The Three Judges

“	By the Gods of Olympus and order of Zeus, we are the Three Judges. Face your final judgment, mortal. King Aeacus has found you wanting. King Rhadamanthus has found you worthy. It falls to me, King Minos, to make the final decision. Your future is cloaked in shadow. The realm of the afterlife is not yet ready for you. Beyond that door awaits your destiny.	”
–Minos

Greek Mythology[]

King Minos, Aeacus, and Rhadamanthus judge the heart of each soul that enters the Underworld. Souls deemed righteous were allowed to enter Elysium, while souls deemed wicked were sentenced to the depths of Tartarus, And those souls that were neither good nor bad, went to the Asphodel. They were the sons of Zeus and Europa.

Rhadamanthus was supposed to judge the souls of Asians, Aeacus those of Europeans, while Minos had the casting vote. (Plato, Gorgias, 524A).

God of War Novel[]

During the brutal Siege of Athens, the God of War deliberatly targets many of his fathers worshippers and his temples. After a priestess of the Skyfather, devoted to him in his Zeus Philoxenus role brutally dies from a harpy attack, the King of the Gods, high on his alabaster throne on Olympus picks her soul and sends it to the Underworld, along with word to his son Aeacus for her "well judgement".

Athena, next to him stares and asks why he interferes like that for one single mortal while forbidding her to do the same for the thousands of innocents of Athens. The King of the Gods responds, "Because I can", glaring back until his daughter has to look away.

God of War III[]

Kratos encounters the statues of the Three Judges in the Underworld who judge him after Kratos completes three trials. King Minos deems that Kratos still has time left in the mortal world, and grants him access to a Hyperion Gate so that he may proceed on. Later on, the Judges grab the Chain of Balance, preventing Kratos from accessing the The Flames of Olympus. After rescuing Pandora from the Labyrinth, Kratos returns to the Underworld and smashes the Onyx on the back of their heads with the Nemean Cestus, killing them and releasing the Chain.

God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla[]

When Kratos enters Valhalla, the hall takes advantage of the Spartan's memories and recreated the statues of The Three Judges. Unlike the original back in Hades, the Chain of Balance they hold appears to be smaller than the real one, as it is able to pass through the palms of their hands. When Mimir noticed the three, Kratos will reveal to him that they are the Judges of the Underworld in his homeland and then proceeds to explain their duties. Mimir then curiously replies that Kratos seems thrilled to see them again, indicating the former Ghost of Sparta's innermost desire to become worthy.

Trivia[]

Strangely enough, Kratos never encountered the Judges before during his travels to the Underworld in God of War, God of War II, and God of War: Chains of Olympus. This may be due to the fact that in God of War, he escaped before getting a chance to be judged, in God of War II, he was rescued by Gaia before falling entirely to Hades, and in God of War: Chains of Olympus, he didn't enter the Underworld through death, he was led there by Helios' fire steeds.
They decide where the souls of the deceased go to spend their eternity at the afterlife - Tartarus for the evil souls, Elysium for pure and heroic souls and Asphodel Field for neutral souls.
The Judges deemed Calliope, Kratos' daughter worthy of Elysium, and assured her "it will be nice there".
In Greek mythology, the Judges were mortals of flesh and blood, rather than statues. In God of War, supposedly after the kings died, they were made the Judges of Hades and had their souls contained within the statues. They only awaken when a soul enters their court to receive their final judgment.
In The Inferno segment of Dante's Divine Comedy, King Minos plays the role of judge of the dead in Limbo, sentencing the damned souls to their proper Circle of Hell.
Like the Jailers of Tartarus, they were once mortal.
It seems that even Hades himself is unable to interfere with the judges' verdicts. Otherwise, when Kratos entered their court to receive his judgment, Hades could have simply instructed them to sentence him to Tartarus.
- It is likely that Hades wished to destroy Kratos himself, and let the judges pass on their verdicts so that Kratos can continue his journey.
- Zeus, the father of the Three Judges has influence among his sons and was able to intervene and speak for his recently dead priestess, requesting that she will be "well judged". It is possible that he does the same for his granddaughter Calliope. This is further reinforces by King Minos declaration "by the order of Zeus."
- In God of War III, a wandering soul moans why Zeus has forsaken him. Another one laments that the judges are wrong until Kratos puts both out of their misery.