Thanatos is the Greek god of death, and the main antagonist in God of War: Ghost of Sparta. He is the ruler of the Domain of Death and father of Erinys.

Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology, Thánatos (in Greek, Θάνατος – "Death") was the daemon personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person. His name is transliterated in Latin as Thanatus, but his equivalent in Roman mythology is Mors or Letus/Letum, and he is sometimes identified erroneously with Orcus (Orcus himself had a Greek equivalent in the form of Horkos (Όρκος - "Oath"), God of the Oath).

In God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Thanatos was an ancient God, who predates the times of Olympus. He took Deimos, who was believed to be the threat to Olympus, from Ares' hands, Thanatos was the one responsible for imprisoning and torturing him.

Kratos' search for his brother led him to realize where Deimos is imprisoned. At one point of the journey, Thanatos, took a dead body as an avatar, warned Kratos to not pursue his path further, and laughed at him, angering him even further. Finally, Kratos made his way into the Domain of Death, where Thanatos tried to discourage him numerous times. In the final moment of the battle between Kratos and Deimos, Thanatos appeared, and snatched Deimos from behind, then reminded Kratos that he had killed his daughter and that he would 'suffer for it'. Thanatos flew down with Deimos to the Suicide Bluffs; Kratos followed behind. As Kratos arrived, Deimos attempted to resist, but was ultimately overpowered by Thanatos and knocked over the edge. Kratos rescued Deimos at the very last minute, finally made peace with his nearly insane brother, and went to fight Thanatos together. Thanatos had been waiting for them, and laughed at the fact that Ares' chose the wrong warrior when it should have been Kratos. Both brothers ignored his mockeries and began to fight him.

During the battle, Thanatos fought the Spartan brothers using his blade and took the form of a gigantic winged black monster, similar to Erinys. In the heat of the battle Deimos had saved Kratos from Thanatos' grip, only to be smashed into the rocks, killing him. Fueled by anger, Kratos unleashed Thera's Bane true potential and attacked Thanatos, destroyed his monstrous thick armor, mortally wounded, he reverted to his humanoid form. During his weakened state Kratos stabbed and hurled Thanatos onto the rocks, only for the god to laugh and insult him further. At this moment Kratos grabbed Thanatos' cracked chest, opened it further and stabbed him with his fiery blades, which caused Thanatos to explode into a burst of white light and ash, killing the God of Death once and for all.

Later on, the Grave Digger revealed to Kratos he had become "Death, the destroyer of worlds."

Powers and Abilities

Being arguably an entity older than the Olympians themselves, and the fact that no god nor mortal dared to enter his domain, Thanatos is a very powerful being. He is capable of manipulating dead bodies and use them as mediums. In fights he uses a long curved blade, which he uses with great proficiency for powerful combos. He like Erinys, can reveal a pair of large wings to power his already deadly combos with aerial combat. Thanatos is powerful enough to fight both Kratos and Deimos at the same time, and seemingly overpower them shall he managed to separate the two of them, with his blinding attack, and grab either of them with relative ease. Not enough with that, he can transform into a large beast, who like Erinys, possess a very hard skin, and is also capable of using a blast similar to that of his daughter's from his mouth, albeit much larger and powerful as the mere reflection of this attack, is strong enough to knock Thanatos temporarily. As a god Thanatos was immortal, possessing super strength, flight (due to wings), shapeshifting, and speed.

Trivia

• At the end of the Rage of Sparta soundtrack, Thanatos' name, or "death" in the English translation, is chanted by the choir repeatedly.
• Thanatos is the second son of Erebus and Nyx Kratos killed, the first being Charon.
• When Thanatos turns into a giant monster, his head resembles The Skull of Keres.
• He seems to have a sour disposition towards Ares, as he called him "unwise", and even claimed that Ares chose poorly the day Deimos was taken. Despite this, Ares seems to have had the strongest reationship with Thanatos than any other god. Thanatos agrees to take Deimos from Ares, implying Ares is willIing to enter the Domain of Death and the Skull of Keres is located in the Temple of Ares.
• In the in-game cinematics, his eyes are pale, whereas during gameplay, they are not.
• Thanatos is the only final boss in the series who is not a member of Kratos' immediate family.
• There may have been a reference to Thanatos in God of War III when Kratos faces Zeus and tells him that "The hands of death could not defeat me."
• In Greek mythology, Thanatos had no children.
• During the cutscene where Deimos and Kratos battle Thanatos he breaks the 4th wall by saying "You are nothing but a pawn in a game you don't know is being played." He is most likely talking about the soon events of God of War III or the game God of War itself, which can be believed with an easter egg from God of War showing that Kratos is unaware about being in a game.
• At the end of God of War II, Kratos proclaim to Gaia, that both Ares and Athena were dead. He never mentioned the death of Thanatos. This may imply that Thanatos didn't choose sides during the Great War, so his death shouldn't make a difference.

Gallery

• Thanatos transformed
• goodGo to Fates Juggernaut

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Related Pages

• Gods
• Erinys