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Omega (God of War)

This article contains lore based on real-life sources of the Greek mythology as introduced from the God of War Greek era.


Are you watching me now, Sisters? Give me a sign! Am I, the great Perseus, to kill this fallen God to receive an audience with you? Will that allow me to bring my love back from the grasp of Hades himself!? If not, then at least I can bathe in the glory of being the one who brought down the mighty Kratos. The Slayer of Gods. Although I hardly think a harpy's fool such as yourself deserves such praise.

–Perseus.

Perseus (Greek: Περσεύς) was a Greek Demigod hero, son of Zeus and half-brother to Kratos. He is a boss in God of War II.

Greek Mythology

In Greek myth, Perseus was the famous hero who killed the Gorgon, Medusa. Born a son of Zeus and a mortal woman, Danae, he was commonly said to have accomplished this feat with a variety of magical items lent to him by the gods, including a helmet of invisibility, the winged sandals of Hermes, a magical sword, a special pouch to store Medusa's head, and a reflective shield that allowed him to find and kill the Gorgon without actually looking at her and turning to stone. On his way back to save his mother from the advances of a king named Polydectes, he found Andromeda chained up on some rocks. She explained to him that she is the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopoeia of Aethiopia. When her mother boasted that her beauty surpassed that of the Nereids, the sea nymphs, they complained to Poseidon, and, as punishment, he sent the sea monster Ketos (Cetus) to ravage the land of Aethiopia. Desperate to save his kingdom, Cepheus consulted an oracle who decreed that only through sacrificing his daughter will the kingdom be spared. Thus, Andromeda was left to be eaten by Ketos. Perseus used Medusa's head to turn Ketos to stone and took Andromeda as his wife after petrifying her uncle Phineus following a quarrel. He then used the Gorgon's head again to turn Polydectes and his court into stone, thus saving his mother. Together, Perseus and Andromeda had nine children: seven sons and two daughters. One of their sons, named Electryon, had a daughter named Alcmene who would become the mother of Hercules, through Zeus.

In God of War

Perseus' role in the God of War series creates a plothole in the series' mythology. Perseus is famous in Greek mythology for having slain the gorgon Medusa. However, in the first God of War game, it is Kratos who kills the Gorgon, thus leaving unclear what made Perseus a hero in the game's universe.

In the novelization of God of War, Perseus is one of the heroes along with Peirithous, Theseus and Hercules himself that Poseidon thinks to be capable of killing the Hydra. The Sea God however considers him unreliable and wonders what he has been up to, before Athena brings up Kratos, her champion.

Beyond this, Perseus only appears in God of War II. Some time prior to the game, Perseus embarked on a journey to the Island of Creation to meet the Sisters of Fate and change his destiny so that he could bring his "love" back to life. However, at some point he became trapped in a large bathing house above the Hall of Atropos. When Kratos reaches the hall, Perseus calls to him for assistance, though the Spartan is unable to reach him immediately.

Perseus vs

Kratos fighting Perseus.

Eventually, Kratos reaches the bathing house where Perseus is trapped and shuts the door, unknowingly trapping himself inside with Perseus. Having gone somewhat mad after being trapped for a long time in that room, Perseus assumes the Sisters are trying to test him and attempts to kill Kratos using his magic sword and helmet of invisibility.

Death

Nonetheless, Kratos manages to smash Perseus' helmet and stabs him with his own sword. He then kills his half-brother, by throwing him through a wall to impale him on a hook. By throwing Perseus through the wall, he also manages to make his way out of the bathing house to continue his quest.

It's unknown what became of Perseus after Kratos used the Fates powers to travel through time back to the past. Whether he remained trapped in the same room or managed to somehow escape, it's very unlikely he survived the consequential destruction of the Greek world seen in God of War III.

God of War II Novel

The novelization of God of War II expands on Perseus's history. It is explained that Kratos is aware of the hero, who is famous for fighting the Graeae, who are described as powerful witches. He also slew gorgons and killed a sea monster that threatened King Cepheus, the latter being a clear reference to Ketos. It is also made explicit that his "love" that he wishes to resurrect is Andromeda. Perseus's helmet is described as a gift from Hermes, who is temporarily exiled from Mount Olympus through the machinations of Iris and wishes to regain Zeus's favor by helping Perseus kill Kratos and then present him as a candidate to be the new god of war.

Kratos, unlike during the in-game cutscene, briefly replies to Perseus' monologue, simply saying that Perseus would be insane to think that he can take him on. His half-brother isnt deterred and states that he would do anything to gain his love back from the Lord of the Underworld, adding coldly that Kratos would not understand anything of love anyway, referring to the Spartan's dead family.

After Perseus death, Athena was not surprised and scolded Hermes for his ill-thought scheme. Atropos and Lahkesis were worried that a warrior of such might and divine favour as Perseus himself couldnt defeat the Ghost of Sparta.

Powers and Abilities

Being a demigod, Perseus possesses supernatural strength and agility. He also uses a large variety of items given to him by various Gods. In the first part of the battle, he uses Hades' Helm to turn invisible. While Kratos can't see him, he then throws projectiles at Kratos with his sling. After Kratos destroys the helmet, Perseus still has his sword and shield. After Kratos breaks his sword, he then uses the shield to reflect the light of the sun, which can then blind Kratos momentarily, leaving him open to attacks.

