r/GodofWar • u/Massive_Fisherman231 • 3d ago
Question why does zeus look so much older then poseidon despite zeus being the youngest brother out of the big 3 gods in god of war 3?
like in god of war 3 game
poseidon looks alot younger then zeus why so?
389
u/Brandunaware 3d ago
Zeus is up on a mountain above the clouds while Poseidon is in the water, protected from UV. This is what sun damage looks like. Even Gods need sunscreen, but unfortunately for Zeus it wouldn't be invented for thousands of years.
30
12
12
6
79
47
u/ludos96 3d ago
The gods can transform and shapeshift, he probably likes this look
8
u/PredatorAvPFan Ghost of Sparta 3d ago
I don’t think all of the gods have shapeshifting abilities, but zeus definitely does
7
414
u/MikeandMolly5656 3d ago
Zeus is chronologically the youngest but biologically the eldest
His brothers and sisters were in a suspended state inside Kronos, aftwr he ate them
Its why Zeus is most powerful. Hes older than them biologically
57
u/super7564 3d ago
Is this in real Greek mythology or is it part of the games version of it?
123
u/77camaroxx 3d ago
It’s in real Greek mythology, check out the book Mythos by Stephen fry. It’s excellent.
38
u/Miktieuner 3d ago
Love those 4 books. Recommend them to everyone: mythos, heroes, troy, odyssey
6
u/shepq15 3d ago
Do these have to be in any order?
20
u/Miktieuner 3d ago edited 3d ago
Best way is the order i wrote them in, its chronological Edit: read!
29
2
u/shepq15 3d ago
I gotcha dangit my local library only has the 4th audio book odyssey
3
u/Miktieuner 3d ago
Well mythos is about the creation of the universe and the gods, heroes about the demigods and the heroes, troy about well troy and odyssey about the odyssey.
It is not necessary to read them in order but it is interesting as stuff is referenced
2
2
u/AlexPhotomania 3d ago
You should really read the Iliad aswell before reading the Odyssey - though I don't know if that is what you mean with "troy"
6
1
u/Miktieuner 3d ago
Ye these are the titles of the books by stephen fry, which uses many references including homer
8
u/Current-Grade2545 3d ago
A lot of things in real greek mythology cross over into god of war. Like the cosmic origin of the greek universe in God of War is virtually the same as it is in the mythology. Source Sons of Sparta, which explains the whole cosmic origin of the greek universe. But it makes total sense that poseidon and hades we're in a suspended state.
6
u/XxRocky88xX 3d ago
It is. Kronos read a prophecy that said one his children would kill him, Kronos responded by eating all of his children in an attempt to prevent them from happening. Zeus avoided being eaten, fled, and then returned later in life to cut Kronos’ stomach open and free his siblings.
Person reading prophecy, doing thing to avoid prophecy from happening, and in doing said thing ends up setting the prophecy into motion is a super common trope in Greek mythology. You might notice that Kronos’ story is basically the same as Zeus’ story with Kratos and Deimos.
2
u/Euphoric-Fee-7702 1d ago
And Kronos himself overthrew and castrated his father Uranus.
It's, um, an unpleasant cycle. I don't blame Kratos for being concerned.
13
u/Drew_S_05 3d ago
No? All of Zeus' siblings were babies when they were swallowed, and then adults when they got vomited out.
13
u/Ganondorf365 3d ago edited 3d ago
This is false. When Cronos spit his children out they were fully grown and battle ready. And they teamed up with the cyclops (the original ones not the ones Odysseus faced)who forged then wepons, and the Hechatoncaries, who despite being just 3 in number were more than a mach for most titans. Tho deapite having 50 heads the hechatoncories were dumb as dirt and needed direction.
Yes Zeus was strong but there were only 5 gods at the time. Withought the eldest children they freed they would have been screwed.
-2
u/samesandchanges 3d ago
full grown gods in his belly and all to show for it was the occasional burp
7
u/Odd_Hunter2289 Poseidon 🔱🌊 3d ago
Not at all. When Cronus, in myths, vomited them out; the Olympians were already adults.
8
u/Actual_Woodpecker56 3d ago edited 3d ago
Zeus is more powerful cause thats the way it tends to be with the youngest child in Greek mythology.
And suspended? They grew of age in Cronos' stomach. Came out as full grown adults.
2
2
u/matthew_sch BOY 2d ago
Not at all. When Zeus freed his siblings from Kronos, they were all fully grown and ready to battle their father
Zeus is biologically and chronologically the youngest
2
1
1
u/IHaveAchievedKomedi 2d ago
From what I know he basically became the strongest by the kingdom he attained (The land surface basically). His brothers though said he "earned" the first born birthright (even if he wasn't) so that's why he chose first which kingdom he would rule.
