Zeus

Zeus (ゼウス, Zeusu), is both a fictional character and antagonist of the God of War series created by David Jaffe. He was the youngest child of the Titan King, who ascended to become the King of Olympus and God of the Heavens, the Sky, Thunder, and Lightning.

He was the biological father of most of the Olympians and many famous demigods such as Hercules, Perseus, Peirithous, the Spartan warrior and even his brother. He and Ares feared Deimos would destroy Olympus, so they ordered Thanatos to imprison him.

Many years later, Zeus aided Kratos by bestowing him with his magic, and as the mysterious gravedigger. When Kratos first opened Pandora's Box to used its power to kill Ares, Zeus was infected with fear, driven for the needs to kill Kratos, before Kratos can kill him.

"We have faced far worse than this one fallen mortal. But we are the gods! We who the mortals worship. We who rule over this land. We who will not be swept aside by this petulant fool! Brothers, put aside the petty grievances that have splintered us for so long. We will unite. We will stand together. And I will wipe out this plague! Olympus...will prevail!"
 * —Zeus to his fellow gods, Poseidon, Hades, Helios and Hermes.

Appearance & Biography

 * Voice actor: Corey Burton (English), Haruhiko Jō (Japanese), Not Known (Arabic), Not Known (Basque), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (Cantonese), Not Known (Catalan), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (Croatian), Not Known (Danish), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Filipino), Not Known (French), Not Known (Galician), Not Known (German), Not Known (Greek), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hong Kong), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Indonesian), Natale Ciravolo (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Mandarin), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Tagalog), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Valencian), Not Known (Ukrainian), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (Canadian French), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish), Not Known (Spain-Spanish)

Appearance
Zeus appears as an old muscular white-haired man. His eyes are pure white, best seen in the cutscene in God of War II in which he kills Kratos. In his neutral, unaltered form he appears to stand well over 7 feet when compared to the already especially tall Kratos. In God of War II and in the opening scene of God of War III he wears white toga and golden arm guards, but after the start of the Second Titanomachy he replaces his toga with a golden side guard, possibly the Aegis of Zeus, that had similar powers to the Golden Fleece.


 * Hair Color: Black
 * Skin Color: Not Known
 * Eye Color: Brown
 * Age: Not Known
 * Birthday: Not Known
 * Height: Not Known
 * Weight: Not Known

Personality
Zeus' benevolent side was more prevalent in the original God of War, in which he was depicted as a caring god who sought to punish evildoers and oath-breakers, even empathizing with his son Kratos' (who at that time was unaware Zeus was his father) grievances against Ares despite all of the terrible things Kratos had done.

Even though he had a benevolent side, he had some negativity within him as he placed a curse on his lover (and Kratos' mother) Callisto to transform into a grotesque monster should she ever reveal his relation to Kratos or Deimos, he also feared Deimos to the point of imprisoning and torturing him for eternity due to The Marked Warrior prophecy. After Kratos opened Pandora's box, he was possessed by one of the evils in the box: fear. This transformed Zeus into a cruel, wrathful, paranoid, and power-hungry deity, as evidenced by how he started treating the innocent Pandora with cruelty.

The evils of the box also caused Zeus to develop an intense fear of Kratos, whom he now realized was the "Marked Warrior" foretold in the Oracle's prophecy that would perpetuate the cycle of patricide which led to Zeus overthrowing his own father Cronos. Witnessing his ruthless murder of the Furies along with Ares, Thanatos, and Persephone, Zeus' fears were further exacerbated by Kratos' intense hatred for the other gods of Olympus (with Hephaestus, Athena, and Aphrodite being the only obvious exceptions) and his destructive rampages across Greece during his reign as God of War.

In response, Zeus took the form of an eagle and siphoned off a large portion of Kratos' godhood powers, infusing them into the Colossus of Rhodes. He then tricked Kratos into transferring the rest of his powers into the Blade of Olympus, weakening him to the point of near-death before finishing him off for good. To prevent his followers from helping their fallen god and to punish Kratos even more, Zeus destroyed Sparta, killing hundreds of innocent people in the process.