Perseus was a demigod son of Zeus and was a powerful and legendary hero, known to have defeated the Graeae trio aswell as all kinds of monsters that Ancient Greece had to offer. He was one of the heroes considered by Poseidon to task to kill the Hydra and was known among the dieties of Greece to be a powerful warrior among mortals.

Personality

As many who traveled to the Island of Creation, Perseus was desperate to change his fate, in his case to save his loved one. After his entrapment in the Hall of Atropos, Perseus goes mad but is still able to produce rational thoughts as before he attacks Kratos he reasons with himself, asking the question what the presence of Kratos means.

While the circumstances of Andromeda's death aren't explained in the game, Perseus seems to feel entitled to her affections despite only having met her for the first time on the day of her sacrifice. This shows that his relationship with Andromeda was more a case of obsessive love than a genuine relationship between the two.

As most heroes in the God of War series, Perseus is very confident in his own skill and quickly underestimates the abilities of Kratos. He also doesn't believe that Kratos should have been granted the chance to kill Ares as he finds this too much praise for the Spartan. However, in his fight with Kratos, he saw the Spartan's strength and realized his error in his judgment. During his fight and before it, Perseus is arrogant and petty. Frustrated by his lockdown and in the lack of any sign of the Sisters of Fate, he picked a fight with Kratos for no other reason than to bask in shallow glory that would be useless for his intended goals, and even resorted to infantile taunts while under the protection of his helmet. It was only after losing this equipment that he became increasingly more desperate and less confident, showing Perseus was highly cowardish and dependant on his armaments to do the work for him.

Trivia

  • Perseus's appearance in this game is modeled after his voice actor, Harry Hamlin, who had previously portrayed the character in the 1981 Clash Of The Titans film.
  • Despite their lengthy encounter, Kratos never says a single word to Perseus which is odd as he usually speaks to half-siblings before engaging them in battle.
    • It could possible be that he simply had nothing to say to Perseus and wanted him to get out of the way.
  • It is unknown what Perseus is famous for in the God of War universe as Kratos was the one who killed Medusa, rather than Perseus as mythology stated.
    • It was speculated that he killed the gorgon Stheno, as she did not appear in the main plot of any God of War game. However, in the Multiplayer mode of God of War: Ascension, Stheno is shown to have been imprisoned in stone in the Bog of the Forgotten.   
    • Another idea could be that while he killed a different gorgon, he didn't reach Andromeda in time and she was killed by Ketos. In vengeance, Perseus killed Ketos (which is how he got his fame) and then Perseus travelled to the Sisters of Fates in order to save Andromeda.   
    • In the novel for the original God of War game, it's stated that the Hydra Kratos slayed in the Aegean Sea it's actually the same Hydra Hercules killed during his labors, Athena resurrected it to trick Poseidon into empowering Kratos. It's possible that Perseus did indeed kill Medusa like he did in mythology, but Athena resurrected it just like she did the Hydra in order to increase Kratos chances of killing Ares.
  • Medusa's death in the hands of Kratos could have greatly altered Perseus' destiny. In Greek Mythology, he sought to kill Medusa and use her gaze to kill the sea monster named Ketos and save princess Andromeda. However, since Medusa's head had already been taken by Kratos, Andromeda could not be saved and the Ketos killed her, so he went to find the Sisters of Fate and bring her back to life. Before his fight with Kratos he even says: "Will that allow me to bring my love back from the grasp of Hades himself?"
    • A second hypothesis is that Perseus indeed killed Medusa and took her head prior to the events of God of War. Medusa as fought by Kratos could have been summoned from the Underworld during the Siege of Athens. This would make sense as Ares' army mostly consists of the undead. It is possible that they struck a deal: her life for her assistance. This would also imply that Andromeda died at a later point and Perseus wanted to rectify that. This is backed up with the description of the Sword of Perseus weapon from God of War: Ascension's multiplayer, which said "Gifted by the Goddess Athena after the slaying of the Gorgon Medusa, this sword destroyed the titanic monster that threatened Andromeda."
    • This could also explain why Perseus wasn't hateful of Kratos. As Kratos would be the reason that he lost Andromeda in the first place, his actions would be driven by hate, instead of pride and ambition. He fought Kratos for the honor of killing the fallen God of War or to win the favor of the Fates rather than out of revenge.
  • Perseus's quest to rescue Andromeda from Hades's grasp serves as a parallel to Orpheus's quest to rescue Eurydice from the underworld. Both ended up failing on their quests: Perseus after being killed by Kratos, and Orpheus after looking back at Eurydice just before she could re-enter the world of the living.
  • In the "Voices of GOW II" extra, Harry Hamlin said the following: "Andromeda, my love, you will soon be with me again." It is not yet known if this line was cut from the final game, an early version of one of his existing lines, or if this is just an extra that Hamlin voiced over.

Gallery

Video

God_of_War_II_"The_Death_of_Perseus.'

God of War II "The Death of Perseus.'

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