"god Of War 2" For Playstation 2, "mythology Guide"

"God of War 2" for Playstation 2, "Mythology Guide" By Mykas0 version 1.13 27-2-2009 BE SURE TO READ THIS FIRST PART! You can read this faq as long as you don't change ANY part of it (including this small introduction). Also, you can print it but only for use at your home, you may NEVER sell this stuff or else you will make me really mad and maybe I won't work anymore! Finally, if you want to use this faq on your site you have to mail me and ask me for it, I will almost surely grant it to you!

0~. Version History ----------------------------------------------------------1~. Introduction 2~. God of War 2 2.1~. Eagle 2.2~. Colossus of Rhodes 2.3~. Sword of Olympus 2.4~. Zeus 2.5~. Gaia 2.6~. Return from Hades 2.7~. Pegasus 2.8~. Griffin 2.9~. Prometheus 2.10~. Typhon 2.11~. Lakhesis 2.12~. Theseus 2.13~. Giant Horses 2.14~. Amulet of Fates 2.15~. Cyclops 2.16~. Barbarian King 2.17~. Golden Fleece 2.18~. Euryale 2.19~. Atropos 2.20~. Perseus 2.21~. Spear of Destiny 2.22~. Icarus 2.23~. Atlas 2.24~. Boreas 2.25~. Kraken 2.26~. Lahkesis and Atropos 2.27~. Clotho 2.28~. Son of Zeus? 3~. Frequently Asked Questions ----------------------------------------------------------B_END. Special Thanks END. Contacts

0~. Version History -> version 1.13 <- Added some more information on Atlas.

-> version 1.12 <- Added some more information on Icarus. -> version 1.11 <- Added some more information on Prometheus and Pegasus. -> version 1.1 <- Added some more information on Icarus and Daedalus; -- Added a new section on the "Son of Zeus?" topic. -> version 1.02 <- Corrected some small mistakes in a few myths. -> version 1.01 <- Fixed a few problems in this guide. -> version 1.0 <- Did the entire guide.

1~. Introduction A couple months ago, when I first had the opportunity to play the first "God of War", I was astonished at the quality of the storyline that this game presents players with. Sure, it's not fully based on Greek Mythology, but introduces the player to a world where gods actively interact with humans and help them in their tasks. Following the story of a Spartan warrior called Kratos, a character created for the game, one who buys this game will be introduced to an amazing adventure that clearly resembles the ones you can read in most Greek myths. Sure, the game is way too violent and not suitable for those younger players (if you're a parent, keep this in mind!), but provided you (try to...) disregard such point, you'll have an interesting time with this game. So, what's this guide all about? Instead of focusing in this game's actual storyline and becoming a simple plot guide, this guide was written for those who love Greek Mythology but, for one reason or another won't be playing the game. I will mention how most mythological elements were used, following the same order stated in the games and connecting those elements to the actual myths. Either if you like this mythology or not, the content which I'll be writing about may turn out being quite interesting for you to read, as it may give possible hints at what will happen on future games, apart from unveiling details of the games which most players may not be fully aware of. BE AWARE THAT THIS GUIDE CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS, making it probably unsuitable for those who don't want their experience to be spoiled. Finally, and before advancing to the actual content, I would like to thank IGN.com for their Strategy Guides, which are quite good. Reading their documents, I was able to write this guide without constantly checking the actual games, which would take too much time. Now, on to what you're waiting for...

2~. God of War 2 While you can still play this game if you don't have the first one, it will be slightly harder to understand its storyline. This product has a lot more mythological references than the first one, most of which may go unnoticed if you're not fully familiar with the actual myths. Most monsters from the first game reappear in this one, apart from some new foes and some interesting surprises, which fans of Greek Mythology may like.

2.1~. Eagle Even before starting to play, Kratos will be confronted with mythological figures. The eagle which seems to deprive this hero from his mythical powers is a symbol usually associated with Zeus. Athena herself was also associated with a bird, an owl, which seems to have been left out of this game.

2.2~. Colossus of Rhodes Although more real than mythical, this huge statue depicting Helios used to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. With his legs open over the entrance to the harbour of Rhodes, the outside of this statue and its inside were probably designed in the very same way that is depicted in this game. Also, the final fate given to the statue (i.e. destroyed by an earthquake) can relate to the its destruction in this game, where most of the statue is destroyed in a way that could be consistent to the destruction caused by such natural causes.

