Kratos is the main protagonist and anti-hero of the God of War series. Born a Spartan, Kratos held the military rank of General, before exacting his revenge on the Olympians.
ALIAS/ES: "GHOST OF SPARTA" and "GOD OF WAR"
OCCUPATION: SPARTAN GENERAL and former servant of ARES "GOD OF WAR"
BIRTHPLACE: SPARTA
HEIGHT: 6' - 6'5
KNOWN RELATIVES: Wife, Lysandra (deceased) Daughter, Calliope (deceased) Brother, Deimos (deceased) Father, Zeus (deceased) Half-Brother, Ares (deceased)
FIRST APPEARANCE: GOD OF WAR (2005)
ORIGIN:Born and raised in Sparta, Kratos was monitored, like all other younglings. During several tests, those that were deemed fit were to stay in Sparta to be trained as Spartan protectors, while those deemed unfit would be sent to the mountains, sealing their fate. Kratos, already feisty and aggressive at his young age, along with his brother, Deimos, trained, and dreamt of joining the Spartan army. On an ill-fated day, when the young brothers were training outside their home, the city was raided by the gods, Ares and Athena, and their army of centaurs, in search of the Marked Warrior. Ares, seeing Deimos' birthmark as a sign of the prophecy, then snatched him away. In anger and desperation, Kratos jumped to attack the god and save his brother, only for Ares to smack Kratos back in to a pile of wood, leaving him with a scar. Kratos' scar, delivered by Ares.
Insulted by this, Ares raised his sword to kill Kratos, but was stopped by Athena reminding him that they had what they were looking for. Before leaving, Athena apologized to Kratos, and disappeared into flames. The loss of his brother left an indelible mark on Kratos, as he vowed to never falter again. In honor of his brother, Kratos had this tattoo adorned on his skin, made in the exact image of Deimos' birthmark. After some time, Kratos married Lysandra, and had a daughter, Calliope.
HISTORY AND WAR WITH THE GODS:
Kratos eventually becomes the youngest Captain of Sparta's army, but is revealed to have had a thirst for power. Faced with total defeat at the hands of a barbarian horde, Kratos called for aid to Olympian god Ares. Given the Blades of Chaos, Kratos destroys his enemies and blindly follows the God of War, killing hundreds in his name. After Ares tricks Kratos into murdering his wife Lysandra and daughter Calliope in a temple dedicated to Athena, the Spartan is shocked out of his bloodlust and renounces service to Ares. As the temple burns, a village oracle curses Kratos and condemns him to wear the "mark of his terrible deed", being the ashes of his family. The ashes turn Kratos' skin ash-white, earning him the title "Ghost of Sparta." Although Kratos then vows to serve the other gods in order to receive forgiveness and relief from the nightmares of his past deeds, he is openly defiant. Kratos is reluctant to aid the gods when Helios is kidnapped, and openly abandons them when the goddess Persephone offers him a chance to be reunited with his daughter. Kratos, however, is eventually forced to reverse his decision when Persephone uses the Titan Atlas in a bid to destroy the world and in turn Calliope. Knowing that while intervention will save Calliope it will keep them apart forever, a bitter Kratos kills Persephone, imprisons Atlas and frees Helios (Chains of Olympus).
When Kratos grows tired of his service and confronts patron Athena, the goddess advises that if Kratos will kill the rampaging Ares, the gods will forgive his sins. Kratos once again agrees out of selfish motives, and after finding and using Pandora's Box, is ultimately successful. Despite being free of Ares' influence (including the Blades of Chaos), Kratos is not relieved of the nightmares that haunt him: only forgiven. A dissatisfied and despairing Kratos attempts to commit suicide, but is saved by Athena, who guides Kratos to Olympus (giving him the Blades of Athena) where he becomes the new God of War (God of War).Still haunted by the visions of his mortal past, Kratos - against the advice of Athena - embarks on a quest to find his mother, Callisto, in the city of Atlantis. Callisto attempts to reveal the identity of Kratos' father before being transformed against her will into a beast that Kratos is forced to kill. Before dying, Callisto advises Kratos to find his brother Deimos in Sparta. Kratos first frees the Titan Thera from imprisonment, which causes the destruction of Atlantis. In Sparta, Kratos learns of Deimos' location: the Domain of Death. Kratos finds and frees Deimos, who remains hostile towards his brother. After a skirmish between the siblings, the God of Death Thanatos attacks Deimos, but after being rescued by Kratos the pair join forces to battle their foe. Although Thanatos kills Deimos, the god is in turn killed by Kratos. Kratos then returns to Olympus, enraged at the gods (Ghost of Sparta).
