How Kratos Killing Magni Shattered Ragnarok Mythology
the God of the war game of 2018, which opposes God of the war the protagonist Kratos and his son Atreus against the gods and monsters of Norse mythology – including Magni and Modi (Móði) – pay homage to many classic tales from Norse myth books like the Prose Edda while altering or adding weird twists to the events and results of telling stories. In addition to reinterpreting myths such as the tragedy of Baldur and Freya, God of the war also breaks the prophecy of Ragnarök, the foretold final battle to destroy the world of Midgaard, when Kratos ends up slaying Magni and Modi, the divine sons of Thor who are meant to survive Ragnarok.
The developers of the God of the war the games frequently portray the gods Kratos fights as cruel or dangerously unstable beings, an interpretation not so far removed from their depiction in real-world mythology. In most modern monotheistic religions, God with a capital G is an all-knowing, all-powerful force of pure benevolence. Ancient polytheistic mythologies, on the other hand, are replete with stories about gods and goddesses who commit horrific acts such as murder, murder of parents, incest, and turning unlucky mortals into animals, plants, or monsters. Indeed, most religious rituals in ancient polytheistic cultures were designed to appease these wayward deities and prevent them from preying on their protective cultures. Drawing inspiration from the abusive behavior of divine characters in Greco-Roman mythology, the developers of the original God of the war ended up making the deities of Olympus the villainous antagonists of their trilogy of hack’n’slash games, and made the revenge-seeking demigod named Kratos their slightly less villainous protagonist.
In the days of the PlayStation 4 God of the war game, released in 2018, Kratos, more level-headed after running out of Greek deities to slay, has settled in the cold lands of North Midgaard and is trying to raise his son Atreus as best he can. After embarking on a journey to scatter the ashes of their deceased wife and mother from the highest mountain in all the realms, Kratos and Atreus make enemies in God of the war gods and giant creatures from the Norse Aesir pantheon, engage in several epic battles and unwittingly trigger a chain of events that will lead to Ragnarok. Whether or not Kratos and Atreus can change the future and prevent Ragnarok from fully happening will likely be answered in the next one. God of War: Ragnarok sequel, but Magni and Modi’s deaths at the hands of Kratos and Atreus already prove that the future can be altered to some degree.
What The Prose Edda Says About The Antagonists Of God Of War Magni & Modi
The Prose Edda, a Scandinavian collection of folk tales and legends written by a 12th-century Icelandic historian named Snorri Sturluson, is the primary source for most Norse myths and tales in God of the war. The first part of the Prose Edda describes the origins of Has his and Vanir pantheons (awkwardly linked to Greco-Roman mythology when the author asserts that gods such as Odin and Freya were originally exiles from the fallen city of Troy). The second part of the Prose Edda, entitled Gylfaginning, uses the framing device of a Swedish king named Gylfi, who talks to a trio of sages and asks them about Norse deities and their deeds. After describing the distant calamity of Ragnarok the final battle between gods, giants and monsters, the sages speak of Magni and Modi, the two sons of Thor:
“The Earth will spring from the Sea, and it will be green and beautiful. […] There will come the sons of Thor, Modi and Magni, and they will have Mjolnir. Baldur and Höðr will then arrive from Hel. They will all sit together and talk among themselves, remembering the mysteries and talking about what had happened. […] “
Aside from a poetic reference to Magni helping his father fight off a giant, this is the only time Magni and Modi are mentioned in the Prose Edda., but their fate is remarkable for their sheer novelty. Magni and Modi are destined to survive the war that killed all other members of their divine family and will inherit a green and unspoilt world free from strife and strife. Of all the Norse deities, they are one of the few destined to have a happy ending.
The implications of Magni and Modi’s deaths in God Of War: Ragnarök
Then God of the war the protagonist Kratos slices Magni with an axe, prompting Modi to shout, among other things, “How are you…? You have no idea what you…!” Modi’s dialogue here has two subtext meanings: first, he is horrified to see his divine brother unexpectedly murdered by a seemingly deadly stranger, and second, he is shocked that his brother was killed in direct defiance. of a prophecy that he would survive. all. Later, a broken and desperate Modi (beaten by his own father Thor) is stabbed in the throat by Atreus after insulting the boy’s dead mother – another tampering with the supposedly unalterable Ragnarok prophecy. For players familiar with Norse mythology, the message is clear; As long as Kratos and Atreus live, the prophecy will not keep the Norse gods safe, and Ragnarok itself can be modified and avoided by the actions of the player.
In the latest trailer for God of War: Ragnarök, Kratos, an older Atreus, and the severed talking head of Mimir have embarked on a new quest – their new goal to learn more about the prophecy of Ragnarok and whether they should try to stop it or make it fruitful. The death of Magni and Modi in God of the war prove that Ragnarok’s cataclysmic prophecy can be changed, if not entirely avoided. That might not be a good thing, though. Odin, the god of wisdom and prophecy destined to be the final enemy of Kratos and Atreus, seeks ways to avoid his orderly demise in the final battle between gods and giants; the death of his grandchildren at the hands of two strange strangers, if nothing else, proves that he might be able to change the future in his favor. Considering how Odin is portrayed as a cruel and abusive patriarch in the God of the war games so far, that doesn’t bode well for Kratos, Atreus, or any of Midgaard’s milder residents.
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