Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In today’s video, we’re going to discuss who Cratos
really is in Greek mythology. We’re going to start off with a quick overview of the
video game character who shares the same name for those unfamiliar with him, and then we’re going
to cover virtually everything there is to say about Cratos, the Greek god of strength, which
is far more feasible than it sounds, for he plays a smaller role in Greek mythology than most other
gods. Our discussion about Cratos can be broken down into three segments: his role as one of the
guardians of Zeus’ citadel, his betrayal of the Titans, and his chaining of the Titan Prometheus.
Let’s get into it.
The protagonist of the beloved God of War Franchise, Kratos is one of the most popular
video game characters of all time. Before he moved North to begin a new life of anonymity in a stark
land ruled over by Norse gods, Kratos destroyed Olympus and exterminated the Greek pantheon. So
complete was the destruction he unleashed that even the realm over which the Greek gods ruled
was literally unmade, reduced to a place of chaos and cataclysm once devoid of the godly power
needed to keep the elements in order. For example: when Helios was killed, the sun was extinguished,
darkened by the black shroud of an opaque ceiling of cloud cover; when Poseidon was killed,
the seas rose and flooded the land, and when Zeus was killed, the sky became a great tempest - all
wind, lightning, and tornadoes. The Greek saga is punctuated by kratos running himself through with
the blade of Olympus, a grievous, self-inflicted wound that, while not a mortal blow, does succeed
in destroying, intentionally so, a great power that existed with him, the power of hope, which
he became imbued with when he opened Pandora’s Box near the end of the original God of War game.
The story of Cratos, the actual god from Greek mythology, could scarcely be more antithetical:
where Kratos the video game character makes it his mission to destroy Olympus and kill Zeus, Cratos
the actual Greek god was intensely loyal to Zeus, betraying the Titans with his mother Styx and
imprisoning Prometheus after the Titan stole fire from the gods and returned it to humanity. In one
source, Protagoras, one of the dialogues written by Plato, Cratos is described as one of the
terrible guardians of Zeus’ citadel, the presence of these guardians alone dissuading Prometheus
from infiltrating the citadel and stealing the virtue of temperance, called Sophrosyne,
the gift he originally intended to impart upon humanity. You see, the task of assigning survival
traits to living creatures was appointed to Prometheus and his twin brother Epimetheus.
It was agreed that Prometheus was to inspect his brother’s work, basically functioning as a quality
control agent, while Epimetheus was to be the one who would actually assign the survival traits.
Of course, this dynamic was doomed to fail from the start, and when it was time for humanity to be
assigned its own survival trait, there weren’t any left to be given: no poison, no shell, no fang,
no claw, no wing, no pelt, nothing - Epimetheus, fool that he was, had already distributed all of
them. To remedy this, endeavouring to ameliorate the situation so that humanity wouldn’t be left
defenseless, Prometheus furtively entered Olympus, but daunted by the guardians of Zeus’ citadel,
Cratos among them, Prometheus decided to purloin from places with less security,
stealing fire from the forge of Hephaestus and stealing practical wisdom from Athena.
The first mention of Cratos in Greek mythology comes at the onset of the Titanomachy,
the 10 year war between the Gods and the Titans, when Zeus proclaimed that any god, no matter their
lineage or where their loyalties once lay, would be accepted into the fold and given a place of
honour if they threw their lot in with Olympus. Upon hearing this, Styx was the first god to
accept Zeus’ offer, which seems appropriate given her parentage, for she was the daughter of Oceanus
and Tethys, two first-generation Titans, both of whom remained neutral when the gods and the Titans
went to war. Oceanus was the personification of the great river that encircled the world,
and his consort Tethys, depending on the version, was either a sea goddess,
or the personification of the font of freshwater that was the ultimate source of Oceanus’ own sweet
waters. In terms of offspring, no other pairing was more prolific than Oceanus and Tethys,
their union producing all the rivers of the world, as well as the Oceanids, a group of 3,000 water
nymphs, Styx being the eldest of them. From her union with Pallas, a second-generation Titan,
Styx bore four children: Zelus, ‘Emulation’, Nike, ‘Victory’, Bia, ‘Force’, and Cratos, ‘Strength’.
For her early pledge of allegiance and her assistance against the Titans, Zeus made Styx the
patron goddess of oaths, and in this capacity she became the guarantor of Oaths, something that can
be observed throughout Greek mythology when people swear by the River Styx. In addition to receiving
an exalted position in the divine hierarchy of Greek mythology, Styx’s children were also given
favourable treatment, the four of them given a place of Honour at Zeus’ side for all time.
Beyond the information given in Hesiod’s Theogony,
Cratos’ most prominent role in Greek mythology comes in Prometheus Bound,
an Ancient Greek tragedy written by Aeschylus in the early 5th century BC.
The Play begins with the binding of Prometheus, who is shackled and chained in the Scythian
wilderness, a remote region where no mortals live, this punishment sentenced for the transgression of
stealing fire from the gods and sharing it with humanity. Once chained, Prometheus receives a
series of visitors, who, among others, include Oceanus and Ino. The entirety of the play takes
place where Prometheus is chained, composed of either Prometheus vocalizing his own thoughts or
his conversing with the succession of characters who visit him for one reason or another.
The end of the play comes when Prometheus is visited by Hermes, who implores Prometheus
to divulge what he knows about a marriage that would threaten Zeus’ rule (this marriage being
the one that nearly occurred between Zeus and Themis, who was destined to bear Zeus incredibly
powerful children, children powerful enough even to challenge and supplant their father).
Hermes explains that if Prometheus doesn’t reveal what information he has that pertains
to Zeus’ potential downfall he will incur Zeus’ wrath, which will manifest through an
array of torturous consequences, namely: thunder, lightning, an earthquake, a spell in Tartarus,
and finally, once again back out in the open air, interminable imprisonment that entails
a daily visit from a liver-devouring eagle. Prometheus, despite already knowing every pain
that will be visited upon him, refuses to give in and disclose what he knows, condemning himself.
At the beginning of the play, Cratos, Bia, and Hephaestus go about binding Prometheus.
Cratos is implacable, resolved to the task at hand, while Hephaestus bemoans what he
must do and is filled with sadness for the plight of Prometheus, who, despite his crime,
is both friend and kin. Any reservations that could have prevented Hephaestus from performing
the task he was charged with, though, were ultimately overcome by the prospect of what
would befall him were he to disobey and go against what Zeus had ordered. The consequences of such a
course of action were made apparent by a peppering of comments and questions uttered by Cratos,
himself dispassionate and driven by self-interest. Here are some lines of verse from the poem:
“Hephaestus: family and friendship have a terrible strength.”
…[Cratos] Agreed. But how can you disobey the words
of your father? Don’t you fear that even more?
Hephaestus: You are always unfeeling, always so sure of yourself.
…[Cratos]: well, mourning him won’t mend things. As for you, don’t make
these pointless efforts: they’re no help. Hephaestus: oh how I hate this craftsmanship
of mine. …[Cratos]:
why hate it? Here’s a simple point: your skill is not to blame for what he suffers now.
Hephaestus: Still, I wish that skill had gone to someone else.
…[Cratos]: Everything’s a burden - except to rule the gods; freedom belongs to nobody but Zeus.
Hephaestus: I know that now, from this. I have no reply.
…[Cratos]: Then why not hurry up and shackle him, so your father doesn’t see you wasting time.
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