Not even his own family were safe, as he used them as mere pawns in his war against Kratos and the Titans, mourning little (if at all) about the losses of Athena (who tried to protect him, giving him a chance to escape Kratos' wrath the first time), Poseidon, Hades, Helios, Hermes, Hercules, possibly Hephaestus (even though he brutally beat him to a pulp on learning of his deception after being infected), and Hera, his wife. But when the evils that possessed him left his body, he somehow let himself get beaten by his son, implying that he finally realized that his persecution and fear of Kratos created a self-fulling prophecy.

He was also unfaithful to Hera, having cheated on his wife countless times and fathering many bastard children (including Kratos, Hercules and Deimos). He seemed to care very little about the well being of his own children, going as far as to dispose of his own sons Hephaestus and Kratos, caring very little to not at all for Ares' (whose destructive behaviour feared him) death and imprisoning Deimos out of fear of being dethroned.

Despite the fact that his father Cronos committed horrible deeds, Zeus was willing to betray and turn against all Titans, including Gaia, who once saved him from his father, seemingly for the sins of the latter. In addition to this, however, according to Atlas, Zeus' war against the Titans also stems from his hunger for power as he had a desire to rule over mortals.

Friends/Allies

 * Olympians

Family

 * Rhea (Mother)
 * Cronos (Father; Deceased)
 * Hera (Wife/Sister; Deceased)
 * Poseidon (Brother; Deceased)
 * Hades (Brother/Son-in-law; Deceased)
 * Demeter (Sister/Lover)
 * Hestia (Sister)
 * Aphrodite (Aunt/Daughter-in-law)
 * Alecto (Aunt; Deceased)
 * Tisiphone (Aunt; Deceased)
 * Megaera (Aunt; Deceased)
 * Oceanus (Uncle; Deceased)
 * Hyperion (Uncle; Deceased)
 * Gyges (Uncle; Deceased)
 * Aegaeon (Uncle; Deceased)
 * Cottus (Uncle)
 * Callisto (Former Lover; Deceased)
 * Helios (Cousin; Deceased)
 * Eos (Cousin; Deceased)
 * Selene (Cousin)
 * Amphitrite (Cousin/Sister-in-law)
 * Ares (Son; Deceased)
 * Athena (Daughter; Deceased)
 * Apollo (Son)
 * Artemis (Daughter)
 * Pollux (Son; Deceased)
 * Persephone (Daughter; Deceased)
 * Hermes (Son; Deceased)
 * Hercules (Son; Deceased)
 * Hephaestus (Son; Deceased)
 * Perseus (Son; Deceased)
 * Minos (Son; Deceased)
 * Aecus (Son; Deceased)
 * Rhadamanthus (Son; Deceased)
 * Peirithous (Son; Deceased)
 * Muses (Daughters)
 * Kratos (Son)
 * Deimos (Son; Deceased)
 * Lysandra (Daughter-in-law; Deceased)
 * Calliope (Granddaughter; Deceased)
 * Faye (Daughter-in-law; Deceased)
 * Atreus (Grandson)
 * Jörmungandr (Great-Grandson)
 * Fenrir (Great-Grandson)
 * Hel (Great-Granddaughter)
 * Sköll (Great-Great Grandson)
 * Hati (Great-Great Grandson)
 * Pandora (Adoptive Granddaughter; Deceased)
 * Ceryx (Grandson; Deceased)
 * Orkos (Grandson; Deceased)
 * Theseus (Nephew; Deceased)
 * Triton (Nephew)
 * Pegasus (Nephew; Deceased)
 * Nyads (Nieces)

Powers and Abilities
As the King of Olympus, Zeus is the most powerful of all the Olympians, more so than even his brothers Poseidon and Hades. His power is great enough to challenge Kratos to a greater degree than any other God. In his Astral Form, his power is greatly increased to the point he destroyed Kratos's equipment and easily overpowered Kratos; only yielding to the power of Hope that his son held within.

