the dream god Morpheus and the Titan Atlas, freeing the Titan from Tartarus without any god noticing. Morpheus, with the gods asleep, took hold of the mortal realm, while Atlas tore Helios from the sky, plunging the world into darkness, and began to destroy the Pillar of the World that held the Earth and Olympus in place.
Calliope and the trap#
Kratos, then a servant of the gods, descended into the Underworld in pursuit of his dead daughter Calliope. Persephone met him and told him that to reach Calliope in the Elysian Fields he would have to surrender his power and weapons. When Kratos was at last reunited with his daughter, the goddess revealed her plot and mocked him, knowing she had disarmed him through his love. Kratos gave up his chance to remain with Calliope in order to reclaim his powers and stop her.
Death at the Pillar#
Taking a winged and armored form, Persephone flew up the Pillar of the World, which Atlas was already breaking. Kratos latched onto her with his blades and gave chase, battling her atop the Pillar as Atlas lent his aid. The ray of light from the captive Helios, held in the Titan's hand, was used to weaken her, and Kratos crushed her with the Gauntlet of Zeus. In her last breath she told him his suffering would never end, and her body disintegrated in a great release of energy. Her death foreshadowed the vengeance Kratos would one day take against the gods himself.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Persephone in God of War?
- Persephone was the Olympian Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Abducted and bound to Hades, she grew so embittered by the life forced upon her that she sought to end her own existence and the entire Greek world with it.
- How was Persephone abducted into the Underworld?
- Hades, Lord of the Dead, loved Persephone but knew Demeter would never consent to a marriage, so he schemed with Zeus to abduct her into the Underworld. When Demeter demanded her return, Hades complied only after deceiving Persephone into tasting the pomegranate of his garden, which bound her to spend part of each year below.
- What was Persephone's plot to destroy the world?
- Persephone allied with the dream god Morpheus and the Titan Atlas, freeing Atlas from Tartarus without any god noticing. While Morpheus put the gods to sleep, Atlas tore Helios from the sky and began to destroy the Pillar of the World that held the Earth and Olympus in place.
- How did Persephone trap Kratos?
- When Kratos descended into the Underworld in pursuit of his dead daughter Calliope, Persephone told him he would have to surrender his power and weapons to reach her in the Elysian Fields. Once he was reunited with Calliope, the goddess revealed her plot, knowing she had disarmed him through his love.
- How did Persephone die?
- Persephone took a winged and armored form and flew up the Pillar of the World as Atlas broke it. Kratos gave chase, used the ray of light from the captive Helios to weaken her, and crushed her with the Gauntlet of Zeus, after which her body disintegrated in a great release of energy.
Sources
- WikiPersephone — God of War Wiki entry
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Related entries
Atlas
Atlas was the four-armed General of the Titans, strongest of his kind, who hurled mountains in the great war. Condemned by Kratos to bear the world atop the Pillar of the World, he later aided the same Spartan against Zeus.
Demeter
Demeter was the Olympian Goddess of the Harvest and Agriculture, a sister of Zeus and mother of Persephone. She held dominion over plants and grain, and her grief at the abduction of her daughter by Hades brought barren winter upon the earth.
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.
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.
Morpheus
Morpheus was the Greek primordial God of Dreams, an Agent of Night who ruled the Realm of Dreams. When Helios was torn from the sky, he seized his chance to cast the gods and mortals into slumber and wrap the world in black fog, retreating only when Kratos returned the sun to the heavens.
Zeus
Zeus was the King of Olympus and ruler of the Greek Pantheon, the youngest son of Cronos who freed his siblings, ended the Great War, and claimed the heavens. Father of Kratos, he became the great antagonist of the Greek age and fell at last to the very son he had tried to destroy.
Mentioned in21 entries
Atlas
Atlas was the four-armed General of the Titans, strongest of his kind, who hurled mountains in the great war. Condemned by Kratos to bear the world atop the Pillar of the World, he later aided the same Spartan against Zeus.
Bow of Apollo
The Bow of Apollo was a fire-imbued bow named for the sun god Apollo. Kratos took it from Peirithous, the doomed lover of Persephone, who was imprisoned in the Underworld within a cage of brambles.
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.
Charon
Charon was the ferryman who carried the souls of the dead across the River Styx, a servant of Hades and Persephone. When Kratos came to his docks still living, Charon refused him passage and cast him into Tartarus before the Spartan returned to kill him.
Demeter
Demeter was the Olympian Goddess of the Harvest and Agriculture, a sister of Zeus and mother of Persephone. She held dominion over plants and grain, and her grief at the abduction of her daughter by Hades brought barren winter upon the earth.
Gauntlet of Zeus
The Gauntlet of Zeus was a colossal gauntlet forged by Hephaestus and used by Zeus to chain the Titans in the depths of Tartarus. Recovered by Kratos from the Temple of Zeus, it became the weapon with which he slew Persephone.
Gorgon
The Gorgons were a serpentine race of female monsters whose gaze turned the living to stone. Ruled by three matriarchs, Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno, they marched in the army of Ares and were hunted across Greece by Kratos, who claimed their severed heads as weapons.
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.
Harpies
Harpies were monstrous winged creatures of the Greek world, part woman and part bird or bat, that hunted in flocks across Greece and the Underworld. They served the God of War Ares and were the beasts that first carried the Blades of Chaos to Kratos.
Harpy
The Harpies were winged monsters with the heads of hideous women and the bodies of bats or birds, found in flocks throughout the Greek world. Servants of Ares, it was they who first carried the Blades of Chaos to Kratos, and they appeared in many forms across the lands of the living and the Underworld.
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.
Morpheus
Morpheus was the Greek primordial God of Dreams, an Agent of Night who ruled the Realm of Dreams. When Helios was torn from the sky, he seized his chance to cast the gods and mortals into slumber and wrap the world in black fog, retreating only when Kratos returned the sun to the heavens.
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