Phoenix
the undying fire bird of Greece
The Phoenix was a legendary fire bird said to rise reborn from its own ashes. Within the Palace of the Fates it slept as ash in the Phoenix Chamber until Kratos rekindled it, and the great bird bore him up the Ashen Spire toward the Temple of the Fates.
The Phoenix was a legendary fire bird of the Greek world, a creature said to live for centuries and then rise reborn from its own ashes. One such bird slumbered as ash within the Palace of the Fates, and it was Kratos who woke it and rode upon its back toward the Temple of the Fates. (Histories; God of War II)
The bird of rebirth#
The Phoenix was the legendary fire bird, a creature whose worship reached back to the most ancient days and was honored in many lands of the world. It was bound to the sun and to the turning of time, and above all to the endless cycle of its own renewal. By the common account the bird lived five hundred years, and when its span was done a new phoenix rose from the old one; later tellings had it die in a blaze of flame and rise again from its own ashes. To the peoples who told its tale, the Phoenix stood for rebirth and the renewal of all things. (Histories; Metamorphoses)
The Phoenix of the Fates#
In the age of Kratos a Phoenix lay dormant within the Palace of the Fates, reduced to ash and sleeping in the depths of the Phoenix Chamber. When the Spartan came to the palace seeking to confront the Sisters of Fate, he learned that the bird was the only means of climbing the towering Ashen Spire to reach the Temple of the Fates that crowned it. (God of War II)
Descending into the chamber, Kratos worked through its trials until he could return the Phoenix's ashes to the fire and so give the beast new life. Once it was rekindled and freed from the flames, he gave chase, harnessed the great fire bird, and rode upon its back up the spire to the temple high above. When he leapt from its back into the temple, the Phoenix flew on, and it was held to live still, for such a creature could resurrect itself without end. (God of War II)
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Phoenix in God of War?
- The Phoenix was a legendary fire bird of the Greek world, said to live for centuries and then rise reborn from its own ashes. It was associated with the sun and the endless cycle of its own renewal.
- How long did the Phoenix live before it was reborn?
- By the common account the bird lived five hundred years. When its span was done it died in a blaze of flame and obtained new life by arising from the ashes of its own ending.
- Where was the Phoenix found in the Palace of the Fates?
- A Phoenix lay dormant in the Palace of the Fates, reduced to ash and sleeping in the depths of the Phoenix Chamber. It was the only means of climbing the Ashen Spire to reach the Temple of the Fates at its summit.
- How did Kratos wake the Phoenix?
- Kratos descended into the Phoenix Chamber and worked through its trials until he could return the bird's ashes to the fire and give it new life. Once it was rekindled, he harnessed it and rode upon its back up the spire to the temple.
- What happened to the Phoenix after Kratos reached the temple?
- When Kratos leapt from its back into the temple, the Phoenix flew on. It was held to live still, for such a creature could resurrect itself without end.
Sources
- GameGod of War II, Santa Monica Studio, 2007
- BookHistories, Herodotus, 5th century BC
- BookMetamorphoses, Ovid, AD 8
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Also in Greek Era
Cerberus Mongrel: the lesser hounds of the Underworld
The Cerberus Mongrels were the weakest breed of the Cerberi, gaunt three-headed hounds that served the lord of the dead. Kratos beat them into submission across two eras of his life, riding them as living weapons and turning the fire of one upon Peirithous to claim the Bow of Apollo.
Hoplite: the undead soldiery of the dead lands
The Hoplites were undead soldiers of the Greek world, skeletal corpses clad in the armor of Greece that fought with twin swords. Kratos cut through their ranks in Asphodel, in the depths of Tartarus, and even in the Elysium Fields, where their stronger breeds bore shields of bronze and iron.
Kraken: the sea beast of the Island of Creation
The Kraken was a giant meat-eating sea monster, an octopus-like horror of armored tentacles and a fanged maw. One rose against Kratos on the Island of Creation after the death of the Last Spartan and nearly crushed him before he impaled her through the mouth, while in the Norse realms a hatchling of the same breed lived as the pet of the dwarf Durlin.
Megaera's Parasites: scarab brood of the Fury
Megaera's Parasites were scarab like arthropods that crawled from a diseased rash on the chest of the Fury Megaera. They swarmed Kratos in the Prison of the Damned, infested prisoners and hounds into mindless thralls, and mutated the very limbs of the Hecatonchires Aegaeon before dying with their mistress.
Monster: the beasts of the mythic world
Monsters, also called Beasts, were the hostile creatures of the mythic world, beings that could be counted neither as mortals nor as gods or Titans. From the minotaurs and gorgons of Greece to the trolls and dragons of the Norse realms, they haunted every land that Kratos ever walked.
Mentioned in5 entries
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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.
Hyperion
Hyperion was the Titan of the Sun and Light, who embodied the sun before his son Helios took it over. He fell with his kind in the great war and was chained in Tartarus, and the gates that bear his name still cross the world.
Island of Creation: cradle of the Greek world
The Island of Creation was the place where all life in Greece began, lying at the very edge of the world. It became the seat of the Sisters of Fate and one of the most heavily guarded places known to man, until Kratos broke through its defenses, slew its guardians, and left it in ruin.
Kraken: the sea beast of the Island of Creation
The Kraken was a giant meat-eating sea monster, an octopus-like horror of armored tentacles and a fanged maw. One rose against Kratos on the Island of Creation after the death of the Last Spartan and nearly crushed him before he impaled her through the mouth, while in the Norse realms a hatchling of the same breed lived as the pet of the dwarf Durlin.
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