Powers

 * Superhuman Strength: Zeus possessed incredible levels of superhuman strength. He could easily overpower almost anything in Creation and was strong enough to challenge Kratos for an extended period of time.
 * Superhuman Speed: Zeus could run at extremely fast speeds. He could move as fast the lightning he commands. As demonstrated in the battles with Kratos, Zeus was able to evade attacks with the speed of lightning, appearing behind his opponent to strike.
 * Superhuman Durability: Zeus was tremendously durable. He was able to withstand extreme punishment from Kratos in all their fights and could still stand up and flee in their first fight and survive long enough to access his Astral Form after a much more harsh beating from his son in their final fight. It should be noted that during his battle with Kratos at the Summit of Sacrifice, Zeus was stabbed repeatedly by the Blade of Olympus by Kratos, yet Zeus was able to survive, unlike other deities who fell to the Blade's power in a single strike, such Athena and Cronos.
 * Superhuman Stamina: Zeus had tremendous amounts of superhuman stamina, able to fight Kratos for an extended period of time without ever slowing down.
 * Flight: Zeus can hover and fly at amazing speeds.
 * Weather Control: As God of the Sky, Zeus had control over parts of the weather that involved storms, allowing him to generate thunderclouds or create a tornado. He can combine clouds with his electricity to make his lightings much more powerful, to the point that a single spear of lightning was able to blast down Kratos and Gaia and destroy the latter's arm.
 * Electrokinesis: As the God of Thunder, Zeus could control lighting to an unrivaled degree. He is able to generate extremely powerful and fast Thunderbolts that can shatter huge mountains and kill Titans. His Thunderbolts were strong enough to nearly kill Kratos, forcing him to trick Zeus to stop him. In his Astral Form, his Thunderbolts were strong enough to destroy almost all of Kratos's equipment. In addition, Zeus can manipulate lightning to empower his attacks, move faster, generate a lightning shield and cause an explosion of electrical energy.
 * Immortality: As a god, he is immortal and can live forever. Like his brothers and other Olympian deities, Zeus does not age and is unaffected by time or succumbing to mortal frailty as sickness or impotence of any kind, he could not be killed by earthly weapons; only divine forces and weapons like the power of Hope, the Blade of Olympus or other gods and Titans can kill him.
 * Teleportation: Zeus has shown the ability to disappear in thin air, leaving a rain of electric charges behind, only to appear seconds later somewhere else.
 * Portal Creation: Zeus while under his Grave Digger guise, created a portal for Kratos to travel out of the Underworld.
 * 'Regeneration:' Zeus could regenerate from almost any wound. He can heal even from wounds done by other godly power and Kratos’s blades back with relative ease. Ironically the Blade of Olympus, a weapon of his own creation can kill him but he can heal from non fatal wounds inflicted by it.
 * Shapeshifting: Like all Olympians, Zeus was able to shapeshift. He made himself look as the oldest of the Olympians, despite actually being the youngest of his siblings. He could also transform himself into a giant eagle as well take the form of a human, or grow hundreds of feet tall, in God of War and God of War: Ghost of Sparta, he appeared to Kratos as the Grave Digger.
 * Summoning: Zeus was able to summon a legion of creatures to fight at his side, examples are the Siren Widows he used to fight Kratos at the end of God of War II.
 * Mind Imprisonment: In his astral form, Zeus was able to imprison Kratos in his own mind.
 * Sealing: Zeus was able to collect all the evils of the world and seal them inside of Pandora's Box.
 * Animation: Zeus was able to harness Kratos' godly powers, and use them to bring the Colossus of Rhodes to life.
 * Power Bestowal: Zeus is capable of granting powers to others, as shown when he bestowed the Redeemed Warrior should he chose to follow him with immense magical attack power and mana reserves and regeneration, supernatural enhancements to their equipment, and great electrical powers that allow them to control space as they drape the playing field with electricity, forcing their opponents to scatter in all directions as well as disable their abilities for a time. He also gave Kratos the power to shoot powerful thunderbolts.
 * Astral Projection: Zeus was able to project an image of himself to communicate to Kratos, and grant him the power to use his thunderbolts.
 * Power Absorption: Zeus was able to drain power from other beings in order to strengthen himself, shown when he drained Gaia's heart of her power.
 * Duplicate Creation: After absorbing Gaia's heart, Zeus was able to create duplicates of himself that are much weaker but could use many of his attacks.
 * Astral Form: After he was almost killed by Kratos, Zeus displayed the power to manage his soul "to a higher existence" in means of overpowering his son and channeling the evils fueling his body, although Athena reached that potential before the evils managed to consume her. In this form, Zeus was able to easily overpower Kratos and even destroy almost all of Kratos's equipment and was only defeated by Kratos tapping into the Power of Hope.
 * Mind Imprisonment: In his astral form, Zeus was able to fill Kratos with so much fear that he imprisoned himself in his own mind.
 * Power Removal: Zeus was able to strip Prometheus of his Immortality. Also, as the King of the Gods, Zeus can remove the powers of other gods at will, as shown when he stripped Kratos of his godly powers.
 * Weapons Forgery: Zeus had the ability to create powerful divine weapons. The most powerful weapon he has ever created was the Blade of Olympus, which is what he used in during the first Titanomachy.
 * Master Combatant: Zeus, having centuries of fighting experience, was a highly capable fighter, extremely skilled in using his weapons but he is also an exceptional hand-to-hand combatant. His skill allowed him to challenge Kratos on almost equal footing for an extended period of time before losing.

