The World is the main setting of the God of War franchise.
Contents
- 1 Overview
- 2 Lands
- 2.1 Greece
- 2.2 Scandinavia
- 2.3 Egypt
- 2.4 Persia
- 2.5 Mimir's homeland
- 2.6 The Southern Lands
- 2.7 The East
- 2.8 The Western Lands
- 3 Trivia
- 4 References
Overview[]
The main characteristic of the world in the God of War series is that multiple mythologies, each with their own gods, monsters, magic, cosmology, and even afterlife, somehow coexist despite the contradictions. For example, Greece and Scandinavia have completely different conceptions of the universe and how it was created, and yet both are true and exist simultaneously.[1] Essentially, the series as a whole takes place on Earth, but within each geographical region, there exists a version of the universe with its dimensions and earth based on the prevalent mythology and local belief system of the people living in that particular region.
Long-time director of the franchise Cory Barlog explained that the mythological pantheons on the Earth of God of War are similar to the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, which shows hundreds of individual galaxies. In the analogy, each galaxy represents a particular pantheon from all the mythologies of the world and these "galaxies" are wrapped around the planet. That's how they simultaneously exist with their own belief systems and creation/destruction stories, while still being separated by geography like normal regions of the world.[2][3] He also notes that there is an actual "greater universe" outside the universes the Gods of each mythology have dominion over.[4] This view of the metaphysical setting of the world of God of War is confirmed by narrative writer and director of God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök Matt Sophos[5][6][7] as well as animation director for God of War Ragnarök Bruno Velazquez.[8][9]
It is possible to move from one mythological world to another. Kratos left Greece behind after destroying it, fleeing to the Scandenavian land of Midgard in the north. Mimir left his homeland and served a succession of different masters further and further north until he finally ended up in the Nine Realms under Odin. Týr was known to travel to other lands to visit its pantheons as a peaceful ambassador.[10] The means of traveling differ and are not always clear: Kratos never really says how he got to Midgard, but the official novelization says that he was dragged there by mysterious wolves[11] that may have actually been Sköll and Hati.[12] Týr using the Unity Stone to travel[13] seems to imply that the different regions do not exist in separate countries, but instead in different worlds separated across time and space. On the other hand, Cory Barlog stating that the space separating Midgard and Olympus is literally the distance between Greece and Scandinavia[14] implies much shorter distances.
Mimir speaks of "every realm of every land in every world"[15] and "other lands"[13] when talking about the other mythologies, so to keep things simple, it should be noted that this article will use each term interchangeably, without necessarily meaning "land" in the regular geographical sense or "realm" in the sense of the Nine Realms.
Magic is bound to the land it originates from and should that land die, its magic would disappear, hence why Kratos was unable to call upon any of his original magical powers after the destruction of Greece.
Lands[]
Greece[]
The world of Greek Mythology, where the world was believed to be flat like a disc, with the flat land being surrounded on all sides by ocean with the heavens and sky above. The Underworld, the afterlife of Greek mythos, was believed to rest beneath the Earth were all souls go to after death and with Mount Olympus resting at the peak of the earth where the Olympians dwelled. In accordance to this, the Greek World of God of War is portrayed as consisting of the heavens above, etc. the universe with galaxies and nebulae, the upper world beneath it, a flat world that contains the large Mount Olympus and all the Grecian lands and the Underworld directly below; a chasm of infinite size ruled by Hades where the souls of the dead head to. To prevent the collapse of all of creation, the Pillar of the World rests in the middle of both realms and supports the upper world. The destruction of its top forced the Titan Atlas to do this instead.
The Island of Creation is said to rest at the western edge of Greece, being so isolated from the rest of the disc that even a nonstop flight took six days to reach it.
Greece was ruled for some time by Olympians Gods who overthrew the Titans. Despite being one realm, it is divided into smaller city-states such as Athens and Sparta, which the Gods used to compete with one another over. Greece is also highly urbanized, with its large cities built out of marble. But the most advanced city was Atlantis, before it sunk.
