Number 10: Aphrodite
Title: Goddess of Love & Beauty
First Appearance: God of War (PS2)
Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, makes her first appearance in God of War when she bids you to kill Medusa and take her head, starting the trend continued throughout the series. Aphrodite is not mentioned nor makes any appearance again until God of War III, where a completey different side to her is shown. In this game, Aphrodite appears as more of a goddess of lust than a goddess of love, as she bids Kratos to share her bed with her, as she "has not had a real man in a long time." When you first walk in on her, she is doing the nasty with her two handmaids, and as Kratos has his way with her, the two handmaids seem to enjoy watching. For being a complete sex idol as opposed to the original interpretation to the character, Aphrodite claims the #10 spot.
Number 9: Atlas
Title: Carrier of the World
First Appearance: God of War II (PS2)
Atlas first appeared in God of War II for a very brief amount of time after Kratos obtained the Wings of Icarus. When Kratos spoke to the Titan, he spoke of how Kratos was he reason he was forced to carry the world on his shoulders. This is explained in the prequel God of War: Chains of Olympus when Atlas is part of a plot to break the pillars holding up the world in order to destroy it. Kratos chains him up and forces him to hold the world on his shoulders in order to save it, giving a new take on the myth o Atlas. For this interesting take on the reason Atlas had to hold the world on his shoulders, Atlas deserves #9 on this list.
Number 8: Hera
Title: Goddess of Women & Marriage
First Appearance: God of War III (PS3)
Hera is the Queen of Olympus and wife and sister of Zeus. In most Greek myths, Hera is seen as a kind queen, except for her wrath toward Zeus' illegitimate children and lovers. This proves true in the God of War series when Hera makes it her goal to destroy Kratos. In fact, she pits Kratos against another of Zeus' illegitimate children: Hercules, with the sole intention that at least she can be rid of one of them, if not, both. Hera also seems to manifest herself as a combination of Demeter and Dionysus in the series, taking on the role of Goddess of the Harvest and God of Wine respectively. This is shown in God of War III when she is constantly seen with a wine glass in her hand, drinking, although this could just be the result of Gluttony possessing her. Also, when she is killed by Zeus, all the plants in the world rot, symbolizing her taking on Demeter's role in the series. For the game doing Hera justice and making her one of the most spiteful and terrible of the gods, she deserves #8.
Number 7: Cronos
Title: King of the Titans
First Appearance: God of War (PS2)
Cronos is the father of Zeus and his siblings and the once King of the Titans, before his fall in the Titan War. In the original myth, after his defeat by the gods, Cronos was thrown into Tartarus along with the rest of the Titans. In God of War, Cronos is revealed to have not been thrown into Tartarus, and instead, forced to wander aimlessly holding the Temple of Pandora on his back. After Kratos scales his body and enters the Temple of Pandora in the first game, Zeus throws Cronos into Tartarus, as he no longer serves any other purpose. Kratos once again meets the King of the Titans when he is tricked by Hephaestus to enter the pit and a vengeful Cronos, who believes Kratos to have killed Gaia, begins an epic fight with Kratos. Unlike his mythological counterpart, Cronos does not use scythes to fight, but rather, uses his brute strength and size. Although, in the end, Kratos emerges victorious after impaling the Titan with the Blade of Olympus.
Number 6: Persephone
Title: Goddess of Fertility & Innocence
First Appearance: God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
Persephone is one of the most promising antagonists of the God of War franchise. Her first and only appearance is in God of War: Chains of Olympus in which she uses Atlas to break the pillars holding the world to try and force it to crash down and destroy all, even herself. The reason for this is because Persephone is still bitter toward the world for forcing her to marry Hades and spend half of her life in the Underworld, when there was so much potential for her elsewhere. Truly an absolutely insane woman, Persephone takes her wrath out upon everyone and everything. The irony in Persephone being the Goddess of Fertility and Innocence, yet being so guilty and destructive is the reason why she makes #6 on my list.
