Powerful blades given to you by the goddess, Athena.
”
–Description of the weapon.
The Blades of Athena.
The Blades of Athena were chained weapons that were bestowed to Kratos by Athena that functioned similar to the Blades of Chaos. They were the second pair of blades that Kratos wielded in the God of War Series.
Also known as "Athena's Blades", those weapons were seemingly identical to the Blades of Chaos when Kratos first received them in God of War (not chronologically). At the very end of God of War, they had the same abilities as the Blades of Chaos, though in both Ghost of Sparta, Betrayal and God of War II, their in-game attacks changed. They were given to Kratos by Athena after he killed the former God of War, Ares, those were Kratos' main weapons during (and even after) his reign as a god.
While Kratos was a god, the Blades of Athena gave off a yellow aura and were gold in color with blue-colored Glyphs due to the Godly magic that emanated from them. After Kratos drained the remainder of his godly powers into the Blade of Olympus, they reverted to their basic form with a steel color and a faint yellow aura. They were then leveled up much like the Blades of Chaos and gradually regained their gold color. At level 5, they emitted a red flaming glow and the glyphs became red in color. One could obtain that gold aura and blue glyphs again when they used the God of War Armor or the General Kratos Costume. Kratos still had those weapons at the beginning of God of War III. When available to him, they maintained the same combos from God of War II. However, when Kratos fell into the River Styx, the blades were destroyed and rusted by the souls that attacked and drained him of his power. Afterward, the Astral Form of Athena took the ruined blades and transformed them into the Blades of Exile.
The Blades of Athena in God of War II.
During Bonus Play, if Aphrodite's Garter was activated, the Blades of Athena were kept for use throughout God of War III. The most drastic change was that the Blades of Athena did less damage than fully upgraded Blades of Exile, but more obvious was that Kratos could not use the grapple move, and instead of Army of Sparta, used Divine Reckoning as his magic. In the PSP Game, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, Kratos used the Blades of Athena, although they were known as the Blades of Chaos. The Blades of Athena also reappeared as the main weapon of Kratos in Ghost of Sparta, which maintained the godly design from God of War II. However, its moveset was a combination from the Blades of Athena from God of War II and the Blades of Exile from God of War III.
Orb Costs
Betrayal
Level 1 - n/a
Level 2 - 1,000 Orbs
Level 3 - 2,000 Orbs
Level 4 - 3,000 Orbs
Level 5 - 4,000 Orbs
Ghost of Sparta
Level 1 - n/a
Level 2 - 2,950 Orbs
Level 3 - 8,550 Orbs
Level 4 - 17,500 Orbs
God of War II
Level 1 - n/a
Level 2 - 2,750 Orbs
Level 3 - 5,250 Orbs
Level 4 - 9,500 Orbs
Level 5 - 13,500 Orbs
Attacks
God of War
Icarus Lift (Air) - While in the air, press X to gain more height. X, X
Ascension - Hold triangle to launch enemies and Kratos into the air. Hold triangle
Orion's Harpoon - Launch an enemy and tap circle to slam them back to the ground. O
Hades' Reverse - Tap L1 just before an enemy's attack connects to parry. L1
Plume of Prometheus - A quick and powerful combo ending in a fiery finish. Square, square, triangle
Apollo's Ascension - Simultaneously launches Kratos and enemies into the air. L1 + X
Apollo's Offensive (Air) - Slam enemies back to the ground with this powerful attack. L1 + X
Lance of the the Furies - Kratos slams the ground to send a shockwave that damages enemies caught within. Continue to hold circle for an even greater attack. Hold L1 + O
Lance of the Furies (Air) - In the air continue to hold circle for an even greater attack. Hold L1 + O
Might of Hercules - Hold square during combo to unleash a powerful attack. Square, hold square
Athena's Blessing (see Rage of the Gods)
Betrayal
Level 1 - Simple Attacks (OK, Tap OK)
Level 2 - Bigger Hit Combo (OK, tap OK), Damage Increase Lev.2
Level 3 - Bigger Hit Combo (OK, tap OK), Damage Increase Lev.3
Level 4 - Bigger Hit Combo (OK, tap OK), Damage Increase Lev.4
Level 5 - Bigger Hit Combo (OK, tap OK), Damage Increase Lev.5
Ghost of Sparta
Level 1
Icarus Lift (Air) - While in the air, press X to gain more height. X
Olympic Ascension - Hold triangle to launch enemies and chase into the air. Hold triangle
Olympic Slash - Hold square to perform an explosive strike that drives your enemies back. Hold square
Orion's Harpoon - Press circle while enemy is airborne to slam them back to the ground. O
Athena's Reverse - Tap L just before an enemy attack connects to parry. L
Plume of Prometheus - A quick and powerful combo ending in a fiery finish. Square, square, triangle
Hyperion Charge - Initiate a running charge and grab enemies by colliding with them. L + O
Hyperion Charge (Air) - When airborne, throw yourself toward enemies and grab them on contact. L + O
Level 2
Cyclone of Chaos - Rapidly swing your blades, hitting all surrounding enemies multiple times. L + square
