Kratos (God of War)
Kratos is a male video game character who features in God of War.
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Biography
Kratos was the demigod son of Zeus and Callisto with him having a brother named Deimos with the pair born in Sparta. Neither child was aware of their true heritage and origin but instead were raised among the Spartans. As with all the young children of Sparta, they were monitored in order to determine if they were fit to be trained as Spartan protectors with those deemed unfit sent to the mountains to die. The young Kratos was noted for being a feisty and aggressive child who along with his brother dreamed of joining the Spartan army when they grew up. On one day, the two were training outside their home when the city was attacked by the Olympian gods Ares and Athena who arrived with an army of centaurs as they searched for the Marked Warrior. Ares encountered the young Deimos and noticed the birthmark on him suggesting that he was the child mentioned in prophecy and as such snatched him. In anger and desperation, Kratos attacked the god in order to save his brother only for Ares to push him to the aside with the strike leaving a scar over his right eye. Ares was insulted at he mortal's defiance and intended to kill the young Kratos but was stopped by Athena who stated that the pair had found their quarry. Prior to departing, Athena apologized to Kratos and disappeared into flames. Kratos was devastated at the loss of his brother and vowed never to lose again. In the aftermath, he placed a tattoo on himself that matched Deimos's birthmark in honor of his brother. By the time Kratos became an adult, he became a fearsome and respected warrior in the Spartan army. In that time, he married Lysandra who gave him a daughter named Calliope. Shortly after her birth however, Calliope fell ill, causing the Spartan Authorities to deem her weak. Spartan Law required that she be thrown into a chasm and left to die. Determined to save his daughter, Kratos set out on a journey for the Ambrosia after hearing from an elder of its exceptional healing capabilities. But unbeknownst to Kratos, Ares had chosen him to be his champion in the wager of the Gods; a contest with the ultimate goal to capture the Ambrosia. Additionally, the victor would have statues erected in their honour all throughout Greece. A battalion of Spartans accompanied Kratos on his quest, including Captain Nikos.
Kratos then returned to Sparta and healed Calliope, obtaining the rank of 'Captain' from the King of Sparta. At some point after becoming captain, Kratos would command a young soldier named Atreus who remained hopeful even in the darkest times. When the day came for Atreus to lay down his life in battle, he did it without hesitation and saved many others, earning Kratos' respect. The captain carried Atreus home and personally buried him with full honours of Spartan custom, acknowledging him as the only Spartan who ever had a smile on his face even in battle. Years later, Kratos became a Spartan General, winning many battles against other armies with brutal but effective tactics. However, his pride and hunger for power grew greater with every victory. Despite Lysandra's pleas, Kratos vowed to continue his bloody conquests until the glory of Sparta was known throughout the world, spending time with his family only when he was able to return to Sparta. Kratos and his Spartan Army finally met their match when they encountered the merciless Barbarian tribes from the East, led by Kratos' old enemy, Alrik. Outnumbered and overpowered, the Spartans quickly found themselves on the losing end of the battle. With Kratos himself left at the mercy of Alrik - the Barbarian King, seeking revenge against Kratos for inadvertently causing the death of his father. In an act of desperation to save his life and refusing to admit his defeat, Kratos called out to Ares, the God of War, pledging all of his allegiance in exchange for victory. Ares accepted the offer, proceeding to kill all of the Barbarians, giving Kratos the Blades of Chaos as a sign of his servitude, permanently bound to him by searing the chains onto his arms. Immediately after receiving them, he used the Blades against Alrik and decapitated him in single combat, ending the battle in Sparta's victory.