Number 5: Hades
Title: God of the Underworld
First Appearance: God of War (PS2)
Hades is the God of the Underworld and eldest son of the Titan Cronos. My favorite part of God of War's version of Hades is his design. Made to look out like an executioner, ironically, Hades instills fear on all who challenge him. Hades is also probably the best boss fight in the series, having an intense 2 part battle where you eventually see him unmasked, and man, is it scary. Hades was corrupted by one of the most terrible evils: hatred. Hades hates Kratos for killing his wife, his niece, and his brother, and makes it his goal to exact revenge on him and torment him for all eternity in the Underworld. Unfortunately, even the God of the Underworld couldn't keep Kratos in the Underworld and eventually was killed with his own weapons.
Number 4: Ares
Title: God of War
First Appearance: God of War (PS2)
The original antagonist of the series, Ares is the God of War. Ares did many terrible things to his servant Kratos, which eventually made him into the brute he was in the games. After aiding Kratos in a battle and saving his life, Ares made Kratos into his slave, binding him to the Blades of Chaos. He then tricked Kratos into murdering his own wife and child and made him live with the white ashes of their remains for all eternity. Ares eventually wages war against Athena and attacks Athens, to which the gods collectively oppose and enlist his own servant, Kratos, to be his downfall. Eventually, after many trials and by using the powers of Pandora's Box, Kratos is able to impale the corrupt god and take his place as the God of War.
Number 3: Gaia
Title: Titan of the Earth
First Appearance: God of War II (PS2)
Gaia is the Titan Goddess of the Earth and mother of Cronos and all the Titans. Unlike her mythological incarnation, who isn't actually a Titan, but rather, the Earth itself, Gaia is forced into the pit of Tartarus along with the rest of the Titans. She then uses the gods' pawn Kratos after Zeus kills him to exact her own revenge on the gods. Through the events of the second game, Gaia guides Kratos to the Sisters of Fate so he can defeat Zeus and release the Titans from the pit, beginning a second Titan War. Gaia turns out to be using Kratos as well, and betrays him in God of War III, leaving him for dead, until he makes another miraculous return and impales both Gaia and Zeus at the same time using the Blade of Olympus. Gaia comes #3 because of her amazing voice acting and incredible characterization throughout the series.
Number 2: Zeus
Title: God of Lightning & Sky
First Appearance: God of War (PS2)
The God of Lightning and Sky and the King of the Gods himself, Zeus comes in at number 2. While most of the gods are depicted as having some cruel aspects in the Greek myths, Zeus doesn't have many. His one problem in the myths is his obsession with the idea that he will be overthrown by a son, just as he overthrew his father. The God of War franchise plays off of Zeus' paranoia and amplifies it by a million. Zeus goes as far as to virtually destroy his own world, only to keep Kratos from overthrowing him. Zeus betrays, lies, and makes Kratos' life a living Hell, imprisoning his brother from early on and turning his mother into a monster. Eventually, Kratos fulfills his destiny and destroys his father, although there is no world left for Kratos to inherit afterwards.
Number 1: Athena
Title: Goddess of Wisdom & War
First Appearance: God of War (PS2)
My number one favorite deity in the God of War franchise is Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and War. While Kratos was always a servant of Ares, Athena is the one who was guiding him throughout the franchise, giving him the chance to stop Ares and warning him not to tempt Zeus into destroying him. Even after her death at the hands of Kratos, who accidentally kills her when she protects Zeus, Athena, using her wisdom, is still able to carry on through a new life. Athena then aids Kratos in killing Zeus, but to her own gain. Athena had intended for Kratos to use the evil powers of Pandora's Box to destroy Zeus, so that she could take her own power: hope, and use it to restore the world and rule over it as the Queen of the Gods. Unfortunately, what Athena never knew, was Kratos had inherited her gift the first time he opened the box to fight Ares, and has been the world's symbol of salvation from the gods ever since. Kratos ultimately denies Athena her gift and kills himself to give it back to the world, hoping that the remaining survivors could begin anew without the corrupt meddlings of the gods.
Honourable Mentions:
Hephaestus- God of War III
Typhon- God of War II
Thanatos- God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Hermes- God of War III
Giuliano V.
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