Gods (2024)

Gods are ageless beings with magical powers that rule over various parts of the world, and are commonly worshiped by the mortal inhabitants of such lands. There are several, distinct pantheons of Gods, such as the Olympians and Titans who ruled over Greece or the Aesir and Vanir who fought for control over Scandinavia. Every god in a pantheon fills a certain role, such as the "God of War" or the "God of Light", often having a counterpart in other Pantheons. For instance, Týr was the Aesir God of War in the Norse Pantheon, and in the Greek Pantheon, the Olympian God of War was Ares, both of which was later replaced by Kratos after the latter killed him.

According to Kratos, due to his own history with Olympians and Titans alike, Gods care nothing for their worshipers and that worshiping them is nothing but foolish; that men should never pray to monsters. Moreover, when Atreus asked his father on why the Gods cause so much trouble, Kratos answered that it is simply in their nature and that the Gods continue to spread misery. However, Týr is a notable exception to this, as he is shown to greatly care about mortals and prefers pacifism over violence.

The Gods possess agelessness, high durability, and immunity to disease, although they are not beyond destruction. How they can die varies from Pantheon to Pantheon (Greek Gods require godly power or weapons to be killed, while Norse Gods can be killed by mortals and non-divine weaponry). In God of War III, Kratos kills approximately all of the Greek Pantheon in his quest for revenge against his father, Zeus, and thus leaves all of Greece in Chaos by the end of his vengeance.^[1]

It has been heavily implied by Mimir that the different Pantheons from other realms are aware of each other's existence, at least among particular members, as Mimir was shown to have prior knowledge of Athena, Zeus, and the rest of the Greek Pantheon, as well as their destruction at the hands of Kratos.^[2]

Confirmed Pantheons within the God of War series

• Greek Gods: featured prominently in God of War, God of War II, God of War: Betrayal, God of War: Chains of Olympus, God of War III, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, and God of War: Ascension. A great part of the Pantheon was wiped out by Kratos.^[1] Initially led by Cronos ruling over the Titan Gods from Mount Orthys, until being overthrown by his son Zeus who ruled over the Olympian Gods from Mount Olympus.
• Norse Gods: featured prominently in God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök. Split between the warlike Aesir led by the knowledge-hungry Odin and the nature-loving Vanir led by the witch-like Freya.
• Egyptian Gods: mentioned in God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök, and featured in God of War: Fallen God. They are half-human, half-animal Gods who, from what Mimir heard, rule with wisdom and humility.^[3] According to Mimir, they are many and not as simple to qualify as "good" or "evil".^[4] They are featured on a tapestry showing Týr's journeys^[4] and the Egyptian symbol of the Eye of Ra is on Týr's missing triptych panel.^[5] Only the God Thoth has appeared so far.^[6] Egyptian hieroglyphs are also one of the three languages engraved on the Mask of Creation.
• Mayan Gods: alluded to in God of War (2018) and mentioned in God of War Ragnarök. According to Týr's writings, these southern Gods are said to possess unparalleled wisdom and generosity. Their "Ruler of the Heavens" apparently saw fit to gift humanity with advances like writing, farming, the calendar, and sciences. That said, their "God of Death" takes great pleasure in torturing expired souls with fire and water.^[7]

Alluded Pantheons within the God of War series

• Shinto Gods: alluded to in God of War (2018), showing a torii gate, and the kanji for kami on a tapestry showing Týr's journeys,^[4] as well as the Japanese symbol of the three-fold tomoe (or mitsudomoe) on Týr's missing triptych panel.^[5] Further evidence of their existence is Japanese kanji being one of the three languages on the Mask of Creation.
• Celtic Gods: alluded to in God of War (2018), showing the Celtic symbol of the triskellion on Týr's missing triptych panel.^[5]

Trivia

• God of War's animation director Bruno Velazquez once even implied the existence of the Abrahamic God.^[8] Cory Barlog would later outright confirmed that Christianity is also another mythology part of the cosmology of the World.^[9]
• The Mayan "Ruler of the Heavens", and the "God of Death" mentioned by the stolen treasure journal entry are most likely the Gods Itzamna and Cizin.
• It currently has not been officially stated in the series about the qualities that are required to be a god, but it has been shown that at the very least that Greek Gods possess a form of divine energy that makes them gods, should they be depleted of this energy, they lose their godhood, hence why Kratos became mortal again after he drained all of his godly power into the Blade of Olympus.

Gallery

References