Cronos
Biographical Information
Died	Tartarus
Lives in	Tartarus
Physical Description
Species	Titans
Gender	Male
Status	Deceased
Family Information
Family Members	Ouranos (father) † Gaia (mother) † Rhea (wife/sister) Gyges (brother) † Hyperion (brother) † Hera (daughter) † Demeter (daughter) Zeus (son) † Poseidon (son) † Hades (son) † Hermes (grandson) † Ares (grandson) † Theseus (grandson) † Hercules (grandson) † Athena (granddaughter) † Muses (granddaughters) Perseus (grandson) † Persephone (granddaughter) † Apollo (grandson) Artemis (granddaughter) Kratos (grandson) Deimos (grandson) † Hephaestus (grandson) † Lysandra (granddaughter-in-law) † Calliope (great granddaughter) †
Affiliations
Loyalties	Titans
Behind the Scenes
Voice By	Lloyd Sherr (God of War II) George Ball (God of War III)
First Appearance	God of War
Last Appearance	God of War III

“	The murderer of Gaia enters my tomb?	”
–Cronos.

Cronos, once the mighty leader of the Titans, has fathered the first group of Olympians. After his son Zeus had usurped the throne, Cronos was then cursed to forever carry Pandora's Temple atop his back.

Contents 1 Greek Mythology 2 In the God of War Series 2.1 Birth and Early Days 2.2 Great War 2.3 Zeus' Punishment 2.4 Encounter with Kratos 2.5 Battling Kratos 2.6 Death 3 Powers and Abilities 4 Trivia 5 Gallery 6 Video

Greek MythologyEdit

In Greek mythology, Cronos was King of Titans. During the reign of Ouranos, the sky, the hundred armed Hecatonchires and one-eyed Cyclops were imprisoned within Tartarus, causing Gaia great pain. Gaia constructed a sickle and ordered her children to use it agaisnt Ouranos, but they refused. Only Cronos was brave enough to take the farming tool. When Ouranos met with Gaia, Cronos ambushed his father and cut off his testicles with the sickle; from the blood sprouted the Gigantes, Erinyes, and Meliae.

After defeating Ouranos, Cronos reimprisoned the Hecatonchires and the Cyclops along with the Gigantes and set the dragon Campe to guard them forever. He and his sister-wife, Rhea, took the throne of the world as king and queen, respectively. This period of Cronos' rule was called the "Golden Age", as the people of the time had no need for laws or rules; everyone did the right thing, and immorality was absent.

Cronos learned from the Sisters of Fate that he was destined to be overcome by his own son, just as he had overthrown his father. As a result, although he sired the gods Demeter, Hera, Hades, Hestia, and Poseidon by Rhea, he swallowed them all as soon as they were born to preempt the prophecy. The sixth and final child, Zeus, would become the son destined to overthrow Cronos and defeat the Titans.

Cronos was usually depicted with a sickle, which he used to harvest crops and also the weapon used to defeat Ouranos. Other children he is reputed to have fathered Chiron, by Philyra.

His Roman counterpart is Saturn.

In the God of War SeriesEdit

Birth and Early DaysEdit

In the beginning, the mighty Titans were created by the union of Gaia and Ouranos. They were all born on the Island of Creation, home to the Sisters of Fate. Above any other beings, including the Titans, the Sisters of Fate could see the future and predict what would happen to any living being. The Titans feared the Sisters of Fate for this, and left the Island of Creation to rule the mortal world. This marked the beginning of the Golden Age of Mankind.

Cronos, the mighty ruler of the Titans, was prophesized to be overthrown by his own children in the future. To prevent this from coming true, Cronos tried to bribe the Sisters of Fate into changing his destiny by granting them the Steeds of Time. However, this gift would not prevent the prophecy from coming true. In a second attempt to prevent this from happening, his wife, Rhea, bore his children and one by one he swallowed them whole, imprisoning them within his belly. Rhea could not bear another loss, for she already had five children taken from her. When the sixth child, Zeus, was born, Rhea called upon an eagle to take the baby far away from the watchful eyes of Cronos. In the baby's place, Rhea wrapped a stone in cloth and offered it to Cronos, who foolishly believed it to be the baby and swallowed it.

Great WarEdit

Father beyond the Island of Creation, baby Zeus was raised by Gaia. She cared for Zeus and nurtured his desire to free his siblings from Cronos. When he came of age, Zeus freed them and started a war against the Titans. He desired to rule over the mortals more than anything. The continuous battles between the new gods and the Titans forged the landscape of the mortal world.

The mighty Atlas was the leader of the Titans in their epic battle against the gods. Mountains were hurled like pebbles and tremendous earthquakes shook the world. Cronos had almost been defeated, but was saved by Atlas, who was defeated by both Hades and Poseidon. After Zeus created the Blade of Olympus, the Titans were banished to the darkest pits of Tartarus to endure great suffering for all time, but Cronos would be granted another great fate in time.

