AGod of Warfan has made a piece of fan art that succinctly captures the long legacy started by Cronos. Cronos himself is an actual character in Greek myth. He was the son of Gaia, also a major figure in the originalGod of Warseries that was released on the PlayStation 2 and 3.Warning: Mild spoilers forGod of War Ragnarok.
Cronos’ backstory is, of course, slightly different in theGod of Warseries than in Greek myth, but there is some surprising overlap. For instance, in Greek myth, Cronos was responsible for the creation of the Furies, theprimary antagonists of 2013’sGod of War: Ascension. Cronos killed his own father, the primordial god Ouranos and the Furies were birthed from his spilled blood, thus beginning the chain of sons killing fathers. Cronos went on to sire six children, who were prophesied to overthrow him, so he swallowed them all. But Gaia managed to hide the sixth child, who she named Zeus.
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The fan art, created by a Reddit user named Hdhs1, depicts the lineage of Cronos. A large and looming Cronos gives way to his son, the mighty Zeus, the king of Olympus and the ultimate ruler of the Greek pantheon. In the games, Zeus went on to father two sons with a mortal woman named Callisto. One of those children is the next character down the line in the fan art and theprimary protagonist of theGod of Warseries Kratos.
The Greek gods used Kratos as a pawn, tricking him into killing his own wife and child and cursing him to wear their ashes on his skin for the remainder of his days. After killing off the entire Greek pantheon over the courseof the first threeGod of Wargamesand its two PS Vita entries, Kratos escaped to the realm of Norse mythology. He fell in love with a woman named Fey with whom he had a son named Atreus, depicted as the child just below Kratos in the image posted to theGod of War Raganorksubreddit.
Finally, and quite subtly, the image offers only a small glimpse of the prominent Norse mythological character spawned by Atreus:Jormungandr the World Serpent. In 2018’sGod of War, it’s revealed that Arteus is Loki, the trickster god of Norse myth. According to legend, Loki had three children with the Giant Angrboda. Odin tossed Jormungandr into the sea, where he grew so large that he was able to wrap himself around the world. InGod of Warlore, Loki created Jormungandr in a more magical, less paternal sense. While exploring the home of Angrboda’s grandmother, Loki transferred the soul of a dead Giant into the body of a large snake. The snake came alive and slithered away. It would grow to gigantic proportions, and would later be sent back in time by Thor, as depicted in the final battle ofGod of War Ragnarok, in accordance with Norse myth.
God of War Ragnarokis available now on PS4 and PS5.
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