| “ | Hope is what make us strong. It is why we are here, it is what we fight with when all else is lost. | ” |
–Pandora. | ||
Template:Infobox gods Pandora (Πανδώρα, "All gifts") is the self-made and adoptive daughter of Hephaestus, and the tritagonist in God of War III.
Greek Mythology
Pandora was the first woman to ever exist. She, and therefore the female gender, was created as punishment for Prometheus' theft of fire - Hephaestus molded her from the earth, and each god bestowed seductive gifts on her. She and her husband, Epimetheus, were entrusted with Pandora's Box by the Gods, either for safekeeping or a desire to punish mankind. The Box was said to contain all the evils of the world, and despite instructions not to open it, Pandora's curiosity betrayed her. In an attempt to peek inside, all of the evil energies within were released, leaving behind only Hope, who decided to stay inside the box to remain with humanity. Thus, despite having innocent intentions, Pandora was blamed for all the woes of mankind.
"Box" is in fact a mistranslation from the Greek word pithos, a large jar, into the Latin pyxis, a box.
God of War III
Created by Hephaestus, Pandora served as a key to the mythological Pandora's Box, rumoured to bring about the end of the world. After Kratos found Pandora's Box, protected by the Flames of Olympus, Athena appeared before him, informing him of Pandora's role as key and how to gain access to the Box's contents.
While visiting Hephaestus one more time, the smith god revealed to Kratos that he created Pandora as a key to the Box, she was an object neither living nor dead, but grew fond of her. Consequently, he sheltered her from Zeus and instead suggested Cronos as the perfect guardian for the box, as no mortal could best a Titan. However, after Kratos used the box to defeat Ares, Zeus became fearful of the box's power and tortured Hephaestus until he revealed Pandora's location.
Zeus then hid the Box in the Flames of Olympus so that only Pandora could unseal it, and kidnapped Pandora, preventing her from ever freeing the Box. Zeus then ordered Daedalus to construct a Labyrinth to keep Pandora imprisoned, much like he did with the Minotaur. Pandora was able to communicate with Kratos through bronze statues in her likeness, appearing from a small blue flame in the statue's hands. She appeared several times through the Ghost of Sparta's journey, asking him to free her and hinting at her location.
It was within this Labyrinth that Kratos eventually found Pandora, trapped at the very core of the structure. She helped him escape the Labyrinth by guiding him along its cubes and entering small grates that Kratos could not enter. On the other hand, Kratos had to save Pandora from several traps and protect her from hordes of monsters. Along the way to the Flame, Pandora talked about how much fear consumed the gods: a fear of her and a fear of the "marked warrior."
She expressed how much she hated herself for seeing Hephaestus being tortured by Zeus because of her. Kratos simply replied, "Hephaestus did what every father should: protect his child." Pandora continues, saying that when the gods' fear rose, her own fear was replaced by hope, and even though Kratos believed that hope was for the weak, Pandora insisted that hope is what everyone has when all is lost. When the two of them saw hanging corpse of Daedalus, Kratos told her, "This is what hope brings, child. You should have learned that by now."
Eventually, Kratos brought Pandora to the Flame of Olympus, destroying much of the chamber in the process. Kratos however, could not bring himself to use her to free the Box from the Flames, and tried to stop her by vowing to find another way, even though she was already willing to sacrifice herself.
Zeus appeared shortly afterwards, and a fight between the Ghost of Sparta and the King of Olympus ensued. Having buried Zeus under a pile of rubble, Kratos attempted to stop Pandora from rushing into the Flames by grabbing onto her hand. At that point, Zeus and Pandora both attempted to influence Kratos' decision. Zeus demanded his son not to let her go, whilst Pandora demanded
Pandora's sacrifice.
otherwise.
Ultimately, Kratos' hatred towards Zeus proved greater than his desire to safeguard Pandora. Kratos lashed out at Zeus, while Pandora disappeared into the flames. Having sacrificed her life to aid Kratos, Pandora succeeded in extinguishing the flames, only for Kratos to discover the box empty. Zeus, who witnessed the whole ordeal, stood near Kratos, gloating and laughing over another one of his "failures" before fleeing outside.
Despite Pandora's apparent death, her spirit lived on, appearing to Kratos as a ball of flame when he was attacked by Zeus' spirit. She was able to guide Kratos out of the chaos and darkness in which Zeus had trapped him in, eventually unlocking the power of Hope, which was sealed within Kratos' own soul, to finally defeat the King of the Gods.
Relationships
Hephaestus
Contrary to real mythology, Pandora was crafted and given the gift of life by the smith god Hephaestus. He grew fond of her, and considered Pandora his daughter, while Zeus viewed her as an unnatural abomination, often referring to her as a "thing" or "object".
Fearing Zeus' wrath for having kept Pandora's existence hidden from him, Hephaestus soon turned to Kratos. A broken man, Hephaestus pleaded Kratos to save Pandora from the God-King's relentless anger. Unable to do so himself after Zeus' initial punishment, the gods' smith could not stand to lose his own child. Reluctantly, Kratos accepted, if only to retrieve the means to kill his father from the box. Over time, Kratos too saw Pandora's potential, and grew fond of her.
Kratos
| “ | Don't confuse this...object,... this construction of Hephaestus with your own flesh and blood! But perhaps you already have, Spartan! Your quest for Pandora, your pathetic attempt for atonement from the family you slaughtered has caused nothing but havoc on Olympus! Look around at what you have done! | ” |
–Zeus | ||
Pandora communicates with Kratos.
Pandora reminded Kratos very much of his own daughter, Calliope, as when Kratos first heard Pandora's voice, he mistakenly took it for that of his daughter.
At first, Kratos saw her as nothing more than a sheer tool in his plot for revenge, but only after hearing Hera rudely insult Pandora by calling her "that little whore", had Kratos explode with anger and mercilessly snap her neck.
Despite Kratos being bent on fulfilling his revenge, even going as far as telling Pandora that she wouldn't thank him when their journey came at an end, Kratos could not bear to sacrifice her when the time arrived, telling her he would find another way.
Kratos repeatedly referred to Pandora as "child", somewhat insinuating Kratos looked upon Pandora as his actual daughter, or something close to it. He indeed realized losing Pandora would mirror losing another loved one, mainly because of Calliope's manifestation in Pandora. When confronting Zeus a second time, Zeus warned Kratos not to confuse Pandora with his own flesh and blood. Sneering it was too late, Zeus implied Kratos' quest for Pandora and his desire for absolution over his murdered family had the same effect on the gods.
It was most likely his being reminded of his own daughter that brought forth the change of heart, as well as maybe understanding what Hephaestus had told Kratos about their own relationship, that made him see Pandora as more than just a tool, but in fact, just as much a human being as Kratos himself. It is also evident Pandora's sacrifice took a heavy burden on Kratos, though perhaps not in vain, as Pandora served as a spiritual guide in his dark mind, where he remembered her statements about hope clear as day.
Trivia
- Because Pandora was created along with the box, and both remained hidden for a thousand years, it can be assumed that because Pandora is "neither living nor dead", she doesn't age.
- Pandora is often seen as the adult version of Calliope.
- In early concept art, Pandora is seen with a blue version of Kratos' red tattoos, but in the final design, the tattoos are removed.
