Nordic Mythology: Behaviour Of Gods In “God Of War”
Abstract
Norse mythology is present in pop culture, weather we are referring to movies, books or in this case games. Impact which it has, can be seen throughout fields of art, literature and architecture, and being a concept vulnerable to interpretation might alter it’s structural form. What's differs each trial of replication from the previous one are perspective and purpose of directors. Depending on the role that certain gods or giants have might alter if we portray them as cold-blooded and evil or caring and protective. In game titled the “God of War” we have a opportunity to see relations between goddesses and their children.
Cold, strict and yet ready to sacrifice their lives for children - fathers. As well as rather unique product of taking bits from greek mythology and imbedding it to nordic folklore and world. What we are presented with is a mixture of directors perspective and their idea of how game should look like, and what is true according to various sources such as books. In the following pages my aim will be to bring forward more information regarding why and how such changes have taken place.
Of course this will be written from my perspective, however i will try to restrain myself from any sorts of biases towards series the God of War. With complex characters such as Gods from the mythology, it is rather difficult to pinpoint if a certain character is good or bad, gods back then were made from the image of humans, that being said each of the characters has its own value, personality and reasons for acts they have done. I will try to provide coherent and in depth comparison between what i have found to be true according to myths and how game developers depicted gods and other beings.
Introduction
We all have seen or heard name Thor the God of thunder, or perhaps all mighty Odin - father and ruler of asgard, these names come from nordic mythology and its impact can be seen on a wide spectrum of texts such as music, books, literature and games including. The influence this pantheon of gods has is less significant in our world due to the lack of texts left for us to translate and retrive what time has buried. This legends and myths come from a land of ice where brute force and honor were guiding warriors on their path to Valhalla.
The importance of understanding how gods behaved is essential towards learning about the habits and life of people that were praying and slaughtering in the name of previously mentioned beings. All of the gods are based on humans, they carry similar personalities and looks, on the other hand they have enhanced abilities that spread far across the spectrum of imagination and understanding of world which humans desired. Our kind was always curious with why certain events are taking place or the desire of is power and control over masses. When these things were combined and formed a creation of entire spectrum filled with beings such as giants, demi-gods, gods, lost souls demihumans and the list goes on.
People who were smart enough and adapt to it became spiritual leaders, they have gained power through usage of fear and hope. The gods of Scandinavian mythology are brutal, unforgiving and desire of power often dims their perspective, this is one of many ways that gods can be represented. The choice whether to do it or not lies on shoulders of game developers. In this case we start of with Kratos, a warrior of sparta and proclaimed “God of War”, he has traversed from greek mythology and settled within the world of nordic folklore.
According to the many sources Kratos or Kratos (depending on translation) is a divine personification of power and strength. this is clearly visible in his actions which are often far from sublime and more focused on efficiency and getting things done. Short tempered, brave, and powerful enough to bring down entire families of gods, he excels at destruction and causing mayhem wherever he goes. This is the main character of the game, however this time we see him as a father. Father that lost his second significant and is forced to embark on a journey with his son Atreus.
Young “boy” because that is how Kratos adres him, does not know about his powers and origin, in fact we do not know much more other than fact that his father has slayed all of the major divine beings in greek mythology and now has settled within realms of Midgard (realm of humans). Depiction of gods as villains is very controversial, they cheat, murder, steal, lie, they feed on mortals as a source of power. These are perfect descriptions of gods in greek mythos, but now we are dealing with the pantheon of norse deities, which are very much alike but driven more by a human factors such as greed for wisdom, survival, motherhood and many more.
Main Characters
AtreusAtreus is a son of kratos from the second relationship of which we do not know much. He is a young boy with divine blood flowing in his veins, blessed and cursed with two kinds of blood. His origins remain a mystery until the very end of the game, and yet, once we reach the main goal of the game we are left with many questions regarding his origin and purpose. Just a while after Atreus and Kratos toss ashes of dead mother and wife the dialogue between those two unravels that Atreus has in fact two names, one being the one we are familiar with and second one being Loki.
We never actually see people calling him that, but we are provided with information that this is the way he was referred to in realm named Jotunheim - the land of giants.Loki is a God of trickery and magic, he has the ability to change his gender and and shapeshift into any physical manifestations he wishes to. He is also destined to bring Ragnarok to the gates of asgard, this event will end odin and his kingdom. When it comes to the description of loki from the norse myths, the book written in 13th century “Prose Edda Snorri Sturluson” says: “Loki is handsome and fair of face, but has an evil disposition and is very changeable of mood. He excelled all men in the art of cunning, and he always cheats. He was continually involving the Aesir in great difficulties and he often helped them out again by guile.”
The truth behind his origins is a matter of discussion because some sources say that he is in fact brother of Odin, a father of gods and other sources claim that he is in fact brother of Thor god of thunder and son of Odin. In this example we see how nordic mythos had to be modified in order to fit the lore of the game. In the game Loki or Arteus is a son of Kratos which gives boy a godlike descent and a child to a giant- her mother whom we know as Faye. Here are some linkages of Loki from the game to the original God Loki:
His mother is named Laufey and shares this name with God Loki.
On the wall covered with paintings of past events located in Jötunheim, Kratos's name is written as Fárbauti (ᚠᚨᚱᛒᚨᚢᛏᛁ), which as it turns out is the name of Loki's father in norse myths.
Atreus’s names is written with runes: ᛚᛟᚲᛁ - which translates to Loki.
He is one of the Jötunn, semi-god, Loki is a Jötunn who is also a god. After discovering more information regarding his godhood, Atreus asks if he can transform into an animal, such as a wolf, one of the most commonly known abilities Loki has is shapeshifting into various animals.
Atreus causes Baldur's death by breaking the spell with a mistletoe arrow shard; Loki causes Baldur's death by giving the blind god Höðr a mistletoe arrow, and then tricking him into shooting Baldur.
Bibliography
This book provides important and very helpful insights on the behaviour of gods as well as their origin and motives for why certain God’s act they way they do. It is an overview of many tales and myths researched and combined into one chronological story that serves me as a guide. It talks about the origins of scandinavian myths, the relationships between character it also provides good understanding on the hierarchy that is usually found with pantheons of gods and this is no different. Through the storyline we see the family connections and what each god value the most. It must be said that it borders with impossibility to establish each and single bond or relationships the Gods have, because numerous unknown texts have been destroyed as a form of purification or simply time.