Cyclone of Chaos (Air) - While airborne, rapidly swing your blades, hitting all surrounding enemies multiple times. L + square
Athena's Revenge (Parry) - After a successful parry, press square or triangle to do a powerful counterattack. Square or triangle
Increased Damage
Level 3
Spirit of Hercules - A powerful but slow multiple hit combo with an explosive finish that launches enemies into the air. Triangle, triangle, triangle
Valor of Hercules - A powerful but slow multiple hit combo that sends enemies flying back. Triangle, triangle, square
HyperionRush (Running) - During a Hyperion Charge, press Square to slam your shoulder into an enemy. Press Square during a Hyperion Charge
HyperionRise (Running) - During a Hyperion Charge, press Triangle to deliver an uppercut to launch enemies. Press Triangle during a Hyperion Charge
HyperionRush (Evading) - While evading, press Square to slam your shoulder into an enemy. Press Square while evading
Hyperion Rise (Evading)- While evading, press Triangle to deliver an uppercut to launch enemies. Press Triangle while evading
Increased Damage
Level 4
Tartarus Retribution - A focused attack that hits rapidly ending in an explosive finish, launching enemies. L + triangle
Tartarus Retribution (Air) - While airborne, rain down multiple attacks, with an explosive finish, launching enemies. L + triangle
Increased Damage
God of War II and III
Level 1
Icarus Lift (Air) - While in the air, press X to gain more height. X
Olympic Ascension - Hold triangle to launch enemies and jump into the air. Hold triangle
Orion's Harpoon - Press circle while enemy is airborne to slam them back to the ground. O
Athena's Reverse - Tap L1 just before an enemy's attack connects to parry. L1
Plume of Prometheus - A quick and powerful combo ending in a fiery finish. Square, square, triangle
Level 2
Increased Damage
Rampage of the Furies - Focus your rage on one enemy with this multiple hit attack. L1 + O
Rampage of the Furies (Air) - Quickly swing your blades in this multiple hit aerial attack. L1 + O
Level 3
Increased Damage
Cyclone of Chaos - Rapidly swing your blades, hitting all surrounding enemies multiple times. L1 + square
Cyclone of Chaos (Air) - While airborne, rapidly swing your blades, hitting all surrounding enemies multiple times. L1 + square
Spirit of Hercules - A powerful but slow multiple hit combo with an explosive finish that launches enemies into the air. Triangle, triangle, triangle
Valor of Hercules - A powerful but slow multiple hit combo that sends enemies flying back. Triangle, triangle, square
Level 4
Increased Damage
Hyperion Charge (Run) - Hold square to slash your blades in an arc, continue to hold square to initiate a running charge. Hold square
Hyperion Rush (Running) - During a Hyperion Charge press square to slam your shoulder into an enemy. Square
Hyperion Rise (Running) - During a Hyperion Charge press triangle to deliver an uppercut to launch enemies. Triangle
Athena's Wrath (Evading) - While Evading (R3), press triangle to create an explosive wave along the ground, launching enemies in front of you into the air. R3, triangle
Tartarus Rage - Swing your blades down onto multiple enemies, launching them into the air. L1 + triangle
Tartarus Rage (Air) - While airborne, rain down multiple attacks and land with an explosive finish, launching enemies into the air. L1 + triangle
Prometheus' Inferno unlocked (in God of War II), see Rage of the Titans.
Divine Reckoning
Divine Reckoning.
As every weapon in God of War III had a special magic ability, the Blades of Athena had one as well and were named Divine Reckoning. Upon activation of that ability, Kratos stabbed the Blade of Olympus to the ground, which created a massive tornado that formed around him and damaged any enemy who came close.
That attack, was similar to the one that Zeus used against the Titans to end the Great War (after he created the Blade of Olympus), though it was minimized.
Gallery
Divine Reckoning, their magic ability
Earlier concepts
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Trivia
During Kratos' reign as God of War, the Blades were a golden yellow. After Kratos lost his godly powers and fully upgraded them again, they glowed red.
In God of War: Ghost of Sparta, once Kratos fully upgraded the blades, they glowed yellow similar to in which they had been at the end of God of War and the beginning of God of War II.
During the time travel sequence, after Kratos fought Zeus, Athena's Blades had their original blue skin instead of the standard red skin. That could have hinted that the red skin they had in-game after reaching level five was introduced later in development, and so that sequence was made before that change was made.
Alternatively, however, it may also have meant that Kratos regained his Godly powers as long as he was in contact with the Blade of Olympus (which contained his power as God of War). However, the God of War III opening cutscene disproved the argument of the change in the color of the blades, not the argument that Kratos retained his Godly powers as long as he was in contact with the Blade of Olympus, which was highly plausible.
