Theseus

“	Come forward. Let us finally see who is the greatest warrior in all of Greece.	”
–Theseus.

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Greek Mythology

Theseus was one of the most famous heroes and founder-king of Athens. He was the son of both the god Poseidon and a mortal man Aegus (his mother laid with both on her wedding night), the dual patronage of which still bestowed godliness unto him. (However, he may only be the son of one of them, most likely Poseidon). Although not his only one, his most famous exploit was killing the Minotaur, son of King Minos of Crete's wife and a sacred bull. Earlier, Theseus' father had sent one of King Minos' sons to his death and in return, the Cretans had defeated the Athenians in war. The Athenians then had to pay tribute; a nine-yearly sacrifice of seven young men and seven young girls to be sent to Crete to be eaten by the Minotaur. Theseus travelled on one of the ships to Crete, and with the help of Ariadne, Minos' daughter, he bested the Labyrinth and defeated the Minotaur. This myth might have referred to a change in the Athenian constitution when the historical Minoan Empire came to an end.

Theseus had a bad history with women. After helping Ariadne escape with him to Athens, he abandoned her en route on the island of Naxos. As he was the son of Poseidon, and his best friend Peirithous was the son of Zeus, they decided that each should marry daughters of Zeus. Theseus decided on Helen (of Troy, but currently Helen of Sparta and only a child) and Peirithous on Persephone. They managed to kidnap Helen but lost her to the Spartans while trapped in the Underworld by Hades for attempting to kidnap Persephone. Heracles eventually saved Theseus but had to leave Peirithous. Later, while visiting the Amazons, Theseus claimed their queen, Hippolyta, to be his wife. This sparked a war between Athens and the Amazons. They did marry and have children though, but Theseus then remarried again, only to have his second wife, Phaedra, fall in love with his son from his marriage with Hippolyta. 

God of War II

Theseus challenging Kratos into battle.

In God of War II, Theseus served the Sisters of Fate as the 'Horse Keeper' and kept the key to the various locks placed throughout the Steeds of Time. When Kratos arrived on The Steeds and met their guardian, he proposed for Theseus to hand over the key, in exchange for his life. Theseus, however, was amused by Kratos' intentions and mocked him, claiming that he was no match for Zeus or even Theseus himself. He then challenged Kratos to a duel to the death, in order to prove who was "the greatest warrior in all of Greece".

Battling Kratos with the sword, Theseus proved a tough fighter, however, the Spartan proved to be too powerful for Theseus, who wielded a double-ended sword. taking punishment from his cousin and retaliating with vicious slashes and stabs. After taking a certain amount of damage in the battle, Theseus became even more dangerous after igniting the magical powers the sword held, increasing its power and enabling Theseus to summon massive spikes of ice to erupt from the ground in various formations. Kratos however, kept the upper hand.

Significantly weakened, Theseus climbed a doorway above Kratos, out of the Spartan's reach, forcing him to shoot him with arrows from a distance with Typhon's Bane. However, the Horse Keeper started firing projectiles of blue magic from his sword while periodically summoning Erebus Minotaurs to attack Kratos directly.

Ultimately, Kratos knocked Theseus off the roof, leaving him hanging by a single arm, The Spartan then latched his blade into him and pulled him down to the ground. Kratos subsequently turned Theseus' own sword against him by punching him in midair to take it from him and impaling him to the door with it.

Death

Taking the key from him, he then used it to open the door Theseus was guarding. When the wounded Theseus attempted to stop Kratos, Kratos repeatedly smashed his cousin's head in with the door, then kicked him through the doorway and into the newly opened room, thus killing him. Upon Theseus' death, Kratos obtained the Horse Keeper's Key.

Powers and Abilities

“	I doubt you're capable of killing me, let alone the King of Olympus!	”
–Theseus

Theseus had numerous powers and special abilities. As a Demigod he was gifted with superhuman strength, agility, stamina, ice/water manipulation (an ability most likely passed down from his father, Poseidon), endurance, accuracy, and durability (as he was able to take numerous blows from Typhon's Bane and the Blades of Athena). He also carried a large double-bladed sword along with him. He was able to infuse it with power so that the sword could then become more powerful, as well as releasing magical abilities.

He also had the power to summon icy spikes (which may be a form of water control), and pairs of Erebus Minotaurs, (possibly a reference to his legendary battle with the beast) to aid him in battle. While upon the doorway above Kratos, he could also use his spear to shoot projectiles in his direction.

Personality

Theseus has a very high opinion of himself and shows undying loyalty to Zeus and to The Sisters of Fate. Judging by his conversation with Kratos, Theseus did respect him at one point due to his belief that Kratos would never need to change his fate, but now that Kratos is on this mission. Theseus sees him as a weak fool, especially after he lost his godhood.

Theseus has no respect for people deemed weaker than himself and expresses his abrasive pride to anyone who tries to change their fate. Theseus also appears to be a hypocrite, as he retreats to the top of the doorway and summons Minotaurs to assist him when it appears that Kratos was getting the upper hand in their fight.

Trivia

• It is interesting that Theseus is the "Horse Keeper", since, as the son of Poseidon, god of horses, and founder hero of Athens, a city with strong ties to both Poseidon and Athena, and he, therefore, does have strong connotations with horses in myth. In the game, Theseus has many horse decorations in the arena and on his person.
• His ability to summon Minotaurs is regarded as an ironic twist on the legend of Theseus.
• In Titan Mode, the ice spikes he creates will instantly kill Kratos if they hit him.
• During Bonus Play, using the L2-Circle attack of Typhoon's Bane on Theseus just as he strikes Kratos with one of his attacks will cause the game to freeze, making a restart necessary.
• If Kratos knocks Theseus off the roof when there are any Minotaurs left, the creatures will disappear.
• Theseus seems to be an aged hero since his hair is gray and his features are roughened, also Kratos addresses him as an old man ("Let me pass, and I will let you live, old man.").
• Despite Kratos' tendency to take valuable exploits from many of his fallen powerful enemies, he did not take Theseus's spear. This strange "choosy" habit is also evident from the fact that he did not take any of Perseus's magical belongings after he killed him as well, but then he claimed the Spear of Destiny which he left behind earlier. A mere speculation is that Kratos uses his own judgement (out of personal taste or evaluation of a weapon's effectiveness if used by him being possibilities) to determine which weapon/tool he should pick (other than the ones given/offered to him) and so far this method proves to be effective for him, but in God of War: Ascension he is able to acquire any of his enemies weapons - however, since that game was a prequel, it may be that, as he aged and gained experience, Kratos became more adept in his skills in the later games to the point where he could effectively judge what weapons he did or did not wish to keep. Kratos also might've felt as he got older that he did not need to use more common weapons as he does in Ascension, as he had become more comfortable with using less weaponry other than his chained blades.    
• Due to Kratos using the power of the Sisters of Fate to return in time to the moment Zeus killed him, it's possible that Theseus, as well as everyone else killed by Kratos after this moment, are alive due to changing the timeline. This might explain why Poseidon didn't vengefully mention his death in God of War III.

Gallery

• Theseus' spear

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Video

God of War 2 - Titan, Theseus

Kratos vs. Theseus

Related Pages

• Demigod
• Horse Keeper's Key
• Minotaur