Siren

“	You must find the Sirens, Kratos. Only they can guide you to Cronos, the Titan	”
–Athena.

The Sirens are powerful female monsters that appear throughout the God of War series.

In Greek Mythology

In Greek myth, the Sirens were a group of beautiful women who lived on an island in the sea, and sang songs to lure sailors to their death. They were daughters of Phorkys and Keto, which also makes them sisters of Scylla, Charybdis and the Gorgons. Originally, they were maids of Persephone, but when they did not help her when she was taken by Hades, Demeter transformed them into ugly birds with the heads of women.

Jason and the Argonauts also sailed past them on their quest for the Golden Fleece with the help of Orpheus, the divine singer and poet who was among them: Orpheus sang and played his lyre in such a harmonious way that the Sirens gave up and stopped singing, eliminating their threat.

Years later, in The Odyssey, Odysseus sails past them on his journey home by asking his men to cover their ears with wax and tieing him to the ship's mast, preventing him from trying to reach them. It is said that the Sirens are compelled to die if a man can hear them without being lured, so when Odysseus survived their song, the Sirens threw themselves into the sea. Most of them died. Their corpses became dangerous rocks and reefs. However, some of the Sirens survived. They lost their bird-like forms and grew scaly fish-like tails and regained their great beauty. They became known as mermaids.

In the God of War Series

In the God of War series, Sirens appear as very young and beautiful women.

When a close up is seen it is revealed that a Sirens' face is decomposing under their long hair. Sirens are not found too often in the God of War series, but if encountered, they usually come in pairs and attack Kratos with a variety of magical abilities. Killing them brutally always yields Kratos magic orbs. They are first encountered in God of War when Kratos is wandering the Desert of Lost Souls (see Desert Sirens). Afterwards, they are encountered throughout Pandora's Temple as well.

In God of War II, Sirens are seen less often than in the first game, but they do appear at a few spots throughout the Island of Creation. Kratos can damage a Siren by grabbing it and slamming its head several times into the ground. After weakening them enough, he can kill them by piercing his blades into their breasts and then swinging and slamming them over his head and into the ground.

Species

Siren Sibyl

The Siren Sibyl are seen in God of War: Ascension, making them the first Siren Kratos has fought against. They appear to him as half naked women with a Glasgow smile and horrible teeth. They use electric attacks against Kratos in the form of an electric wail and throwing lightning bolts. They can also teleport over small distances.

Instead of hitting their heads on the ground to weaken them and breaking their backs to kill them, like with the other Sirens, Kratos does the opposite: if a Siren Sibyl is stunned (golden halo above her head), the Spartan will hug and tighten her with his arms strongly three times, making them scream at each time, forming electric shockwaves. The final shockwave stuns any enemy nearby. To finish her, Kratos grabs her face and slams her head on the ground sometimes, but instead of throwing them away after this, he steps on her head, killing her.

Siren Sibyls are also present in Multiplayer, in Trial of the Gods mode, using the same attacks and being weakened and killed the same ways. They can be found in the Rotunda of Olympus and the Labyrinth maps.

Desert Siren

“	There is safe passage through the deadly sands, but only those who hear and follow the Sirens' song will discover it.	”
–Athena

The Desert Sirens are a trio of Sirens who wander the sand-swept Desert of Lost Souls. When Kratos comes to the desert, Athena tells him that he must find and destroy all three of the Desert Sirens in order to find Cronos. To do this, he needs to follow their song to find them.

The Sirens move gracefully, but turn very aggressive and agile when Kratos starts attacking them. When in combat, they move about with great agility and speed, and hurl bright blue energy projectiles at him. The first one of them is always alone and found at the same place: in front of the doorway into the Desert Ruins that serves as the passage to the next section of the Desert. The other ones wander through the sands endlessy, singing, until Kratos finds them. Initially, these Sirens are alone, but after hitting and killing one of them, attacks on the remaining Sirens will summon two Minotaurs, making the fight harder. Kratos kills the Sirens by wearing them down with his normal attacks, then grabbing them and then snapping their backs, which releases their soul, which acts like a key. Killing all three Sirens opens up the mentioned doorway into the Ruins.

There are other Desert Sirens in other parts of the game, but killing them won't release their souls. Although they are physically identical to the original ones (the original ones wear dresses of brown and dark green, and the others wear dresses of blue, orange, and pale green), they are weakened and killed in different ways: Kratos weakens them by grabbing their heads, slamming them on the grounds three times and then throwing them away. He kills them by piercing his Blades into their breasts, kicking them and then swinging them over his head, slamming them on the ground. These same Sirens are also found sometimes in God of War II, although they only appear in two locations: once in a cave as the first enemies and once near the loom chamber with Gorgon Queens before reaching Clotho.

Siren Widow

Siren Widows are seen in God of War II as a new version of the original Sirens. They are a little larger than Sirens and appear as dead, floating women, and can use a variety of attacks against Kratos including shrieking cries that paralyze him and fast magical attacks with their clawed hands. Upon weakening them, Kratos can kill them by grabbing them and bending them backwards, thereby breaking their backs. Doing this also releases a radial shockwave that originates from her death scream that does damage to any other surrounding foes and destroys anything breakable.

Kratos only encounters these sirens three times in the game. First, before reaching the Steeds of Time, he is forced to try and use their shockwave death scream in his advantage to break a door, and continue his path. Secondly, in the Palace of the Fates, he has to sacrifice three of them for the Sisters, using fire. Finally, on the Summit of Sacrifice, Zeus summons them during his fight against Kratos, but sees the Spartan use them against him as he uses their shockwave scream to damage the god.

Siren Seductress

The Siren Seductresses are minions of Olympus that Kratos encounters in God of War III. They're strong enemies who rely on fast attacks rather than heavy, unblockable strikes. Their ability to levitate makes them more difficult to hit as well, but they can easily be taken down with a Combat Grapple (L1 + Circle) or simply by grabbing them in mid-air. The Seductresses' strongest attack is a powerful, unblockable shriek that temporarily stuns Kratos and drains his magic, and which they only perform while levitating. They also have the ability to become nearly invisible (appearing as a blue silhouette), becoming invulnerable to Kratos' attacks. Using the Head of Helios makes them reappear.

Kratos can damage Siren Seductresses by slamming their heads three times on the ground and then hurling them across the floor. After further damage has been inflicted on these fiends, Kratos can kill them by grabbing them and snapping their backs, which also releases a strong radial shockwave that damages nearby enemies. This shockwave can also take down another Siren who was levitating or briefly illuminate another one who was invisible.

The Claws of Hades can also summon Siren Seductresses' souls who, when summoned, unleash a powerful, long range shriek, harming all nearby enemies.