Golden Fleece

“	This Golden Fleece has the power to deflect approaching weapons and thrust them back to those who deliver them.	”
–Gaia

The Golden Fleece was a powerful golden armlet, which once belonged to the Argonaut, Jason. Kratos defeated the Mole Cerberus that partially ate Jason and obtained the Golden Fleece.

Greek Mythology[]

In Greek Mythology, it was the literal fleece of a golden-haired, winged ram that was sired by Poseidon upon a Nymph named Theophane. It was retrieved by Jason of the Argonauts, as a show of proof to King Pelias that he was the rightful heir to the Throne of Iolcus in Thessaly.

God of War Series[]

History[]

Despite being referred to as an "armlet" in most in-game descriptions, the Golden Fleece was actually three pieces of armor: a small, curved plate that rested on Kratos' upper shoulder, a larger plate that covered his bicep, and a third plate that covered part of his forearm. When its counterattack abilities were used, the Fleece briefly surrounded Kratos in a golden aura, which imbued his weapons or coalesces into an energy ball for the counterattack.

In the God of War II novel the history and power of the Golden Fleece is further explored, as the hero Jason describes it as a holy relic made in honor of Zeus. It was originally the literal fleece of a winged special ram, capable of reason and speech. Hermes recalls gifting the ram to the twins Phrixus and Helle who rode on the ram across the sea to escape from their stepmother. However, Helle tragically fell to her death and only Phrixus reached Colchis, the city of King Aeëtes and offered him the great ram as a sign of gratitude for his hospitality.

The King would slaughter the ram in tribute to Zeus and recover its fleece which became a powerful and valuable artifact, which was put under the guardianship of the Colchian dragon. One day Jason and his Argonauts came to Colchis in order to claim the fabled fleece for his own, but in the end after facing some challenges by the King he only managed his goal with the treacherous aid of the King's daughter, the enchantress Medea.

God of War II[]

With the Golden Fleece, Kratos could block and counter enemy attacks, as well as absorb enemy projectiles and throw them back at his attackers. The Fleece was incredibly useful in situations involving large groups of enemies including Gorgons. If a Gorgon used its stone stare and Kratos successfully deflected it, every enemy on screen turned to stone, including the one who cast the attack.

In addition to absorbtion and deflection of enemy attacks, the Golden Fleece was also described to empower Kratos significantly and shown to be able to drain creatures of their magical power in the novelization, as was shown with Fates Priests, who were left powerless after just one parry from the Fleece. This effect however did not take place when facing deities or demigods like Perseus, or monsters such as Euryale and the lesser Gorgons.

Upon retrieving the Fleece from the Cerberus, Kratos used it to solve various puzzles on the Island of Creation, which mainly consisted of reflecting the beams of statues that blocked his path. The Fleece could also be a very useful item in fights against bosses such as Euryale's beams, Perseus' slingshots, Lahkesis' magic, Zeus' Thunderbolts, and even the Blade of Olympus.

God of War III[]

Kratos still wore the Golden Fleece and used it in the same way as the previous game. Kratos also no longer used the Blades of Athena at the beginning of the game to block enemy attacks and favored the Golden Fleece for protection. It was undamaged by his trip through the River Styx (unlike the Blades of Athena), although lost most of its abilities. The Fleece's growth was tied to the Blades of Exile, which gained new moves as the weapons leveled up. The melee parry move differs depending on whether Kratos wields the Blades of Exile or the Blades of Athena through the use of Aphrodite's Garter in the Bonus Play. Like most of Kratos' items and weapons, excluding the Blades of Exile, the Blade of Olympus and the Boots of Hermes, the Fleece was finally destroyed when Zeus' Astral Form launched a surprise attack on the Ghost of Sparta.

God of War: Fallen God[]

The Fleece appears briefly in Kratos' second dream sequence, but this is likely a mistake by the illustrators.

God of War (2018)[]

While Kratos and Atreus are trying to escape from Helheim, they see a hallucination in which Kratos beats Zeus to death. Interestingly, the Golden Fleece, which should have been destroyed by Zeus at that time, is still on Kratos' right arm.

God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla[]

In Valhalla, during one of the large water bowl sequences, a flashback appears of Kratos decapitating Helios after his shield lands in the water. The Golden Fleece can be seen on Kratos' right arm during this time, but there is only a large piece of plate covering his bicep.

Abilities[]

God of War II[]

Argo's Return - Press L1 before being hit to reflect an attack, projectile, or beam. L1
Argo's Revenge - After a successful parry, press Square to do a powerful counterattack, damaging all nearby enemies. L1 + square.

God of War III[]

Argos Ram - Parry an enemy with the fleece and ram into them. L1 + square
Argo's Rise - Parry an enemy with the fleece and send them flying straight up. L1 + triangle

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

The Fleece was powerful enough to deflect a blow from the Blade of Olympus itself.
During the God of War II Demo, the Fleece had a different model, which sported small spikes and only covered part of Kratos' arm. The original symbol on the Fleece was the 3D impression of a ram's head, instead of a ram's horns and instead of ripping it out from the Cerberus, Kratos took it from a pedestal.
- That insinuated that the Mole Cerberus' boss battle was added later and wasn't part of the original plot.
Interestingly, the Golden Fleece had a spot of blood on it in God of War III. The reasons for that were unknown, although that could be because the developers didn't have the necessary tools to make that spot appear in God of War II, and they had to abandon it. It was probably from Jason's arm, the Mole Cerberus' body, or any of the many bloody battles that Kratos participated in.
- The shape of the blood splatter on the Golden Fleece changes between the original and Remastered versions of God of War III. This is most easily seen during the game's title screen.
In God of War III, Zeus wore a similarly designed armlet on his left arm, which was somewhat fitting since Kratos wore the Golden Fleece on his right arm. It was very likely that this was Zeus' Aegis.
Deimos wore an armlet that was similar to the Golden Fleece on his right shoulder.
In God of War III, if you equipped the Nemean Cestus and used the Head of Helios, the fleece's forearm part was missing.
Kratos also wore the Golden Fleece during his appearance in Mortal Kombat. Much like in God of War II and God of War III, it was able to reflect almost all forms of projectiles and countered against physical attacks.
In God of War II, the segments of the Golden Fleece constantly clip into Kratos' character model, due to the fact they were not provided any rigging to properly flex with his shoulder and arm. This is most noticeable in cutscenes.
In God of War II, during the cutscene when Kratos had a vision of his wife, Lysandra, the fleece was on his arm, but in one instance, the fleece was gone.
In God of War III, the Golden Fleece still kept its power even after Kratos swam through the River Styx, but in a much lesser degree. As Kratos' Blades were Level 1, it only reflected projectiles and Gorgon beams. The power of the Fleece was more connected with his blades than it was in God of War II.
The design that was seen in the two lower parts of the Golden Fleece resembled a pair of curved horns, which represented the ram who bore the fleece in the original mythology.
The third section of the Golden Fleece disappeared in certain cutscenes.
The Golden Fleece appeared in the God of War de-make, Bit of War.
In God of War: Ascension, the Armor of Morpheus featured spaulders that resembled the Golden Fleece's demo design.