2.3~. Sword of Olympus That mighty sword, which seems to drain the powers of its user, didn't existed in Greek Mythology. Its relationship with Zeus and Titanomachy itself was probably created to prevent a problem in the storyline. According to the myths, in order to beat the Titans the Olympians were given weapons built by the Cyclops: Zeus got his famous bolts, Hades received the incredible invisibility cap and Poseidon acquired his trident. Since Poseidon's trident and Zeus' bolt had already appeared in the first game, they needed some sort of weapon that could substitute them. This kind of sword was a good choice, since Hades' invisibility cap would be appearing in this new game, further in the story. While this weapon does not have a mythological origin, it was added to the game in a way that seems plausible and fits the actual myth, with its power actually helping to defeat the Titans, exactly like the original weapons had done.

2.4~. Zeus

Both the first appearance of the god and all the following ones are quite consistent with the myth. Initially he just strikes with his sword, but as you advance further in the game, there will be a time where you'll face the most powerful of the Olympians in all his power. As you may suppose, later he will not only strike you with the sword but also use his lighting bolts against your character, giving even more of a trouble, exactly as the actual mythological god would have done. Be aware that the strenght of his bolts is harshly diminished, with these bolts merely hurting your character, unlike the ones of the myth, which would instantly kill someone. In physical terms, the god shown in this game is quite consistent with the depiction made in the myths and Greek icons, which is rather astonishing.

2.5~. Gaia First appearing in an unexpected fashion, Gaia's watchful eye and mysterious appearance was barely seen in Greek Mythology. There, she was a mere personification of Earth, our planet, during its initial formation. Later, after helping Zeus to ascend to the throne of the Olympus, she simply disappeared and was never again reffered in any other myths, turning into an absent deity that would barely relate to his sons. Such absence allows many different kinds of interpretation, like the one who is shown in this game: unhappy with the path that Zeus was taking, this goddess would help someone to dethrone the monarch, exactly like she had helped Cronos to castrate Uranus and, later on, helping Zeus himself to defeat Cronos. Such repetitive fate, alongside with several other myths, which will be stated in the next sections of this guide, may give a couple hints on the path that the series' storyline is taken, leading to some probably conclusions on what is going to happen next. There's something that you must be aware of: while in this game Gaia was a Titan, she wasn't originally one, and therefore she didn't even fight in the Titanomachy, which prevented her from being punished by Zeus, which happened to many other old deities. Instead, she was one of the primary deities of our world, the mother of most Titans, a connection that she seems to share in this game.

2.6~. Return from Hades Once more, your character (Kratos) is thrown into the realm of Hades and has to escape from it. Initially, such small adventure seems to occur in a simple way, with the character being taken by a shadow-like figure which could be interpreted as one of Thanatos forms, but the whole sequence of the main character escaping from the underworld is rather boring and is probably inspired by the Christian view of hell, with strange hands trying to pull you back to the place where you belong. According to the Greek Myths, there were no such demoniac hands in the underworld, with souls being stopped from escaping by the watchful eye of the deadly Cerberus or a huge river, which was only possible to cross with the aid of Charon, the ferryman who was supposed to take souls to the depths of Hades, never allowing them to come back.

2.7~. Pegasus In order to accomplish part of his task, Kratos is helped by a winged horse, Pegasus. Nothing is referred about its provenience, but such creature is usually given the task of helping heroes. Erroneously associated with Herakles, with whom he has no common myths, he helped Bellerophon in all his quests, before disappearing and dying. Zeus later turned this legendary horse into a constellation that can still be seen in the sky, but bearing in mind the usage that such figure was given in this game, it is possible that Pegasus simply came on his own, helping a hero to complete his task. Be aware that is also possible that he may have been sent by either Gaia (in order to help her prot?g?) or Typhon, since the legendary horse would first take the hero to that Titan's cave, in an odd move which seems to have been done simply for the hero to acquire a new power, one that Gaia couldn't directly give him.

2.8~. Griffin There's not much to say about these creatures, fought when Kratos is flying on Pegasus' back. They are consistent with the myths, presenting the body of a lion but also featuring the head and wings of a giant eagle, with which it attacks his opponents.

2.9~. Prometheus According to the Greek myth, Prometheus was one of the Titans and the biggest benefactor of mankind, to which he gave the important gift of fire, among some others. For such imprudence, he would be punished by Zeus, who would chain him to some rocks. There, this Titan would have his liver daily eaten by an eagle, before being fully restored during the night. In this game, the depiction of Prometheus may be consistent with the myths, but it is strange to see that he was merely shown as a human being, while other Titans (like Gaia or Atlas) were depicted as giantic creatures, with monster-like bodies. Unlike what happens in the myths, where the figure called Kratos is one of the entities in charge of chaining the titan, this game's hero releases Prometheus from his terrible punishment, also gaining a gift from his deed. This further presents this Titan as a helpful entity, exactly like the one from the myths.