Birth
During the reign of the Titans, Cronos was informed of a prophecy foretelling his eventual downfall at the hands of one of his own sons. To prevent this fate, Cronos swallowed all of his children, one by one. When Zeus was born, his mother Rhea was distraught at the loss of her first five children and devised a trick to save him by letting an eagle carry the baby Zeus to safety, while he was replaced by a stone wrapped in cloth which Cronos devoured, having mistaken it for Zeus.

The eagle then carried the infant Zeus to Gaia so that he would be raised and blessed with the strength to stand up to Cronos. During this time, Zeus developed a deep hatred for his father, and looked forward to the day he would finally release his siblings; one of Zeus' drawings inside Gaia portray him opening Cronos's belly and setting them free.

The Great War
As he came of age, Zeus decided to put his plans into action. Zeus freed his siblings and declared war on all of the Titans, thus betraying Gaia. The new rulers of Greece, the Gods, calling themselves Olympians, fought against their predecessors with great ferocity and power. The battle between the Gods and the Titans formed the landscape of Greece, shaking the earth with massive earthquakes and crumbling mountains. To end the war, Zeus created the all-powerful Blade of Olympus, which was used to banish the Titans to the foulest pits of Tartarus.

However, the Evils borne from the war posed another threat to Olympus, so Zeus commissioned the Smith God, to build Pandora's Box in order to house the Evils. Unbeknownst to him, Athena called forth a power that transcended any God, Hope, and placed it inside the box to counteract the Evils should the box ever be opened. When Zeus asked Hephaestus where to hide the box, the Smith God suggested that it should be placed on the back of Cronos.

Using the architect Pathos Verdes III, he constructed an enormous temple to house the box and then chained it to the Titan's back, sentencing him to wander the Desert of Lost Souls for all eternity. Little did the great Zeus know that the events that had just transpired would eventually doom him.

Notes & Trivia

 * He is similar to his father Cronos in the series:
 * Both usurped their parents.
 * Both feared their children usurping their thrones.
 * Both were defeated by their children.
 * Both were killed by Kratos.