Highlights

  • Kratos' past misdeeds leave a trail of hate and regret among characters in Greek and Norse Mythology.
  • Characters like Hercules, Freya, and Hades despise Kratos for various reasons, from jealousy to revenge.
  • Even allies like Sindri end up broken by their association with Kratos, showing the impact he has on those around him.

Kratos has journeyed across pantheons in the God of War series, and it seems that he cannot escape the misdeeds and misfortune of his past. Kratos’ path is lined with death, rage, and regret, and in the aftermath of this path are people that remain hurt and hateful for what Kratos was, and may still be. The God of War series has evolved over the years, but some of these characters cannot put their hatred aside.

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Many characters who have interacted with Kratos expressed hatred of him. Whether it’s out of jealousy, grief, a desire for revenge, or simply because Kratos murdered them, these characters make it pretty clear that they hate Kratos above all other beings in Greek Mythology and Norse Mythology.

8 Hercules

Kratos' Half-Brother Who Reeks Of Jealousy

kratos vs hercules

Hercules was the half-brother of Kratos and despised him with every breath. As the mortal son of Zeus, Hercules was tasked with completing twelve labors to receive redemption and power, but he tasked himself with one final labor, a thirteenth that would be accomplished when he killed Kratos, usurping the throne of the God of War.

Hercules doesn’t have much reason to hate Kratos other than the fact he wants to defend Zeus’ kingdom of Mount Olympus and eliminate a rival to his father’s affection. Hercules hated Kratos purely out of jealousy for the attention and whispers that would circulate around Kratos, instead of Hercules’ own feats of strength.

7 Sindri

A Dwarf Who Gave Everything He Had To Kratos And Atreus

gow_sindri_half_sequel_2

Sindri would give everything he had to ensure Kratos and Atreus’ success throughout the nine realms of the Norse Mythology, even if it caused him great worry and pain. Yet, the aiding of Kratos and Atreus did not come without its sacrifice. Sindri lost his secrets, his treasures, his home, and finally, the last straw: his family. The constant assistance required of him cost the life of his brother, Brok.

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Sindri’s story is far from over, and his mourning of Brok might see him descend to a dark path that mirrors Kratos’ own when he first lost his own family. Sindri might not be a hateful person, but there is no love in his broken heart for Kratos.

6 Freya

A Vengeful Mother Who Was Robbed Of Her Son

Kratos & Freya

Freya was a useful ally when Kratos and Atreus journeyed across the nine realms to scatter his wife’s ashes. Providing the two with knowledge and magic, her trust and gifts would be rewarded with the murder of her son, Baldur. Baldur was going to kill Freya, his own mother, for cursing him with the power to never feel anything, not even a final death, but Kratos stepped in to break the cycle of sons killing fathers and mothers, but eliminating Baldur.

Consumed by grief by the death of her son, Freya believes herself robbed of everything and goes on the warpath to kill Kratos. Whilst she may have partly forgiven Kratos for this action, there will always be a part of her that looks at Kratos with hate and anger for what he did.

5 Helios

The God Of The Sun Who Kratos Decapitated And Used As A Tool For Death

God of War Head of Helios

Helios is rather justified in his hatred of Kratos. After all, the God of the Sun had his head ripped clean off by Kratos, and he was used as a tool to further the destruction of Olympus. There was once a time when Helios was grateful to Kratos after being saved by him to stop the end of the world, but it’s safe to say that Helios hasn’t exactly forgiven him after laying waste to the Greek Gods.

Helios even returned to the series in God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla, replacing Mimir to further torment Kratos’ mind. This version of Helios made it pretty clear that he hated Kratos. Not just for what he did to him, but for what state he left Greece in before retreating to a new life in the Norse world.

4 Odin

A Cowardly God-King Seeking Purpose That Kratos Robbed Him Of

god of war ragnarok odin

Loyalty to Odin is rather meaningless in the grand scheme of things. He will manipulate and kill anyone who threatens his rule and his quest to uncover his purpose and origin in the universe. As such, he was rather forgiving of Kratos for killing his son and his grandsons and tried to bring about a truce to stop his own foretold death during Ragnarok. However, Kratos refused this offer, which raised a level of hate in Odin.

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As Kratos follows his own path, forging his own fate whilst trying to become a better god and a better father, Odin is always there to try and pull the strings of Atreus and claim his own great prize. As such, it ends in a rather hateful god who can’t keep his own power or family bound to him, and that’s all because of Kratos, a god responsible for the destruction of two God Kings.

3 Zeus

Kratos' Father Who Fears Regicide

Zeus and Kratos fighting in God of War 3

Out of all of his sons, Kratos is the one that Zeus hates the most. Kratos is responsible for the dismantling of his empire and dominion over Greece and Mount Olympus, and as such, Zeus wants nothing more than his son dead. Zeus made his hatred of Kratos known when he murdered him and laid waste to Kratos’ lands and killed him so that Kratos could never seek regicide and challenge his power, a strategy that led to the toppling of his kingdom and status as the King of the Gods.

Zeus’ hatred for his son, Kratos, saw gods fall in his name as he sent the entirety of Olympus after him. Even in death and in lands far from Greece, Zeus would haunt Kratos as a vision from Helheim, showcasing the worst of Kratos’ bloody past, with perhaps a yearning for his ultimate death.

2 Hades

The God Of The Underworld Who Wants Revenge For The Wife Kratos Murdered

hades and kratos in battle in god of war 3

The God of the Underworld has a few reasons to hate Kratos. Not only has Kratos fled Hades’ eternal dominion more than once, but he also murdered his wife, Persephone. Kratos and Hades don’t exactly have the best uncle-nephew relationship and the fact that Hades wants Kratos to suffer equally as badly as his wife proves that there is much hate in this god than all the rest.

By the time that Hades meets Kratos, he has already seen many fall to the Underworld by his blades and seen his niece and brother killed by his hands. Yet, the death that mattered most was his wife, and even if Persephone hated her forced marriage, it wouldn’t stop Hades from mourning and becoming consumed by revenge.

1 Athena

An Ascended God That Saught To Use Kratos As A Pawn

Athena in God of War 2018

One so wise and fair of Athena would expect better of the darkness of her heart. Athena’s allegiance is always to Zeus. Athena sacrificed herself to become impaled by Kratos’ Blade of Olympus in order to save Zeus, thus damning herself to become a spirit of a higher existence that would torment and haunt Kratos into doing her bidding out of guilt for her demise.

Athena used Kratos as a pawn, asking of him to give her the power of Hope so that she may rule Greece as its last and only god after the death of Zeus. Yet, Kratos gave Hope back to the people, and so she saw him as just a fool. Even in death and hundreds of years later in the Norse Mythology, Athena still haunts Kratos, calling him a monster who hides the truth of his inescapable past identity.

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