2.10~. Typhon In this game, Typhon is oddly assumed to be a Titan, being imprisioned in a cave. Originally, he was a fearsome beast who mated with Echidna, odd relationship from which most of the legendary monsters would be born. Its depiction is also fully innacurate, since the myths used to show him as an horrible beast that attacked his opponents with more than 100 snake-like heads. Eventually, he would be defeated by Zeus and imprisoned below Mount Etna, where he would cause massive explosion and vulcanic eruptions.

While this beast's fate could be consistent with the one shown in the game, the cave where he is inserted, alongside with the placement of Prometheus seems innacurate. It feels like they needed to put someone in that cave and merely picked a name, forgetting about its legacy or original features. Sure, getting a bow from the inside of the eye of this beast could be an hidden mention to the brutality of the monster, but the way he was depicted is just unfitting.

2.11~. Lakhesis Shortly after leaving Typhon's domains, your character will find himself in a place called "Temple of Lakhesis". There weren't any temples in Ancient Greece where such deity was worshiped. Instead, she was one of the three Moirae, the Greek personification of Fate, and she was personally in charge of measuring the size of people's string of life, apart from setting the fate of each mortal. It is probably due to such feature that this deity is more important to the storyline than the other two sisters, since she was the one in charge of setting fates. It is discussable if she could actually change fates or not, but it is highly unlikeable. Most Greek myths present Fate as being totally unavoidable, a reality that controls even the most powerful of gods, leading everyone to unavoidable paths. Back then, fates were never changed, mostly because the location of the Moirae's realm was absolutely unknown, preventing people from venturing into those domains. Kratos' quest to change his present and future is simply an interesting storyline, with no relationship with the Greek myths, as you can clearly understand by the difficulty of entering such domains. Zeus stated more than once, during the Trojan War, that not even he could change fates, and if such powerful god couldn't do it, why would a Spartan be able to? From a mythological sense, it would make no sense whatsoever.

2.12~. Theseus Generally attacking your character with a spear, the character who bears this name seems to be a lot more powerful than its mythological counterpart, who was a mortal hero. It is specially interesting to see this enemy summoning several Minotaur-like enemies during your battle against him, since it was the original Thesus who killed the famous Cretan Minotaur. However, I fail to see the sense in giving him the title of "keeper of the horses", since there is no particular myth that connects him to any sort of horses.

2.13~. Giant Horses While travelling in a strange gihantic structure, you'll probably find it weird to see such big horses moving the whole place. While an explanation on their usage is never given, it is probable that their presence (along with what can be considered as a golden charriot) is a reference to golden charriot of Helios. According to the myth, this golden charriot was the one that Helios used to lead the sun across the horizon, every day. As you may clearly understand, it was designed to support large trips, with people who use it having an easier time while travelling long distances.

While the path taken by Kratos on board of such structure may have looked like a short distance, it is probable that he may have travelled a larger distance, which is important if you think about the large distance that splits the known world from the (generally unknown) domains where the Moirae lived.

2.14~. Amulet of Fates Obviously helpful, this amulet which allows players to slow down time didn't existed in the Greek myths. Besides, time itself was more associated with Chronos (don't confuse it with the Titan Cronos!) than with the Moirae, whose control was the one of fate, not time.

2.15~. Cyclops A small note on these creatures, which had already appeared in the first game: unlike before, they are now depicted as vicious creatures that actually have a single eye. When removed, that eye even works as bonus for the player, unlocking secret content when you get 20 of those important eyes. This monster can now be ridden by enemies, but not by the player himself, who needs to take the opponents away from this large beasts before killing them.

2.16~. Barbarian King It's possible that this boss is based in the people who lived in the upper part of Asia, the barbarian who would eventually cause the fall of the Roman Empire. However, in a mythological sense, this enemy boss doesn't appear to have been based in any known myth.

2.17~. Golden Fleece In the game, this odd item allows players to reflect beam-like attacks, returning their power to its very own caster. In a more mythological view, this item didn't have any sort of special power, at least a known one. It appears in the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, where their main tasks is to retrieve this item, who is stuck on top of a tree and guarded by a fearsome dragon. This object is usually considered nothing more than a mere object, bearing no special powers and with the only interesting of being a unique object and, therefore, an interesting curiosity that people want to possess.

