Helios (God of War)

"Behold the glory of Helios!"

- Helios

Helios is the Greek god of the sun, and an antagonist in the video game; God of War III.

Great War
Helios took part in the Great War along with the rest of the Olympians, fighting alongside Hermes. After the end of the war, Helios became the god of the sun.

Chains of Olympus
Helios was kidnapped by the Titan, Atlas, under the orders of Persephone, because of her feelings of betrayal due to the fact that she was forced to stay with Hades for six months of each year by the gods. With Helios gone, the god of dreams, Morpheus, was free to cast the gods into slumber and take control of the mortal realm. Atlas took Helios to the Underworld where he sought to use the sun god's power to destroy the Pillar of the World, thus wiping out all of existence. However Kratos came to the realm of the dead to rescue Helios and he defeated Persephone (with help from a beam of light from the sun god) and chained up Atlas, forcing him to take the pillar's place. After Kratos lost consciousness due to the tiring battle he had just undergone, Helios and Athena appeared to take the Sun Shield and the Gauntlet of Zeus. The sun god was very grateful for Kratos saving him and showed pity for all that he had been through. Helios suggested helping him more but Athena disagreed, stating "He'll live. They must."

God of War II
After Zeus was defeated in his battle with Kratos, he called a meeting of the gods on Mt. Olympus, which Helios attended. However the Titans and Kratos began their attack on the mountain and Helios leapt to Olympus' defense along with the rest of the gods.

God of War III
Helios leapt into his Sun Chariot and flew down on the Titans, launching fireballs with one in particular aimed at Gaia to prevent Kratos from escaping the soldiers swarming the Titaness' shoulder. Helios then confronted Perses, the Titan of Destruction, and succeeding in briefly dislodging him from the mountain. The two resumed their battle with the sun god holding the advantage, using the bright light he emitted to hamper Perses' sight and moving to fast for the Titan to strike him. Helios also helped the forces of Olympus battle Kratos by occasionally throwing fireballs at him. However the Ghost of Sparta managed to fire a ballista at the sun god, damaging his chariot and sending him right into Perses' hand. The Titan then crushed Helios' chariot before throwing him far into the city of Olympia and Kratos began hunting him. He found the sun god bloodied and beaten, to weak to even stand, but a troop of undead warriors with onyx shields quickly leapt to Helios' aid, forming a circular phalanx. However Kratos managed to break through them with a cyclops and confronted the god of the sun. Helios attempted to beg for his life and reminded the Ghost of the Sparta of the debt he owed him, promising to pay him back if Kratos spared his life. Kratos demanded the location of the Flame of Olympus, but the sun god told him that he would never reach it and unleashed the power of the sun in an attempt to blind Kratos. The Ghost of Sparta managed to shield his eyes from the light with his hands and smashed Helios' head with his foot a few times. The sun god then told him to defeat Zeus by embracing the Flame of Olympus, but Kratos angrily told him Hephaestus had already told him about the flame and that it could destroy both god and mortal. Helios scorned the spartan for trusting the smith god's words, calling him an exiled freak who had fallen from the grace of Olympus. But Kratos told him that was exactly why he trusted Hephaestus. Unable to convince the Ghost of Sparta to spare him, Helios told him that his death wouldn't lead him to Zeus, but Kratos told him that he was wrong. He proceeded to deliver a blow to the sun god's neck and then used all of his strength to rip off Helios' head. With his death, the sun was shrouded by darkness and rain, thunderstorms, and tornadoes appeared across the land.

Powers
As a god, Helios possesses immortality and invincibility towards most forms of attack. His magical powers revolve around fire and light, which he allow him to throw fireballs, emit blinding light beams, and do other such things. Helios also appears to use the Sun Shield which can deflect projectiles fired at him.

Trivia

 * In God of War: Chains of Olympus, Helios is voiced by Dwight Schultz and in God of War III, he is voiced by Crispin Freeman.
 * Helios' face is modeled after Crispin Freeman in God of War III.


 * After being crushed and thrown by Perses, the Sun Shield (which Kratos found in Helios' Temple and used in Chains of Olympus) is seen in front of Helios, indicating that he was using it in the battle.


 * Helios was most likely infected by the evil of Deceit from Pandora's Box, since he tried to trick Kratos to enter the Flame of Olympus in order to acquire it's power, but it was proven to be false since Hephaestus told Kratos neither man nor God can touch the Flame.


 * The Colossus of Rhodes from God of War II was built in his image and a statue of him is seen in the Garden of the Gods.


 * Whenever Kratos uses the Head of Helios, a faint scream of pain can be heard. This could be an indication that Helios is somehow still alive as a disembodied head.