| “ | We will help you defeat Zeus. | ” |
–Gaia | ||
Gaia, mother of the Titans and the Earth itself.
The Titans were the deities who ruled the world before the Gods came to existence. They were the ones who aided Kratos in his quest for vengeance against Olympus but they became the secondary group of antagonists upon Gaia's betrayal.
Greek Mythology
In Greek mythology, the Titans (Τιτάν) were a race of extremely powerful and physically huge deities that ruled the world during the legendary Golden Age of Mankind. They were the beloved children of Gaia and Ouranos.
There were 12 original Titans, the males being known as the Titans (Coeus, Crius, Cronos, Hyperion, Japetus, and Oceanus) and the females as the Titanides (Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Tethys, Theia, Themis and Thera). They were ruled by the youngest Titan, Cronos, who overthrew Ouranos with the aid of Gaia (who crafted his sickle) and his brothers (not Oceanus).
Later, several of the Titans also produced offspring which were also Titans. These Titans included the children of Hyperion (Helios, Eos, and Selene), the daughters of Coeus (Leto and Asteria), the sons of Japetus (Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus) 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 (such as Prometheus and Oceanus) were spared any sort of fate, mostly for not fighting against Zeus during the war. Atlas, who led the Titans in the Titanomachy, was forced to hold the sky (Ouranos) upon his shoulders, fore the sky was greatly damaged in the war and couldn't support itself.
In the God of War Series
Birth and Fate
Rhea awaiting Cronos atop the Summit of Sacrifice.
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 his grandmother Gaia herself to nurture 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.
The Great War
Titans in their last moments on the mortal world before being engulfed by the Blade of Olympus' power
The Titans believed that they had to win or the gods would make the mortals suffer, caring only for control and power. The Titans Prometheus, Helios, and his sisters 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 Blade of Olympus, and used its immense magical power to send the Titans to the foulest pits of the Underworld – Tartarus. This ended the Great War, and the gods established their domain upon Mount Olympus, being worshiped 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(despite Cronos being the one who caused the great war). 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. Aegaeon was transformed into a living prison for oathbreakers by the Furies for breaking his oath to Zeus to fight alongside the Gods with the other Hecatonchires. The Titan Typhon was imprisoned within an enormous mountain. On the same mountain as 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.
Kratos' Encounter With Cronos
Cronos, with the temple of Pandora on his back, suffering in the Desert of Lost Souls.
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 notice of him as Kratos climbed a mountain leading to the temple for three days, while Cronos was still crawling pitifully across the harsh desert wasteland with the wind blowing in his face.
Alliance With Kratos
Kratos meets Gaia and the Titans.
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 to death in a fiery pit, granting him the power of the Rage of the Titans. Cronos gifted Kratos with the last of his magic while traveling with 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 once and for all. The mortals were terrified, but there was nowhere to run or hide from the brutal battle.
Appearance
Full body of a Titan
Physical
The Titans are as large as mountains and appear to be mostly elemental, but it is said that they can change their sizes at will, most likely due to the fact that they were the first beings ever to roam the world. They are evidently not very physically beautiful in any way, but they possess immense physical strength and stamina. The Olympians 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, as Rhea, Prometheus, Eos and Helios look more human, and share the human's common figure and overall height and appearance (though the latter two were Titans that helped the Olympians and may have transformed to their current appearance).
In-Game
There are numerous Titans who make various appearances throughout the entire God of War series. These are a few:
- Gaia: The Primordial Titaness of Earth and mother of the Titans. Also their current leader.
- Atlas: The Titan that was forced to carry the world on his shoulders. Also their leader in the events of the Great War.
- Cronos: The Father of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Demeter. He is the former King of the Titans.
- Hyperion: The father of Helios, Eos, and Selene. He is the Titan of Light.
- Oceanus: The Oceanic Titan seen climbing Mt. Olympus in "God of War III." He is the divine personification of the "World Ocean" and the Titan of Water.
- Prometheus: The Titan of Foresight, forced to bear the pain of having his liver eaten every day by an eagle after giving fire to mankind.
- Rhea: The mother of the first Olympians and wife of Cronos.
- Typhon: The Titan of Wind, who is punished by Zeus by trapping him underneath a large mountain.
- Perses: The Titan of Destruction.
- Epimetheus: The Titan of Hindsight.
- Thera: The Titan of Lava, who is trapped inside a volcano in Atlantis.
- Lapetus: Ancestor of the human race.
- Polyphemus: A gigantic Cyclops, son of Poseidon, referred to as a Titan.
- Gyges: One of the Hecantonchires, sons of Gaia and Ouranos and brothers of the Titans, though not Titans themselves.
- Aegaeon: Another Hecatonchire. Turned into a prison for the living damned by The Furies for breaking his blood oath with Zeus.
- Python: The Titan-Serpent son of Gaia and Ouranos, slain by the God Apollo in Delphi.
Powers
The main powers that all Titans possess are super strength, immortality and regenerative abilities. Some of the Titans may also possess some form of energy projection and the power to control the elements which they embody. Oceanus and Perses seem to be covered in their respective elements, Oceanus being covered in Water and Lightning, and Perses is covered in Lava implying that they both could manipulate those elements. Gaia could also possess the power over Earth and possibly over the life on it.
However, it is unknown what powers Rhea, mother of the six original Olympians, possesses, as she hasn't displayed her own powers in the series, as well as her current status and location being unknown, though it is likely she is deceased or living somewhere far away.
