Titanomachy

Titans and gods battle as the mortal world is destroyed.

“	The war between the Titans and the Olympians forged the landscape of the mortal world. It was a war that we knew the Titans must win. If we lost, it would be an end to the golden age of the Titan rule. Peace and prosperity for mankind would be no more.	”
–Atlas.

The Titanomachy or the Great War, as it is referred to in the God of War Series, is the fabled war between the Titans and the Olympians.

Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy was a ten-year series of battles fought between the Titans and the Olympians. The Titans fought from Mount Othrys, or Mount Etna, and the Olympians fought from what would come to be known as Mount Olympus. The war started when Zeus released his brothers and sisters from the belly of Cronos and began a rebellion against the Titans. In the end, the Titans were defeated and the Golden Age ended. The Titans were sent to Tartarus, a place deeper than the Underworld. There they would endure great suffering for all time.

In the God of War series

Steedsoffate — The Steeds of Time, gifted to the Sisters of Fate.

Cronos' Fate

The Sisters of Fate had deemed that the mighty Titan Cronos would one day be overthrown by his children. In an attempt to stop this prophecy from coming true, Cronos tried to persuade the Sisters into his favor by granting them the Steeds of Time. Although the Sisters accepted this gift, the prophecy would still come true. His next attempt to stop this prophecy from coming true was by swallowing his children one by one. His wife, Rhea, could not bear the loss of another child, and when Zeus was born she summoned an eagle to take him to Gaia to be raised, hiding from the watchful eyes of Cronos. As a replacement, Rhea wrapped a stone in cloth and gave it to Cronos, who foolishly believed it was the child.

Youngzeus — Zeus, as seen during the Great War.

Zeus' Return

Zeus was raised by Gaia who nurtured his desire to free his brothers and sisters from Cronos. Zeus’ intentions, however, were not just bent on freeing his siblings, but also defeating the Titans and taking the throne of his father. When the time came, Zeus freed his siblings who were now full grown and declared war on the Titans. The Titans as a whole saw Zeus’ desire for revenge and rule over mortals as intolerable, seeing that peace and prosperity for man would forever be lost.

When the war began, the Titans Prometheus and Helios took the side of the gods. Atlas took lead as he charged the Titans into war. However, because of the technology the gods were given, the tides of battle turned, allowing them to gain the upper-hand. Zeus was granted thunderbolts, Poseidon was given his trident, and Hades received a helmet of invisibility. The war was so destructive that the mortal world was forged from it. Mountains were hurled like rocks and the world was engulfed in flames.

Fate of the Titans

As the war continued the Blade of Olympus was created by Zeus, who used its power to banish the Titans into Tartarus. Some of the Titans were spared:

Cronos was cursed to wander the Desert of Lost Souls with Pandora's Temple chained to his back.
Prometheus had been made mortal, chained to a rock, and forced to endure having his liver eaten everyday by a large eagle after he gave fire to the mortals.
Typhon was trapped within an enormous mountain.
Atlas eventually was given the commission of keeping the balance between the earth and the Underworld stable.

However, the war was not without cost. Evils were born in the aftermath of the war which, if left unchecked, should have destroyed all life. Zeus contained all of these evils within Pandora's Box, so that they could never menace anyone ever again. However, his daughter Athena feared that the box might one day be opened and sealed the power of hope with all the evils.

The brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades split the world apart. Zeus gained dominion over the skies and became the king of the gods, Poseidon became the ruler of the seas, and Hades became the ruler of the Underworld. The gods would reign for many years and be worshipped by the mortals, until one day a warrior would rise and defy the gods. This warrior would be known as Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta.

Kratos' Vengeance

Kratos changed the events in history by learning of the Blade of Olympus and challenging Zeus for power. He was guided by Gaia, who told him of the history between the gods and the Titans. The Sisters of Fate were destroyed at the hands of Kratos, who altered time and history by using the Threads of Fate and going back in time to when the Great War began. There he met with Gaia, who claimed she had been expecting him. With the power of time, Kratos saved most of the Titans from being banished and brought them into his time. Meanwhile, Zeus called upon the gods to assemble, declaring that together, they would defeat the threat of Kratos by putting aside their petty grievances. It was far too late, as the Titans had already begun climbing the mountain side of Olympus, with Kratos in tow, wielding the Blade of Olympus. The second Great War had begun.