This article contains lore based on real-life sources of the Greek mythology as introduced from the God of War Greek era.
Zagreus (Greek: Ζαγρεύς) is the Olympian God of Rebirth. He is the second child of Zeus and Demeter, and brother of Persephone.
Greek Mythology[]
In Greek mythology, Zagreus (Ζαγρεύς), was a god sometimes identified with an Orphic Dionysus, a son of Zeus and Demeter or Persephone, who was dismembered by the Titans and reborn. In the earliest mention of Zagreus, he is paired with Gaia and called the "highest" god, though perhaps only in reference to the gods of the underworld. Aeschylus, however, links Zagreus with Hades, possibly as Hades' son, or as Hades himself. Noting "Hades' identity as Zeus' katachthonios alter ego", Timothy Gantz postulated that Zagreus, originally the son of Hades and Persephone, later merged with the Orphic Dionysus, the son of Zeus and Demeter.
In the God of War Series[]
Birth[]
Zagreus was born from the union of Zeus and Demeter, and he is the younger brother of Persephone. Zeus took the form of a serpent to unite with Demeter, resulting in the birth of Zagreus. He was a divine child of great beauty and potential, destined to be an heir to Zeus's power.
Hera and the Titans[]
Hera, Zeus's jealous wife, could not accept the existence of Zagreus, seeing him as a threat to her status and that of her children. Driven by jealousy, she incited the Titans to attack Zagreus.
The Titans used toys to distract Zagreus and then cruelly dismembered him. They cooked and ate his pieces, except for his heart, which was rescued by Athena.
Trivia[]
- In Greek Mythology, Zagreus is a very mysterious figure himself, but is mostly associated with Orphic Dionysus as an early incarnation of the god and thus sometimes referred as the god of rebirth. Zagreus is also described as the son of Zeus with Demeter, and in some versions being reborn as Dionysus.
- This version of his myth is referenced in Orpheus's Hymm to Zagreus.
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