For a time, Kratos served Ares loyally, raiding villages, slaughtering innocents, and spreading chaos in his name. Under the God of War's influence, Kratos became utterly ruthless and gradually lost any semblance of the humanity he once had. One day, during a raid on a village of Athena's followers, Ares secretly transported Lysandra and Calliope to the village’s temple. Ignoring the village oracle's warnings, Kratos entered the Temple of Athena. He slaughtered everybody inside in a fit of blind rage, including his wife and child. Ares justified this as a means of severing Kratos' remaining attachments to the world, thereby molding him into the perfect warrior. Stricken with horror and grief at what he had done, Kratos left the bodies of his family to be burned within the temple, ultimately renouncing his allegiance to the God of War. The Oracle cursed Kratos, forcing him to forever wear the ashes of his dead family on his skin. From that day onwards, Kratos became known as the 'Ghost of Sparta', his skin now 'pale as the moon' from the ashes that coated him. To other mortals, he was now marked by his ghostly white skin - the knowledge of his past actions often repulsed them to the point where they would rather die than allow him to save their lives. He became known as the personification of cruelty and selfishness. Word of this metamorphosis would spread even outside of Greece as Norse God and advisor to Odin, Mimir, who would become a future ally to Kratos himself, would later on instantly recognize who Kratos was. Realizing that he had been blinded by anger and manipulated by Ares, the God of War, to kill his wife and child, Kratos decides to seek revenge, breaking his oath to Ares to stay submissive and be a loyal servant. Angry with Kratos' decision, Ares orders the Furies to hunt him down so that he could once again be forced to serve him. Meanwhile, Kratos looked for a way to break his blood oath with Ares. But when entering the abandoned Kirra Village, he suddenly finds himself in his house which should be located in the city of Sparta. However, he was immediately awakened by Orkos, who tells him that all of this was just an illusion to weaken his mind.
Using Lysandra's necklace and ring, Orkos managed to get Kratos out of the illusion and instructed him to look for the Oracle in Delphi. While Kratos didn't believe Orkos' words, he still followed his direction to go look for the Oracle named Aletheia in the Delphi Mountains where, upon his arrival, he maneuvered around using the giant snake Python until he was able to reach the Oracle’s temple, where Aletheia was being held by Castor and Pollux, a pair of twins who were worshiped as Gods. This was because they were considered to have helped shipwrecked sailors and brought favourable winds to other sailors. Castor asked Kratos to bring a proper offering for him if he wanted to meet Aletheia, and when Kratos refused, he became furious and immediately attacked, giving Kratos no other choice but to kill Castor and Pollux. They fought until the whole room shook and collapsed, before then retrieving the Amulet of Uroborus, an amulet that can be used to manipulate time in various ways. Kratos used it to restore the wreckage and reach Aletheia, who unfortunately was found dying after being crushed by the rubble. Both of her eyeballs were gone, and the Amulet of Uroborus couldn't be used to heal Aletheia's wounds.
Overview
Personality and attributes
One noticeable feature was the scar over his right eye that he gained when Ares struck him to the side when he was a child. The reason for his white skin was part of a curse made by his enemies when he was in service to Ares and was actually the white ash of his wife and child after he had mistakenly slain them.
Kratos was originally an incredibly destructive, ruthless, violent, fierce, and brutal warrior who is focused mainly on his own goals, and turning what guilt he has into anger. Whenever he is wronged, he becomes obsessed with revenge and will destroy who or whatever he has to get his vengeance. At first, Kratos wanted revenge on Ares for making him kill his family, then Zeus for trying to kill him, and his lust for vengeance consumed him to where he no longer cared for the world as it was destroyed by his actions. His inability to accept full responsibility for his actions makes him shift the blame to others for his actions. Due to his many painful memories, Kratos is often stoic and silent, but brutally vocal in battle.
Powers and abilities
As the son of Zeus and to the mortal woman Callisto, Kratos was born a demigod, already granting him superhuman physical prowess. Already beyond most mortals and monsters, to where armies of them pose no threat to him.
Notes
- Kratos was the protagonist of the God of War games where he was voiced by actor Terrence C. Carson and by Antony Del Rio who voiced the character as a child in God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
- The character was named after and adapted from Kratos from Greek mythology.
Appearances
- God of War':
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta:
External Link
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