Lore FortressWhy Did Kratos Stab Himself? He Wouldn't Give Athena Hope
At the end of God of War III, Athena demands the power of Hope and Kratos answers by driving the Blade of Olympus into his own chest. Here's why he did it, why Zeus ever put that sword in his hands, and whether he actually died.
Kratos stabs himself with the Blade of Olympus at the end of God of War III because Athena demands the power of Hope and he won't give it to her. The stab releases that power to mankind, and the wiki adds that he also seemed to want out of the world. (God of War III; God of War Wiki)
Why did Kratos stab himself with the Blade of Olympus?#
Athena catches up with him after Zeus is dead. She asks for the power he took from Pandora's Box. Kratos says the box was empty, and she doesn't believe him. In the wiki's account, she realizes that Hope went into Kratos when he opened the box to kill Ares, and that he released it once he had forgiven himself. She wants it back, because with the world cleansed by chaos she means to rebuild it under her own rule. (God of War III; God of War Wiki)
Kratos refuses, says he owes her nothing, and drives the sword into himself. A beam of blue light goes up and Hope reaches mankind. Athena says mankind won't know what to do with it, tells him how disappointed she is, pulls the blade from his chest and walks off. (God of War III; God of War Wiki)
The wiki gives two readings for the motive. One is that he wanted to deny Athena the power. The other is that he wanted to escape the world and perhaps meet his family again in the Underworld, with the release of Hope as a by-product. The wiki also says the developers imply the release was more of a by-product than his true intention. (God of War Wiki, Hope)
My read: the by-product reading is the more human one. Athena's demand is what triggers it, but a man who has just killed his way through the whole pantheon and learned the box was empty looks like someone who's done. Hope getting out is the good that came of it. That's my interpretation. The games don't give him a speech to settle it.
Why did Zeus give Kratos the Blade of Olympus?#
He didn't give it in the sense of a gift. In God of War II, Zeus sent the blade down to Rhodes so Kratos could use it against the Colossus. He offered Kratos power, and told him to drain his godly powers into the sword. The wiki says this was a trick. Kratos had no idea he was draining his own divinity into the blade, and when the Colossus's hand brought him down, Zeus arrived, took the sword and revealed he'd stolen those powers. (God of War II; God of War Wiki)
When Kratos refused to kneel, Zeus used the blade to wound him and then shoved it into his abdomen. That's the wound Kratos was dragged to the Underworld with. So the sword's first use on Kratos was Zeus fatally wounding him with it. At the end of God of War III it goes into him again, and this time he chooses. (God of War II; God of War Wiki)
Did Kratos die at the end of God of War III?#
Not on screen, and not for good. After Athena leaves, he's lying on the ground ready to let the Underworld take him. The post-credits scene shows the spot empty, with a trail of blood leading to the edge of a cliff above the ruined Greek world. (God of War III; God of War Wiki)
The wiki says Kratos is cursed to walk the earth forever and can't die. It also says he then leaves Greece for the Nordic lands, which is where God of War (2018) finds him. A popular theory says Hope itself revived him, but the wiki says neither that theory nor any explanation is settled. For more on that, see is Kratos immortal. (God of War Wiki, Hope)
What happened to Hope after that?#
The wiki says the people of Greece moved on and rebuilt without the Olympian gods, as an amphora vase in Tyr's vault shows. In God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla, Tyr helps Kratos reflect on how he gave Hope to mankind, and says some of it is still in him. (God of War Wiki, Hope)
A short timeline#
- Zeus sends Kratos the blade at Rhodes in God of War II and tricks him into draining his powers into it.
- Zeus takes it back and stabs Kratos with it.
- Kratos regains the blade and uses it through God of War III, including on Zeus and Gaia.
- Athena demands Hope, and Kratos stabs himself instead.
- Athena removes the blade and leaves, and Kratos's body is gone after the credits.
(God of War II; God of War III; God of War Wiki)
Canon Notes#
Frequently asked questions
- Why did Kratos stab himself with the Blade of Olympus?
- Athena demanded the power of Hope, which Kratos had been carrying, and he refused to hand it over. He drove the blade into himself, and the power was released to mankind instead. The God of War Wiki also reads it as a wish to escape the world and perhaps see his family again, which is an interpretation.
- Why did Zeus give Kratos the Blade of Olympus?
- In God of War II Zeus offered it as a source of power, and Kratos drained his godly power into it. The wiki says Zeus was tricking him, and that Zeus took the blade back and used it on him.
- Did Kratos kill himself in God of War III?
- He tried to. Kratos is left on the ground ready to die, but the post-credits scene shows his body gone and a trail of blood leading away.
- Did Kratos die at the end of God of War III?
- No. The post-credits scene shows he is gone from where he fell, and he turns up in the Norse lands in God of War (2018). The games leave it open how he lived, and the wiki offers two explanations.
- What did stabbing himself do?
- It released the power of Hope to mankind. The wiki says it also released the power in the blade, which was left useless.
Sources
- GameGod of War II, Santa Monica Studio, 2007
- GameGod of War III, Santa Monica Studio, 2010
- GameGod of War (2018), Santa Monica Studio, 2018
- GameGod of War Ragnarök: Valhalla, Santa Monica Studio, 2023
- WikiGod of War Wiki, Blade of Olympus, Hope and God of War III entries, godofwar.fandom.com, CC BY-SA
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
God of War III Story and Ending Explained: Plot Summary
The whole story of God of War III in order, from the Titans' climb up Mount Olympus to the death of Zeus. Then the ending in plain terms: why Kratos drove the Blade of Olympus into himself, what Athena wanted, and where that trail of blood leads.
What Happened to the Blade of Olympus? Left in the Dirt
At the end of God of War III, Kratos stabs himself with the Blade of Olympus to release Hope, and the sword is left behind in Zeus' arena, drained and abandoned. Here's the full path from Zeus' forge to that last image, and what Valhalla does with it.
Is Kratos Immortal?
Kratos is a god, so he won't die of age or illness, but he isn't unkillable. He has been killed more than once and come back, and he has survived things that should have ended him. Here is what the games show about how hard he is to kill.
Hope: the greatest weapon in the world
Hope was a blessed power strong enough to kill a god, hidden by Athena at the bottom of Pandora's Box as a counterweight to the evils sealed there after the Great War. Kratos absorbed it without knowing when he opened the Box to slay Ares, awakened it through forgiveness to destroy Zeus, and released it to mankind on the point of the Blade of Olympus.
Athena: from Kratos' guide to his enemy
Athena set Kratos against Ares to save Athens, then turned on him when his reign grew worse. She died taking a blow meant for Zeus, and named Kratos his son.
Blade of Olympus: Powers, Origin and How It Killed Zeus
Zeus forged the Blade of Olympus to end the Great War. What it could do, how Zeus tricked Kratos into draining his power into it, and how it killed Zeus.
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