Well, since the only myths we are given are not from her perspective, but her enemies’, we can’t say for sure, but consider:
You are a faithful priestess of Athena on a remote island. One day, the literal God of the Sea and Tempestuous Rage decides to walk into Athena’s Temple and brutally rape you. Athena, the goddess you have so faithfully served, but who refused to protect her own priestess in her own temple from her own uncle, takes some serious offense at the sacrilege of her priestess being raped in her temple, and the Goddess of Wisdom decides that the only appropriate action is to punish the priestess by cursing you to never be able to be in the company of anyone ever again, and to add insult to injury and betrayal, you’ve been turned into a monster. Now, you have just been raped, cursed and transformed, and so you run away to an island. Now, when random men start coming to your island to “slay the vile monster”, what do YOU do? The last time a man came to your island, he raped you and literally ended your existence as a human being, and the clear and stated intention of these men is to kill you. So yeah, you probably don’t feel too bad about some dick-waving “heroes” getting turned to stone.
And when that one guy inevitably comes along with the help of Athena and chops off your head? Turns out that not only were you pregnant the whole time from the rape, but your children are born from the gushing wound from your beheading and are a flying horse and a giant.
Oh yeah, your head? Athena was so proud of herself for all of this shit that she made your severed, tortured death mask her personal symbol and stuck it to her fucking armor to intimidate her enemies.
Absolutely. If nothing else, Haynes shows just how much mortals (particularly women) should despise Athena. Athena is not your friend. The Mousai were chill, and the Moirai didn’t fuck around, content to do their duty to the universe, but the big gods, the Olympians? They were pretty much all deeply awful beings, not worthy of respect, only fear. Even if you were “lucky” enough to end up attracting their attention (either because they seduced and/or raped your mother, because they want to seduce you, because they want you to be their champion in some petty chess game, or all three), the best you could hope for was living a life tormented by all of the other gods who didn’t choose you to be their special little toy, then dying and regretting all your life choices in the afterlife.
Hot take, I like the old God of War games better. It was a fun power fantasy series where you rampage through all of greek mythology as a man litterally far too angry to die. Yatzee from zero punctuation (now at secomd wind) said something like “Kratos ripped a dudes head off because he needed a torch”
It’s not a hot take. Everybody knows the “rebooted” series is crap. Not only I wanted a refund, but I demand they pay me for the trouble of playing their shit.
Ten minutes into the game and I regretted buying it. “I don’t fucking know your dead wife. Leave me alone! Rampaging Greek mythology is what I want to do!”
I disagree that it’s crap. I think they’re very good. But I also think they’re not fully comparable outside of the fact that they are different style of games.
People can have preference but sadly if you prefer the originals you’ll likely feel as if you’ve lost the chance of more like them.
I actually think the combat is not that different to original, but just with a different perspective. I think this can be felt especially in Ragnarok and in the free DLC of it that really focuses on on the combat.
Sorry for another reply not about the book you recommended.
I just wanted to say that Athena is a real beach too in God of War series. She’s been the agent of Kratos, making him serve the Olympia gods for ten years, doing all the dirty work. And what did she do to help Kratos? Nothing except giving him more chores!
And when Kratos did all they asked? “Sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t actually help you get rid of your nightmares… you know, tricking you into killing your own wife and daughter.”
“Oh, I am so sad. Guess I’ll just kill myself by jumping off this cliff.” jumps
“No, you’re not going to die today. We made you the new god of war and you got to serve us more!”
Seriously, fuck that beach.
I feel no remorse when Kratos accidentally penetrated her with a big sword and killed her.
Hey, not a problem. All Haynes does is lay out the actual texts we have with dry wit. Yeah, that sounds about right for Athena. Consider Ariadne, who got seduced by Athena’s champion into betraying her father, then when she ran away with Theseus, he left her on a fucking island to die. In one version, he’s given the excuse that Dionysus wants to marry her, and so he still leaves her without explanation or apology. Every one of Athena’s “champions” are dicks. From war-criminal Odysseus to serial abductor and pedophile Theseus, to Mr. “I’m going to go kill some random lady who’s bothering nobody on an island” himself, Perseus.
You either are on her bad side, or you’re a smug dick who is so awful that you’ve got Athena’s respect, the most dubious honour in the Kosmos.
