Labyrinth

The Labyrinth was a large maze that was constructed by the Mortal, Daedalus at the behest of the King of the Gods himself, Zeus, in order to contain the Key to Pandora's Box.

The Labyrinth in God of War III.

Greek Mythology

In Greek Mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure that was designed and built by the legendary artificer, Daedalus, for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a mythical creature that was half man and half bull and was eventually killed by the Athenian hero, Theseus. Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it. Theseus was aided by Ariadne, who provided him with a skein of thread, literally the "clue", so that he could find his way out again. In Daedalus' attempt to escape the Labyrinth, he and his son, Icarus, wore Wax Wings. Icarus fell to his death after he flew too close to the Sun.

God of War III

The Labyrinth was contained in the Caverns of Olympus. That simple mission consumed Zeus to the point that he did not allow Daedalus to embark on any repair duties and instead created a great structure that served as a prison for the daughter of Hephaestus. Daedalus believed that it to be his greatest work and superior to the Chain of Balance that kept Mount Olympus tied to the Underworld. The heart of the Labyrinth itself hung on the Chain of Balance and thus meant that it resided between Olympus and the Underworld. That meant that if ever one side began to rise or fall, the Labyrinth would shift accordingly and thus be forever shifted. Another aspect of the design involved The Three Judges, who were the final latch of the lock.

After he was sent to the Labyrinth to find Pandora, and use her as a means to destroy the Flame of Olympus, Kratos used Boreas' Icestorm, which activated the Labyrinth, found Pandora, and, with her help, survived the challenges and traps of the Labyrinth. Kratos then climbed Olympus, pulled the Labyrinth up the mountain, and destroyed most of Olympus and its supports from the inside in the process.

Gallery

• A Labyrinth's door concept
• An Icarus Labyrinth statue's concept
• Mechanics concept
• A Labyrinth mixed room concept

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Trivia

• If Kratos solved the Labyrinth without dying or failing, the player received the Gold Trophy, "aMAZEd".
• The Labyrinth of Daedalus served as a Battle Map in God of War: Ascension's Multiplayer. That map was full of traps: fire, spikes, fans, grinders, sudden pitfalls, and the cube in the middle that served as a rotating platform that used the Chain of Balance. Skorpius also appeared to attack players at random with its pincers or roared them off the ledges.
• The Labyrinth of Daedalus took over 4,600 days, or 12½ years, to be built. Since it was established that Zeus only commissioned Daedalus to build it after Kratos killed Ares, this suggests Kratos was the God of War for nearly 13 years, if not longer, since Daedalus's dialogue and degree of insanity implies he had finished the Labyrinth long before the siege on Olympus. This also means there was an over 13-year gap between the end of God of War and the beginning of God of War II.