Titans

Kratos encounters the great Titan Typhon within his cavernous prison

Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology, the Titans (Τιτάν) were a race of powerful deities that ruled the world during the legendary Golden Age of Mankind and were the children of Gaia and Ouranos. There were 12 original Titans, the males being known as the Titanes (Coeus, Crius, Cronos, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Oceanus) and the females as the Titanides (Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Tethys, Theia, and Themis). They were ruled by the youngest Titan, Cronos, who overthrew Ouranos with the aid of Gaia. Several of the Titans also produced offspring which were also called Titans. These Titans included the children of Hyperion (Helios, Eos, and Selene), the daughters of Coeus (Leto and Asteria), and the sons of Iapetus (Prometheus, Epimetheus, Atlas, and Menoetius).

The Titans preceded the Olympians, who, led by Zeus, eventually overthrew them in the Titanomachy. The Titans were then imprisoned in Tartarus, the deepest and darkest pit of the Underworld. Only a few Titans were spared any sort of fate, mostly for not fighting against Zeus during the war.

In the God of War Series

Birth and Fate

In the beginning, there was darkness. The Titans were born on the Island of Creation, home to the Sisters of Fate and controllers of time. Themis was born of Gaia, who became the embodiment of divine order, law, and custom, giving the Titans a purpose to be a part of the world. The Titans were opposed to the Sisters’ control over fate, and so the Titan Hyperion challenged them by destroying the Phoenix to show that the Titans had power as well. However, the Phoenix was revived and the Titans left the island, never to come back again.

The rest of the world was created by the Titans and Cronos was given the title as ruler. However, it was prophesized that one day Cronos would be overthrown by his very children, just as Ouranos had been years before. In an attempt to sway the Sisters into his favor, Cronos gifted them with the Steeds of Time. The Sisters refused to change his fate and the fate that would also haunt the Titans forever. Cronos began devouring his children one by one so that the prophecy may not come true. His wife, Rhea, could not bear another such loss and hid the sixth and final child on an island far away from the watchful eyes of her husband. Cronos foolishly swallowed a rock wrapped in cloth in the baby’s place.

The child who escaped his siblings’ fate was Zeus, who was raised by Gaia herself to nuture his desire to free his brothers and sisters from their prison. When the day came and Zeus had become a young man, he freed his siblings from their cruel father and the Great War began.

Great War

The Titans believed that they had to win or the gods would make the mortals suffer, caring only for control. The Titans Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Helios joined the gods in the battle against the Titans, betraying their very own. The Titans were led by the great Atlas, who saved Cronos from being captured by Hades in an attempt to consume his soul. In Cronos’ place Atlas was captured, but the battle continued. Mountains were hurled like pebbles, and the ground shook from massive earthquakes. The war between the Titans and the gods forged the landscape of the mortal world.

Eventually, Zeus created the all powerful Blade of Olympus, and used its magic to send the Titans to foulest pits of the Underworld – Tartarus. This ended the Great War, and the gods established their domain upon Mount Olympus, being worshipped by the mortals who begged for their mercy and guidance. The Golden Age had indeed ended.

In Tartarus, the Titans would be tortured for all eternity. Cronos suffered the fate of wandering the Desert of Lost Souls with Pandora's Temple chained to his back until the strength of the whirling winds ripped his flesh from his bones. The Titan Typhon was imprisoned within an enormous mountain. On the same mountain, Prometheus, because of betraying Zeus and giving the mortals the fires of Olympus, was forced to endure the pain of having his liver eaten everyday by a large eagle.

God of War

Athena instructed Kratos to journey to the Desert of Lost Souls where the Titan Cronos crawled with Pandora’s Temple upon his back. The Titan showed no emotion while Kratos climbed mountain leading to the temple for three days, still crawling through the desert wasteland with the wind blowing in his face. After many years he died.

God of War II

Kratos was saved by Gaia’s guidance while he was being taken to the Underworld. She told Kratos that Zeus would have to be destroyed in order for there to be any hope for Kratos. With her voice whispering into Kratos’ ear, the powerful warrior traveled to the mountain where Typhon and Prometheus rested. Typhon, bound to his mountainous prison, refused to help the former Olympian.

Typhon tried blowing Kratos off of the cliffs where he walked, hoping he would fall to his death. Kratos managed to obtain Typhon's Bane by stabbing Typhon’s eye, blinding him. Kratos also released Prometheus from his torment by burning him alive in the fiery pit, granting him the power of Rage of the Titans.

Cronos gifted Kratos with the last of his magic while traveling through the Steeds of Time. This magic was known as Cronos' Rage. Kratos also fell into the grasp of the mighty Titan Atlas, who gifted him with the knowledge of the Great War and the powerful Atlas Quake.

With all of his powers and gifts, Kratos defeated the Sisters of Fate and traveled back in time to the final minutes of the Great War. He saved the Titans from being banished and brought them into his time. There, he and the Titans climbed Mount Olympus to finally be rid the mortals of the petty gods.

God of War III

In an issue of Game Informer (March 2009), it is stated that not only will Kratos be climbing on the Titans as they climb Mount Olympus but that he would be fighting them as well. Although this is only a rumor it can be noted that after a gameplay screening was seen showing Helios decapitated by Kratos, a Titan made of lava attacks him further on as he progresses. Whether this was intentional or not, nothing has been confirmed. The issue also states that the levels/Titans will interact with Kratos as he progresses.

Physical Appearances

The Titans appear as huge as mountains and appear mostly elemental in nature. This is most likely due to the fact that they were the first beings to roam the world. The Titans are by far the most enormous beings in the world, more so even than the Olympian gods. The gods appear more civilized and human, whereas the Titans appear more ancient, earthly, and elemental.

Titans Who Have Appeared in the God of War Series

There are numerous Titans who make various appearances throughout the God of War series. They include:

• Atlas, the Titan forced to bear the spheres of the heavens on his shoulders
• Cronos, the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans
• Eos, the Titan goddess of the dawn
• Gaia, the Titan goddess of the earth
• Helios, the Titan god of the sun
• Hyperion, the Titan god of watching and observation
• Prometheus, the Titan forced to bear the pain of being eaten alive everyday by a large eagle
• Rhea, the mother of Zeus and wife of Cronos
• Typhon, the Titan god of wind trapped inside a mountain