Eventually shunned by the other gods and bored with life on Mt. Olympus, Kratos spends his time watching the Spartan army overrun Greece. After being falsely accused of committing murder and eventually killing Ceryx, the son of Hermes (Betrayal), Kratos joins the Spartan army in city of Rhodes, intent only on destruction. Zeus, however, weakens Kratos, and then tricks him into abandoning his godly powers into the Blade of Olympus (which Zeus uses to kill Kratos). Although Kratos overcomes all obstacles, he is stunned at Zeus' betrayal and swears revenge as he dies. As Kratos falls into the Underworld, he is rescued by the Titan Gaia. Banished to Tartarus with the other surviving Titans after the First Great War, Gaia and her brethren seek the death of Zeus. Kratos, fuelled by anger at the betrayal, agrees to aid the Titans and is instructed to find the Sisters of Fate, with their power being capable of returning him to the moment of Zeus' treachery. Kratos becomes both determined and utterly ruthless—in the pursuit of his goal he wounds a Titan, kills several Greek heroes without hesitation and deliberately sacrifices two scholars. All three of the Sisters of Fate are killed when they oppose Kratos, and in a final confrontation with Zeus, he is prepared to execute the King of the Gods. Zeus is only saved when Athena intervenes and sacrifices herself for him, with Kratos only then showing some remorse. Learning from a dying Athena that Zeus is in fact his father, and that Zeus wishes to avoid a repetition of what he himself did to his own father, Cronos. Kratos rejects any notion of a relationship and vows to both kill Zeus and destroy Olympus. Encouraged by Gaia, Kratos uses the power of the Fates to retrieve the Titans prior to their defeat in the Great War, and with their aid, storms Mt. Olympus (God of War II).
Although Kratos kills Poseidon, he is abandoned by Gaia when an initial encounter with Zeus goes poorly. Stranded in the underworld and now betrayed by both the Olympians and Titans, Kratos learns from the spirit of Athena (who also provides the Blades of Exile) he will need to find the Flame of Olympus: the key to Zeus' defeat. Kratos murders both Titans and gods alike, ignoring the warnings of his victims as he seeks the Flame. Realizing the key to pacifying the Flame and reaching what is discovered to be Pandora's Box is in fact Pandora herself, Kratos comes to care for the girl, who reminds him of his lost daughter Calliope. Kratos shows humanity when he attempts to stop Pandora from sacrificing herself to quench the Flame, but reluctantly allows the act when Pandora states there is no other option. Finding the Box empty, and driven berserk by Zeus' mockery, Kratos attacks his father. Although Gaia intervenes and attempts to kill both Kratos and Zeus, she is destroyed by Kratos, who then apparently defeats Zeus. Zeus, however, returns and attacks Kratos in spirit form. Kratos, now retreated into his psyche, comes to forgive himself for his past sins with the help of Lysandra. Pandora later appears and tells Kratos that hope will ultimately save him. A now whole Kratos is revived and easily destroys Zeus. Athena confronts Kratos and demands that Kratos return what she placed in Pandora's Box: hope. In a selfless act, Kratos refuses and impales himself with the Blade of Olympus, which disperses the power across the world for mankind's use. Athena departs as Kratos states that his need for vengeance is at an end. Kratos' ultimate fate remains unknown (God of War)
He is surprised when Athena tells Kratos that he is the son of Zeus. In denial, he replies that he has no father. He does not truly accept this fact until the siege of Mount Olympus, telling Zeus that his son brought the destruction of Olympus as a gift to him. The one and only time Kratos is shown to be happy is when he sees his daughter,Calliope, again in Chains of Olympus.
Despite his violent nature, Kratos has shown to respect, and even care for, a handful of people. Besides his wife and daughter, he has also shown to care for his younger brother Deimos and his mother Callisto and to be regretful of his accidental killing of Athena. Kratos also showed respect for the nameless Spartan Captain he encountered several times during God of War II, and treated Pandora as if she were his own daughter. He is also vary libidinous and is shown to be very sexually passionate with many women, though, as stated by Gaia, he never found true happiness nor comfort in these acts, with Lysandra being the only woman he ever loved.
WEAPONS/POWERS:
Before serving Ares, Kratos' main weapon was his sword. Under Ares' rule, Kratos' main weapons became the Blades of Chaos, a gift from Ares as a sign of his servitude. They are essentially two Falchion-like blades on long chains, permanently fused and seared to the wielder's forearms. Once Kratos killed Ares, Athena replaced them with a nearly identical pair of blades called the Blades of Athena, and then replaces them again in God of War III with the very similar Blades of Exile. Kratos displays proficiency with all of his weapons. It's implied that he learned many of his fighting skills from Ares, the former God of War himself. Initially, Kratos also had a massiveSpartan army under his command, used both before and during his servitude under Ares.
Kratos, before and after becoming a God, gained many powers from the Gods. When he relinquished his old powers to the Blade of Olympus, he was given new powers by the Titans. Some of these powers resemble the abilities given to him by the Gods. The Blade of Olympus is one of Kratos' greatest weapons, as he has infused all of his godly power into it.
TEMPLAR NOTE:
Kratos is without a doubt, one of the greatest heroes to every hit the Pop Culture scene. When he first appeared in God of War (2005), Kratos unleashed his vengeance upon all of Greece, and the Gods. Kratos is such a BAMF, he goes as far as killing his own flesh and blood (the Gods) in revenge for him killing his own wife and child while under the influence of his half-brother Ares, The God of War.
Below is a small visual proof on how deadly and violent Kratos can get..
-Brian Lansangan
follow me on Twitter @MrSnugglenutz84
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