2.18~. Euryale Like her sister Medusa, Euryale was one of the three Gorgons and possessed the power of turning those who look at her into stone. Physically, she looks like a fat Medusa, in the usual incarnation that is nothing more

than a serpent-woman with snakes as hair. When he think about the myths, Euryale was usually depicted the same way as her mortal sister, with hair composed by snakes, teeth as large as boars' tusks, huge claws and golden wings. The original game didn't followed this depiction for Medusa, exactly as this second title fails to do it for Euryale, whose head is later used for the same task as Medusa's. There's also an interesting detail that should be stated, when talking about Euryale: unlike her sister Medusa, this entity was immortal. It is obviously discussable if this monster dies after having her head taken out of her body, but I would believe so, which obviously goes against the myth of this horrible Gorgon.

2.19~. Atropos This entity is usually considered to be the oldest of the three Moirae, the one in charge of cutting the thread of life. In the game, while the player later faces this enemy in person, her presence is first felt when he reaches a place called "Courtyard of Atropos". Apart from the name, such location doesn't seem to have much to do with the actual divinity, who is only seen later in the game.

2.20~. Perseus One of the most famous Greek heroes, the figure that Kratos fights in this game is curiously similar to the one referred in the myths. If you're paying attention to the game, you can easily notice that he has his three most famous objects: the invisibility cap of Hades, along with the sword and shield (already containing the head of the Medusa!) that Athena previously gave him. In the myths, Medusa's head was only put in the shield after the end of Perseus' adventures, which slightly allows you to place the game after the occurence of those stories. Despite its look, his shield doesn't seem to contain any kind of special power, making the battle slightly easy. Instead, the battle starts with this opponent instantly using the legendary power of Hades' cap, which the player later destroys. As for the shield and the sword, they seem not to contain any kind of special ability, serving as mere battles devices which Perseus uses to fight your character. Be sure to notice the absence of Hermes' sandals, which (according to the myth) allowed him to fly, or simply walk faster than normal mortals. It is possible that such item is reserved to a later game.

2.21~. Spear of Destiny There's no reference in Greek Mythology to such item. However, the most famous "Spear of Destiny" is the so-called "Holy Lance", a weapon which, according to some writers, was touched by the blood of Jesus Christ, making it a legendary weapon, one that is said to inspire all those who possess it to great conquests. Such premise is obviously interesting if applied to Kratos and his quest, but the producers seem to have forgotten about a minor detail: the apogee of Sparta took place long before the birth of Christ, disproving that this weapon and the one which was possessed by the roman soldier Longinous are one and the same.

2.22~. Icarus The reason who moves this character in his quest to find the Moirae isn't very explicit in the game, but it is possible that it is all a big misunderstanding, with the producers of the game relying in popular culture insted of going for the actual myth. In fact, it is hard to understand if this character is actually Daedalus ("Have you never heard of Icarus?", i.e. what has become of him) or Icarus himself ("Have you never heard of Icaurs?", i.e. himself), and after receiving a ton of e-mails on the subject I thought I should mention it here. Personally, I think that the character is most likely Daedalus, Icarus' father, looking for a way to bring his son back. This possibility would go against the actual myth, where Daedalus dies in a city ruled by a famous king, where he was having an happy life. However, since this character never actually identifies himself, this is nothing more than a mere theory. One can clearly understand that he is related to the myth stated above, but that's all we can understand by now. Either if this character is actually supposed to be Icarus or not, his wings are here depicted as simple instruments that allow the player to maintain their course while in the air. In fact, the actual wings designed by Daedalus (and wrongly attributed to Icarus) allowed its bearer to fly up in the sky, which is a clear function easy to notice in the myth. While I failed to find any kind of sense in this difference between the game and the myth, a contributor mailed me an interesting theory: the original wings were designed for lighter bodies, which could prevent Kratos from actually using them to fly.

2.23~. Atlas Not much is known about Atlas' physical depiction, except that he was the Titan in charge of holding the weight of the sky in his shoulders. Oddly, a misconception seems to put him holding the Earth, the sky, a task that he is shown performing in the game. He looks like a huge being, with rock-like skin and extreme strenght, a feature obviously required to perform his classical task, and the player even gets to visit the inside of such massive creature, in one of strangest moments of the game. Kratos even gets to talk with this titan, who seems to be slightly angry at the hero, for reasons that are clarified in a PSP game, "God of War: Chains of Olympus".

2.24~. Boreas The actual divinity is never seen in-game, but there's a puzzle involving Boreas (the god of the north wind, usually a cold one) and its hail, which the hero must place in a statue's mouth in order to continue his adventure. Be aware that this is a more obscure divinity, one that people hardly know of, and its inclusion in this game is a possibly hint that the next game of the series may include minor gods, with the player possibly fighting them, along with all the major gods of the Olympus.

