KRATOS’ JOURNEY THROUGH MYTHOLOGY IN GOD OF WAR THROUGH JOSEPH CAMPBELL’S THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES

Abstract

God of War is a video game franchise that focuses on the journey of the character named Kratos. Starting his journey as an anti-hero, Kratos grows as a character throughout his journey, learning to become more compassionate. Two reasons that make God of War an interesting case of study are how the video games incorporate an original character (Kratos) into mythology and how the series merge existing Greek and Norse mythologies through Kratos. God of War, God of War II, and God of War III revolve around Kratos’ pursuit of revenge from Greek gods while the 2018 game focuses on Norse mythology. Being introduced as a mortal war chief at the beginning of the game, Kratos begs the god of war Ares to save him on the brink of death in the face of a formidable foe. Ares makes Kratos his servant as the price of saving him. Ares then makes Kratos kill Kratos’ wife and daughter to make him a perfect (senseless) warrior. However, Kratos is constantly haunted by his regrets and past deeds. Infused by rage, Kratos unleashes a personal war against Ares in pursuit of revenge. Athena guides Kratos through his journey as she believes Kratos’ presence will end the reign of Ares. After slaying Ares, Kratos is declared to be the new god of war by Athena. From this point onward, Kratos is treated as almost the replacement of Ares in the following games of the franchise. In God of War II, Athena addresses Kratos as his brother. After the first game, the new entries depict Kratos to be a son of Zeus