Well, since the only myths we are given are not from her perspective, but her enemies’, we can’t say for sure, but consider:
You are a faithful priestess of Athena on a remote island. One day, the literal God of the Sea and Tempestuous Rage decides to walk into Athena’s Temple and brutally rape you. Athena, the goddess you have so faithfully served, but who refused to protect her own priestess in her own temple from her own uncle, takes some serious offense at the sacrilege of her priestess being raped in her temple, and the Goddess of Wisdom decides that the only appropriate action is to punish the priestess by cursing you to never be able to be in the company of anyone ever again, and to add insult to injury and betrayal, you’ve been turned into a monster. Now, you have just been raped, cursed and transformed, and so you run away to an island. Now, when random men start coming to your island to “slay the vile monster”, what do YOU do? The last time a man came to your island, he raped you and literally ended your existence as a human being, and the clear and stated intention of these men is to kill you. So yeah, you probably don’t feel too bad about some dick-waving “heroes” getting turned to stone.
And when that one guy inevitably comes along with the help of Athena and chops off your head? Turns out that not only were you pregnant the whole time from the rape, but your children are born from the gushing wound from your beheading and are a flying horse and a giant.
Oh yeah, your head? Athena was so proud of herself for all of this shit that she made your severed, tortured death mask her personal symbol and stuck it to her fucking armor to intimidate her enemies.
Sounds like she needs some sapphic love in her life
MFW
Well, when you put it like that…
Everyone should read Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes. One of the most eye-opening and comprehensive studies of Greek mythology I’ve ever encountered.
I feel like I need to play God of War III again to fuck those gods over.
Absolutely. If nothing else, Haynes shows just how much mortals (particularly women) should despise Athena. Athena is not your friend. The Mousai were chill, and the Moirai didn’t fuck around, content to do their duty to the universe, but the big gods, the Olympians? They were pretty much all deeply awful beings, not worthy of respect, only fear. Even if you were “lucky” enough to end up attracting their attention (either because they seduced and/or raped your mother, because they want to seduce you, because they want you to be their champion in some petty chess game, or all three), the best you could hope for was living a life tormented by all of the other gods who didn’t choose you to be their special little toy, then dying and regretting all your life choices in the afterlife.
Hot take, I like the old God of War games better. It was a fun power fantasy series where you rampage through all of greek mythology as a man litterally far too angry to die. Yatzee from zero punctuation (now at secomd wind) said something like “Kratos ripped a dudes head off because he needed a torch”
It’s not a hot take. Everybody knows the “rebooted” series is crap. Not only I wanted a refund, but I demand they pay me for the trouble of playing their shit.
Ten minutes into the game and I regretted buying it. “I don’t fucking know your dead wife. Leave me alone! Rampaging Greek mythology is what I want to do!”
I disagree that it’s crap. I think they’re very good. But I also think they’re not fully comparable outside of the fact that they are different style of games.
People can have preference but sadly if you prefer the originals you’ll likely feel as if you’ve lost the chance of more like them.
I actually think the combat is not that different to original, but just with a different perspective. I think this can be felt especially in Ragnarok and in the free DLC of it that really focuses on on the combat.
Sorry for another reply not about the book you recommended.
I just wanted to say that Athena is a real beach too in God of War series. She’s been the agent of Kratos, making him serve the Olympia gods for ten years, doing all the dirty work. And what did she do to help Kratos? Nothing except giving him more chores!
And when Kratos did all they asked? “Sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t actually help you get rid of your nightmares… you know, tricking you into killing your own wife and daughter.”
“Oh, I am so sad. Guess I’ll just kill myself by jumping off this cliff.” jumps
“No, you’re not going to die today. We made you the new god of war and you got to serve us more!”
Seriously, fuck that beach.
I feel no remorse when Kratos accidentally penetrated her with a big sword and killed her.
Hey, not a problem. All Haynes does is lay out the actual texts we have with dry wit. Yeah, that sounds about right for Athena. Consider Ariadne, who got seduced by Athena’s champion into betraying her father, then when she ran away with Theseus, he left her on a fucking island to die. In one version, he’s given the excuse that Dionysus wants to marry her, and so he still leaves her without explanation or apology. Every one of Athena’s “champions” are dicks. From war-criminal Odysseus to serial abductor and pedophile Theseus, to Mr. “I’m going to go kill some random lady who’s bothering nobody on an island” himself, Perseus.
You either are on her bad side, or you’re a smug dick who is so awful that you’ve got Athena’s respect, the most dubious honour in the Kosmos.