Titans

Kratos encounters the great Titan Typhon within his cavernous prison

Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology, the Titans (Τιτάν) were a race of extremely powerful huge deities that ruled the world during the legendary Golden Age of Mankind. They possessed all the Powers and magic the Gods possessed 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), the sons of Iapetus (Prometheus, Epimetheus, Atlas, and Menoetius) and the children of Crius (Astraios, Pallas and Perses).

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-Game History

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 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 Uranus 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 or trapped 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 and sands 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.

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 rid the mortals of the petty gods.

God of War III

"The Titans will fail again!" - Helios

God of War 3 follows the story of God of War 2, with Kratos and the Titans cimbing up Mount Olympus. Despite their superiour numbers and monumental strength, the Titan's precarious position as they climb Mount Olympus proves to be a great tactical disadvantage. Within the first few seconds of the Second Great War, most of the Titans are knock off the mountain to their death below by the combined efforts of Hades, Helios, Hermes and Poseidon. Poseidon in particular used his watery Leviathans to dislodge many Titans and, had Kratos not killed him, may have won the war singlehandedly. After a brief confrontation with Zeus results in both Gaia and Kratos knocked off of the mountain, Gaia refuses to aid Kratos out of fear for her own life and to ensure Kratos does not interfere in what is the Titans war, resulting in Kratos failing to the Underworld. There are 6 titans climbing Mount Olympus. Gaia, Perses, Oceanus, Epimetheus, a more sand coloured titan could be Hyperion and a titan which appears to look like Cronos but has a lot more facial, chest and back hair on it.

After Kratos returns to Olympia, he reunites with Gaia, who he dislogdes and sends to her apparent death in revenge. After this act, Kratos is condemned an enemy of both the Titans and Olympians and does his best to undermine the war efforts of both parties to ensure the Titans do not reach Zeus. He personally stabs Perses in the eye with the Blade of Olympus, killing him, and kills Cronos in Tarturus after the latter attacks him. By the end of the game, Gaia remains the only surviving Titan and with her death, the Titans are rendered extinct, even through Typhon and Atlas might have survived in their corresponding prison's. Another guess would be that when Gaia died, the worlds foundations also collapsed, killing both Atlas, who held up the world, and Typhon who was trapped beneath a mountain.

Physical Appearances

The Titans are as large as mountains and appear to be mostly elemental, They possess immense physical strength and stamina; most likely due to the fact that they were the first beings ever to roam the world. The Gods appear more civilized and human than the Titans, whereas the Titans appear more ancient, earthly, and elemental. However, this is not applied to all Titans such as Rhea, Helios and Prometheus who looks more like humanlike in stature and size

There are numerous Titans who make various appearances throughout the God of War series. These are a few:

• Atlas, the Titan that was forced to bear the spheres of the heavens on his shoulders.
• Cronos, father of Zeus that bears the Temple of Pandora

• Gaia, the Titan goddess of earth and current leader of the Titans.

• Hyperion, the Titan father of Helios, Eos, and Selene.

• Oceanus, Oceanic Titan seen climbing Mt. Olympus in God of War III.

• Oranos, Father of all Titans and the former husband of Gaia.

• 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 of wind trapped inside a mountain.

• Perses, the Titan of Destruction.

• Epimetheus, The Titan of Nature.

• Lapetus ,Father of Atlas and Prometheus

Unknown Titans

The following Titans were either breifly seen or not known in God of War 2 or 3. A few are from the God of War 2 scene where Gaia revives Kratos out of the Underworld.

• Earth like Titan
• Titan that looks like Cronos(Hyperion)
• Gray Titan
• Grass Titan(Koeus)