In the cutscene where Kratos released the Phoenix in God of War II, he was seen holding the Blades of Chaos, instead of the Blades of Athena. Since that was a pre-rendered cutscene, it could be assumed that the blades were a placeholder during production and never got replaced, either by neglect or accident.
In God of War III, in the Challenge of Exile's Challenge "Fear Itself", Fear Kratos appeared to use the Blades of Athena as his weapons, while Kratos himself was armed with the Blades of Exile.
Ghost of Sparta was the only game to have Level 4 as the maximum level for the Blades of Athena. Every other game had them upgradeable to Level 5. It was also the only game where the Blades of Athena retained their blue glyph all throughout the story, even when alternative costumes were used.
The combo used in Betrayal, when the blades were at Level 5, was the "Spirit of Hercules", with a "Plume of Prometheus" ending.
The Blades of Athena were the only main weapons that Kratos was equipped in four of the six games (excluding Chains of Olympus, God of War and God of War: Ascension). They were the most prominent of weapons that Kratos used in the series with the second being the Blades of Chaos, and the only pair of blades that appeared in 4 games of the series.
In God of War II, if the player held the O button while they executed a "Orion's Harpoon" on certain enemies, Kratos performed a different attack rather than just slammed the enemy back to the ground. For example, when it's done on Undead Legionnaires, Kratos grabbed them; and on Harpies, he swung them away, and threw them to another enemy.
The Blades of Athena appeared in Mortal Kombat, but only in the cutscene when you finished the ladder with Kratos. There was a short video of Kratos striking Shao Kahn, and you could clearly see the Blades of Athena instead of the Blades of Exile. The Blades of Athena also appeared in Kratos' Mortal Kombat Trailer as Kratos' main weapons.
Any attack that started with Triangle could be made faster by pressing Square first.
The Blades of Athena were the most recurring weapon in the God of War Series: God of War, Ghost of Sparta, Betrayal, God of War II, and God of War III.
When Kratos drained his power into the Blade of Olympus in God of War II when he battled the Colossus of Rhodes for the first time, you could see that the Blades of Athena disappeared and then re-appeared and looked like the Blades of Chaos at Level 1.
In every God of War Game, the Health/Magic/Red Orb Indicator was shown in front of a blade model. In God of War: Ghost of Sparta, it was most likely one of the Blades of Athena, but in God of War III and God of War: Ascension, it seemed to be a non-specified blade.
During the intro in God of War III, highlights of Kratos' History in the main trilogy was shown. But when it came to show Kratos killing Lysandra, Calliope, and Alrik, one could see that Kratos wielded the Blades of Athena, when it should have been the Blades of Chaos, due to the fact that the events occurred even before the first game in the series, and the same happened in God of War: Ascension, which there were flashbacks that showed Kratos killing while he was served Ares. In those flashbacks, Kratos held the Blades of Athena, something impossible, since he gained them more than ten years later the events shown in Ascension.
At the end of God of War, when Kratos walked toward his new throne, you could clearly see that the shapes of the Blades of Athena were the same that the Blades of Chaos were in-game at level 5, but that time, were all golden, and with glyphs that were painted in a greenish-blue color. The first God of War II screenshots maintained the same shape.
The color of the blades that were used by Kratos throughout the series seemed to be associated to his powers and/or feelings: during the period when he was a God (at the end of God of War, all through Ghost of Sparta and the beginning of God of War II), they were a golden yellow, most likely due to his triumph. When Kratos sought revenge on Zeus and Ares, for example, both the Blades of Athena and the Blades of Chaos were red when they were powered up to their last levels, which showed the anger and rage he had for those Gods. They probably weren't red in Ghost of Sparta because Kratos didn't seek revenge, but his lost brother, Deimos. The reason why the Blades of Exile from God of War III didn't share the red color on their last level was unknown, since Kratos still sought revenge on Zeus at the time.
The glyphs were not visible in Hi-Def cutscenes in God of War II, instead, the blades had a more tarnished/copper look.
In God of War II, all power levels went back to minimum when Kratos drained his powers into the Blade of Olympus. The same happened in God of War III when Kratos fell into the River Styx, but it was not known how and why the same happened to the Blades of Athena between God of War and God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
Since Kratos also missed Poseidon's Rage despite still having it when he attacked Rhodes, gameplay convenience was the only explanation.
A custom weapon with a strikingly similar name was found in Ascension's Multiplayer. Called the Blade of Athena, it should not be easily confused with the dual blades that Kratos held. The weapon was designed with a shape that was more similar to the Blade of Olympus.
Where it was revealed that the Blades of Chaos were forged by Ares in the darkest pits of the Underworld, it was never specified as to how the Blades of Athena were created or forged.
In God of War II, it appeared that the blades with the blue glyph (when they glowed golden yellow) were far weaker than the blades in the red glyph.The golden blades had the same damage as level 1 (Confirmed by comparing the Normal Play and Bonus Play in Rhodes).