The Greek realm has a long history of civil war, from the war between the Titans and the Olympians, to the rebellions of Persephone, Ares, and Kratos. Greece was eventually devastated by Kratos' rebellion,[16] but is showing signs of recovery without the gods due to the power of Hope released to mankind by Kratos.[10]
Greece is also inhabited by many creatures such as Cyclopes, Gorgons, and Satyrs among others, which the Gods used to enforce their rule.
Scandinavia[]
The world of Norse mythology. They believed that Earth was one of nine worlds hanging from Yggdrasil, the cosmic "World-Tree". Earth was known as Midgard (meaning Middle-Earth or Middle Garden) and was located in the center of Yggdrasil. The other eight worlds were:
- Niflheim (the land of snow and death, often interchanged with Helheim. One of the two realms that existed before creation.
- Múspelheimr, the land of fire, home of Surtr. One of the two realms that existed before creation.
- Helheim, one of the three underworlds, and the destination of the unworthy dead (those who died of old age, sickness, etc.).
- Alfheim, the realm of the light elves. The world was created by Frey, who used Alfheim as a teething toy. They worship him.
- Svartalfheim, the realm of the dark elves, also known as the dwarves. Means Land of the Dark Elves.
- Asgard, the realm of the Æsir gods. It is known as a lush green valley upon which Idavoll, the city of the Æsir, stands.
- Vanaheim, the realm of the Vanir gods. It is a realm of magic and forestry.
- Jotunheim, the realm of the giants. Everything is far larger than Midgard, with impossibly sized mountains, with equally large houses and the Jotnar.
Each of these nine realms is caught in the World Tree. From Yggdrasil also comes nine cosmic springs, which well in dark places, such as the well of the three Norns, Mimir's "well of knowledge", and the River of the Dead which enters Helheim and splits into eight poisonous streams. Space, or the void outside of Yggdrasil, is known as the Ginnungagap: a white void and the birthplace of Ymir, forefather of both giants and gods alike.
In the world of God of War, most of this holds true, the Norse world (also called at least once the Northlands[17]) is comprised of these Nine Realms. But here, all nine realms occupy the same physical space, reflections of each other, only on different planes of existence, co-existing on the branches of the World Tree and separated only by the Bifröst light of Alfheim.[18] Most of the Nine Realms were ruled by Odin. The void outside of Yggdrasil is known as the Realm Between Realms, the realm which serves as an "in-between space" between the nine. The place where the realms of Muspelheim and Niflheim met each other in Ginnungagap at the start of time is now known as the Spark of the World. It is from where originates the creation of the world.[19]
According to Cory Barlog, Midgard is Scandinavia.[20]
Egypt[]
Egypt is a desert land, home to an ancient and advanced civilization known as "the River Empire".[21] It is ruled by numerous gods,[10] half-human half-animal, said to rule with wisdom and humility.[22] Possibly home to its own species of Sphinxes.
Persia[]
Persia is a realm to the east which attempted to invade Greece when it attacked Attica.[23] Persia may be simply a part of the Greek world, but it is unclear. Home to creatures such as Rocs, Manticores, Juggernauts, and Efreets.
Mimir's homeland[]
The island Mimir came from, somewhere to the south of Midgard. Kelpies come from this land.
The Southern Lands[]
Not much is known about it, only that it is home to a "southern empire", and the lands of the Mayan gods, who are said to possess unparalleled wisdom and generosity. Their king, the "ruler of the heavens", freely share advanced knowledge such as writing, farming, the calendar, and sciences with humanity, however their god of death is known to torture souls of the dead with fire and water.[24]
The East[]
A region only alluded to by the existence of the Kila and the Janbiya among Týr's treasures.[25][26] Based on these objects, it may be a catch-all term designating the locations of Arabian and Indian mythologies, which may even include the Persian and Japanese worlds as well.
The Western Lands[]
A region only alluded to by the existence of the Dream Charm, a tribute to Freyr whose magic was brought by Týr from the western lands.[27]
Trivia[]
- While God of War: Ascension shows an image of a round Earth, contradicting the earlier portrayals of a flat planet, it was later revealed by animation director Bruno Velasquez that it was merely an easter egg to another series, and that it had nothing to do with God of War.[28]