Zeus' PunishmentEdit

Zeus punished Cronos by forcing him to wander the Desert of Lost Souls with Pandora's Temple chained to his back. The whirling sands may have one day ripped the very flesh from Cronos' bones, but he was given no sympathy. When the Titan Horn would be blown, Cronos would be called upon to allow countless warriors to endure the many dangers which lurked within the temple. Above all warriors, Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, was responsible for completing the many feats within the temple and even retrieving Pandora's Box.

Encounter with KratosEdit

Kratos also discovered the magic Cronos had hidden within the Steeds of Time. This magic, called Cronos' Rage, allowed Kratos to electrify his enemies much like Poseidon's Rage. Nothing else is known about the Titan other than the fact that he was responsible for destroying his own father, starting a vicious cycle. This cycle was between fathers being destroyed by their sons, much like Kratos tried to do when he fought Zeus upon the Summit of Sacrifice.

Battling KratosEdit

"Kratos! Your death will not be a gentle one!" - Cronos

It is revealed that after Kratos made use of Pandora's Box, Zeus became consumed with fear and banished Cronos to the Pits of Tartarus so that the Titan would be tormented for all eternity.

He is encountered in the Underworld still with Pandora's Temple on his back. There he reveals to Kratos that after he managed to find Pandora's Box and used it to kill Ares, Zeus had

become paranoid and banished Cronos to Tartarus, the empty, unused Temple of Pandora still chained to his back. He blames the Ghost of Sparta for his torment. Kratos defends that he was tasked by the Gods to kill Ares; Cronos retorts that he did so because of his need for vengeance. Believing Kratos had killed Gaia, Cronos tries to squash Kratos despite the latter claiming that he now fights against Zeus. Eventually, Kratos uses Solar Flare to blind him. Cronos still tries to squash him, but Kratos manages to maneuver his way around Cronos' body, tearing one of Cronos' fingernails off. Cronos eventually catches up with Kratos, and swallows him whole.

DeathEdit

After being swallowed by Cronos, and falling down his throat, into his stomach, Kratos used the Blade of Olympus to slice his way out, spilling Cronos's intestines. He then used a piece of Cronos' shackles to impale him through the jaw, and used the blade again to stab him in the forehead. Cronos then slowly collapsed and died, but not before cursing at Kratos,"I should have expected this from a coward such as yourself! A coward who kills his own kin!" Kratos indeed killed his grandfather, Cronos, and sought to kill his father, Zeus, but Cronos tried to kill his own children centuries before by eating them, making the statement rather ironic.

Powers and Abilities Edit

Cronos possessed extreme strength and stamina, which can be attributed to his massive size. He was also the only Titan brave enough to stand up to Ouranos, dismember him, and become the new ruler of the world. Cronos gave his remaining powers to Kratos on the Steeds of Time, which aided him in his quest to seek the Sisters of Fate. Cronos' powers showed similar capabilities to that of his sons Zeus and Poseidon, being that he could control lightning and thunder.

Trivia Edit

• In God of War II, Cronos is voiced by Lloyd Sherr. In God of War III, he is voiced by George Ball.
• In God of War, Kratos was surprised that Cronos still existed. However, this makes little sense because he had seen and fought Atlas ten years prior in Chains of Olympus. He might have believed Cronos was killed by Zeus. Or it could have meant that death meant that the person was in the Underworld and Kratos was surprised that Cronos wasn't in the Underworld.
• In God of War, Cronos is shown in cutscenes with only four fingers in each hand, but in God of War II and God of War III, he has five.
• When Cronos is defeated and choking on his own blood, the cut Kratos made in Cronos' body is no longer there, and the chains on his left arm have reappeared as well. This was highly likely caused by a developer error.
• In the first God of War, Cronos' name was spelled as "Kronos", and as "Chronos" in the God of War soundtrack.
• Common misconceptions include mistaking Cronos the Titan for Chronos, the personification of time, and vice versa.
• The Temple of Pandora chained onto the back of Cronos as he fights Kratos in God of War III is much smaller in size than the one shown in God of War, but it also looks much more destroyed and wrapped in the same kind of chain that Cronos has all around his body. It is possible that the temple slowly decayed over time.
• The above was most likely done to make the fight with Cronos interesting, as in God of War, he barely moved on all fours, which would make the battle awkward.
• When returning to Hephaestus with the Omphalos Stone, you can clearly see Cronos' collapsed corpse from the forge.
• In God of War II, Gaia told Kratos before entering the Island of Creation, "Changing his fate, thus the fate of others." It could be that Cronos was fated to die in the Desert of Lost Souls, but after Kratos had altered time with the Threads of Fate, he was then fated to die in Tartarus.

GalleryEdit

VideoEdit