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You can see the light, it is changing you, it is time to lay your fears to rest, the light reveals the truth, the power of forgiveness comes from within. To be forgiven you must find the power to forgive yourself.

–Lysandra, in Kratos' Psyche

Lysandra (Greek: Λυσάνδρα) was a Spartan woman who was Kratos' first wife and mother to his daughter, Calliope. Though Kratos had many women in his time, he felt truly connected to Lysandra and considered her his soul mate and true love. Lysandra was also the only person who did not fear Kratos during his time as a brutal Spartan captain, and, on more than one occasion, questioned his reasons for the reckless slaughter of many innocent people.

God of War Series[]

Calliope's Illness[]

Lysandra necklace

Lysandra's ring.

After he gained praise all over Sparta, Kratos found Lysandra, fell in love, and married her. Together, they had a daughter, Calliope, who was later suffered from a horrible skin disease which made her weak. According to Spartan Law, Calliope would have to be thrown into a chasm in order to die. Kratos defied the law, however, and completed a long and arduous journey to find the elixir known as Ambrosia, which held the power to heal Calliope. In an act of compassion, the King of Sparta allowed Kratos to cure Calliope with the Ambrosia, after he was persuaded by Lysandra. Calliope was then cured, and Kratos was promoted to the title of Captain.

Death[]

After Kratos swore allegiance to Ares, the God of War believed that Kratos' attachment to his family was holding him back and transported Lysandra and Calliope from Sparta to a small village that worshipped Athena. When Kratos attacked the village, he entered the Temple of Athena and slaughtered everyone inside during a blood frenzy, including his wife and daughter, just as Ares intended. Lysandra and Calliope's ashes were then bound to Kratos's skin by the Village Oracle as a permanent reminder of his terrible deed. Haunted by the death of his family, Kratos renounced his pledge to Ares and swore vengeance.

KratosWife&Child

Lysandra and Calliope.

The Furies' Illusion[]

When Kratos broke off his blood oath to Ares, The Furies captured him and attempted to force him back into the service of the God of War. Tisiphone attempted to deceive Kratos by using an illusion of him being commended by the King of Sparta with Lysandra by his side, but the Ghost of Sparta saw through it upon noticing the ring on the King's finger, which Orkos had told him to use as a totem to identify what was real or not. He then broke the illusion by kicking Tisiphone/The King of Sparta in the stomach.

The Furies later attempted another illusion: That time, Alecto posed as Lysandra and attempted to seduce Kratos. But once again, Kratos saw the ring on her finger and realized that it was another illusion. Shifting between her form and Lysandra's, Alecto attempted to bargain for Kratos' service in exchange for living in that illusion. Kratos then defiantly refused, the illusion broke, and Kratos began his final battle with the Furies.

As the battle drew to a close, Kratos began to choke Tisiphone, who then transformed into Lysandra. That briefly made him hesitate, but Kratos shook it off and continued his assault.

Ares' Illusion[]

Lysandra and Calliope both reappeared many years later as a cruel illusion that was forged by Ares, in an attempt to defeat Kratos during their final battle. Kratos proved stronger than Ares though, and defended them against his doppelgängers. That was to no avail, as Lysandra and Calliope were killed again when the Blades of Chaos were commanded to impale them again by their master, Ares.

Gaia's Illusion[]

In God of War II, when Kratos was grabbed by the Kraken, he then had a vision in which he saw Lysandra in a field with the view of a burning Sparta down below. He pled forgiveness to his beloved, but it was revealed that Gaia actually spoke to him as Lysandra, and told him how he must go on and defeat Zeus.

Kratos' Redemption[]

During his final battle with Zeus, Kratos retreated deep into his own Psyche, journeyed through its darkness with the aid of Pandora, and finally managed to forgive himself for killing both Lysandra and Calliope.

In Valhalla[]

Centuries later, while traversing through Valhalla, Kratos comes across Lysandra's pendant and tells Mimir of her story and tragic ending. Kratos comes to terms that despite loving Lysandra dearly, he was a terrible husband to her, as he never heeded any of her words of wisdom in how he did not have to be what he was chosen to be, as captain of the Spartan army whose actions were dictated by his ambition and hubris which consumed him and not by choice. Every time Kratos thought of her, his thoughts were complicated to the point he could only see his failures, that she deserved better than him. In a way, he found similarities between Lysandra and Faye; both of them wanted Kratos to be a better man and saw possibilities in him at the times he did not.

Personality[]

Kratos' first wife, Lysandra, along with their daughter, Calliope, was one of the few who wasn't afraid of Kratos.

Lysandra's personality at first seemed odd for an ancient Spartan woman, as she greatly detested Kratos' rampant warmongering and slaughter. While Spartans were encouraged to be ruthless, Lysandra specifically accused Kratos of fighting for personal glory, which was looked down on in Sparta.

Often seen as the voice of reason in the relationship, Lysandra often disagreed with Kratos on his views that violence was always the best solution and instead believed that more peaceful methods could be more effective.

Lysandra's greatest fear was that someday Kratos' savage nature would one day get the better of him and that he would be killed because of it. It was for that reason Lysandra often tried to convince Kratos on making better choices. She greatly cared for her husband and daughter and was willing to go to any means necessary to ensure their welfare, and was even willing to resort to more brutal methods if all peaceful options failed.

Gallery[]

Concept Art[]

Trivia[]

  • Lysandra's name was never given or mentioned in any of the games. However, in issue #1 of the God of War Comics, her name was finally revealed.
    • She was finally credited as Lysandra, instead of simply "Kratos' wife," in God of War: Ascension, where she was voiced by Jennifer Hale. She would later be directly addressed by her name when in Valhalla DLC when Kratos recounts her story to Mimir.
  • It was possible that Lysandra could have been named after the wife of Alexander V of Macedon.
  • Her name meant "liberator" or "emancipator." Additionally, it was the feminine form of Lysander, which was the name of a famous Spartan General during the Peloponnesian War. Lysander was also the name of one of the Athenians in William Shakespeare's Play, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
    • In God of War III, after Kratos found a mental image of Lysandra in his Psyche, he was then liberated from his guilt of killing both her and Calliope.
  • Unlike Calliope, Lysandra was absent in the Elysium Fields. That was implied by Calliope's Note in God of War III: "The fires! The people screaming! I was so scared. Why didn't Father protect us? The Judges say I have to go now to Elysium and that it will be nice there. I miss my family." Given that the Elysium Fields were reserved for pure and heroic souls only, that may have meant that Lysandra was not worthy enough to be allowed into Elysium. Given that Lysandra was not evil enough to be condemned to Tartarus either, she could have resided in Asphodel. However, in God of War: Chains of Olympus, Kratos visits both Asphodel and Tartarus and there are no signs of Lysandra's presence in any of them either.
    • Her soul, alongside Calliope's, appeared in Kratos' Psyche and thanks to them, he was finally able to free himself from the guilt that he suffered from all the time.
  • Lysandra, along with Calliope, appeared at Kratos' death in Bit of War.
  • Alecto took the identity of Lysandra in God of War: Ascension in one of the hallucinations that was created by The Furies.
  • Lysandra appeared in the Super Bowl Trailer for God of War: Ascension, 'From Ashes'. 
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