2.25~. Kraken There are several Greek myths and old legends that talk about mysterious octopus-like creatures that inhabit the sea, which sink ships and cause horror in the hearts of sailors. While no Greek legend leads precisely to the Kraken, which is a nordic myth, it is possible that this creature was summoned by Poseidon in order to halt the advance of Kratos, making him confront such a powerful aquatic creature. The monster has all the usual characteristics provided to this kind of beast, including a huge head and enormous tentacles, with which he can grab people and cause massive damage.

2.26~. Lahkesis and Atropos While fighting these two divinities, you'll probably notice that their depiction does not exactly coincide with the Greek one, where they were much your. Also, such battles make us think about the lack of the third sister, Clotho, the one who is in charge of creating everyone's thread of life. Such away status is explained later in the game, with these two Moirae serving as mere introductions to the last one. Their battle against the hero and subsequent death may lead us to think that Kratos is now the person in charge of people's fates, but there is something that we may think of: while the Moirae were fully aware of Kratos quest to defeat them and change his fate, they did absolutely nothing to prevent it from happening. Such lack of interaction may allow us to understand that these three sisters simply obey to a (possible) higher divinity, not being allowed to change fates by themselves. They are simples slaves who perform a task, they are able to change anything at all, even if it means their own death.

2.27~. Clotho Unlike her two sisters, who were given a young appearance and cute bodies, Clotho's depiction is more like the one of the Greeks, where all the Moirae were shown as old women. Her many arms were probably added to give more enphasis on the detail that she's the one in charge of creating the thread that controls everyone's lifes, a role that is too overrated in this game. She originally ONLY created the thread, had nothing to do with its content, a task that was given to her sister Lakhesis.

2.28~. Son of Zeus? At first, I wanted to leave this topic out of this guide, as it may be potentially spoiler-ish for next games. However, due to popular request, I chose to go back and add it. A few moments before the ending of the game, you'll hear references to Kratos being a son of Zeus. While most people know that Zeus had hundreds or sons and daughters, this reference, when inserted in the context of this game's storyline, may be considered as having a rather interesting meaning. According to the myths, a son of Zeus who was born from the womb of Metis,

goddess of wisdom, would be able to defeat his own father, claiming the throne of the Olympus. When Metis got pregnant, Zeus was afraid of the results and, according to the most famous version of the story, swallowed this goddess. A few months later, with some help from Hephaestus, Athena would be born from Zeus' head, fully equipped with her armor and weapons upon birth. As for the son of Zeus and Metis, the one who was supposed to dethrone his own father, the myths make no further references. Now, if you're reading these lines and thinking about the whole deal, you probably know where this is heading, right? It is quite probable that Kratos is this son of Zeus and Metis, the one who is supposed to defeat the king of Olympus. Besides, his relationship with Athena, who tends to act as his protector, hints at a probable relationship between the two, which would be consistent with them being brother and sister. In theory, this would work and it's actually an interesting view on what could be happening in a future game. However, you should think that not everything in the game is based in the actual myths, and the producers may actually follow another storyline, one that is different from what they are currently hinting.

3~. Frequently Asked Questions Some questions you may have, after reading this guide. Q: I just did [insert something here], what should I do next? A: I haven't got a clue, this isn't a gameplay guide, focusing more in the mythology aspect of the storyline. Q: I would like to know more about [insert something here], can you please tell me about it? A: Well, I guess I may have missed some details, and if that's the case, feel free to mail me about it. My e-mail address is stated at the end of this guide. Q: Hey, why isn't this creature mentioned in the guide? A: There are two chances, either I forgot to include it or it was already mentioned in the first guide, the one for the previous game. If a creature or enemy hasn't suffered any kind of significative change, I haven't included it in this guide, as I would be merely repeating myself. That's all for now...

B_END. Special Thanks I want to thank the following people: - Everyone who made this game; - Everyone who likes my works, it's for those people that I like to work

in this type of project; - People who rejected to go out with me these days, this way I stood home, played this game and took the time to write this faq; - IGN.com , for their "Strategy Guides", which helped me writing this very same guide; - Erin K., Voramir D. and Beth for mailing me about several myths; - Leo S., for correcting some problems I have forgotten about; - Spencer T., for mailing me an interesting theory on why Kratos couldn't fly using Icarus' Wings; - Jess, for information that I had missed on Atlas; - Everyone who mailed me about the Metis' myth; - Everyone I forgot to credit (if anyone at all...).

End. Contacts If you want, you may see my web page, just check it at the HTML address www.geocities.com/Mykas0/ . My e-mail is Mykas0 [at] gmail.com , use the following subject or I will NEVER reply. Subject: "GOW2M Guide" For asking anything about this guide, or providing me any information Thanks for reading and see you in the next version/guide!!!!!