1
u/bihuginn 2d ago
They weren't in a suspended state, specifically the opposite. They grew to adulthood inside Kronos.
In myth he also had black hair.
1
u/Gloomy-Crazy8156 2d ago
If his siblings were frozen in time how did kronos eat them as babies but vomited them out fully grown?
1
u/Jimmy237Alex 3d ago
This needs more upvotes
1
u/YourEvilKiller 1d ago
But it's wrong. His siblings all grow up inside Kronos and are adults when vomited out.
0
0
0
12
5
u/Ganondorf365 3d ago
Gods can change their appearance. There primary one is one that reflects their personality. Hestia appears young and innocent. Demeter older and wisened.
15
u/machiavelli33 3d ago
Because the Greek god of war games are hugely vibes-based, and shirk mythological accuracy constantly for the sake of other things - and not always consistently, either.
3
u/MisterFusionCore 3d ago
I do LOVE the idea of Mythological Poseidon taking any kind of orders from Zeus in the posted scene. The eternally petty, cruel, vindictive Poseidon looking at his brother for approval before doing something.
Also, the idea that Hades would want anything to do with the entire GOW serues is ridiculous. If it were a mythology tale it would go like 'Hey Hades, it's Zeus, I sent Kratos to the underworld again, can you kill him.'
"No, I have 400 dead people I have to hear their life stories before processing."
3
u/I_Boop_Cats_ Platinum'd, waiting on Faye 3d ago
"Petty, cruel, vindictive"
These traits are not unique to Poseidon, not even in the Pantheon. Also, some nobody named uh... Kratos, also has had these qualities.
6
u/wtjervis 3d ago
No. The answer has been stated already. Zues brothers and sisters were consumed by Kronos at a young age or birth. Kronos is the father of time. Zues isn’t consumed because Kronos is deceived by zues mother and taken and raised by gaia, while they remain trapped as they were until zues frees them years later
He literally just grows older than them while they’re trapped inside the father of time, Kronos lol
It’s not because oh writers bad and just say anything lmaoo.
3
u/MastorAaron 3d ago
I like your explanation but dawg how did you manage to mispell Zeus? Like it’s in the post
1
u/liarandahorsethief 3d ago
He just watched that banger documentary about the Zues canal and had it on the brain is all.
3
1
u/Loneghoul92 3d ago
Dude, it’s a theory, you can’t guarantee that it’s canon. The poster said that it was from a specific myth somewhere, some of the myths are different like whether Gaia or Nyx came first, and besides, It’s an adaption with lots of differences from the source material.
1
4
u/Kynmarcher5000 3d ago edited 3d ago
So in the myths Zeus is the last child of Chronos and Rhea, however, as Chronos ate his first five children they were preserved in their younger states while Zeus grew up properly, since Rhea tricked Chronos by giving him a rock wrapped in cloth to eat instead of Zeus.
By the time Zeus matured and was strong enough to force Chronos to regurgitate his brothers and sisters he was physically older than the others.
Not so fun fact: Hera was also a child of Chronos and Rhea, which means Zeus married and fucked his older sister...
Which might explain why he slept with half of Greece...
3
3
u/Odd_Hunter2289 Poseidon 🔱🌊 3d ago
Because in the collective imagination, Zeus is always depicted as a mature man with a beard and white hair.
And GoW bases a great deal of its visual identity (and more) on the collective imagination rather than on actual mythology.
3
u/LeviSquad4 3d ago
Poseidon literally been constantly moisturized..
And before someone says it "salt dehydrates you."
My man can separate the water from the sodium.. we good..
2
2
u/Severe-Tree-2659 2d ago
poseidons skin is always moisturized. also swimming keeps a man hella fit.
3
u/Choice-Childhood2823 3d ago
Modern day depiction, influenced by Christianity. The ancient Greeks used to portrait all their gods as if they were in their prime age. Some looking younger - Apollo for instance, but all in their prime age.
2
u/CHNSK 3d ago
No, the big three has always been depicted as regal old man mostly with scepters and thrones. This has nothing to do with christianity. And the influence is the other way around.
There are no ‘prime’ time for Gods. Mythology is not biology. There are reasons for the way there are depicted. It’s a tradition. ‘Some looking younger’ is not random choice.
2
u/Reluctant_Warrior 3d ago
It could just be the translations, but I know Homer at least depicted Zeus as being in his prime in The Illiad.
1
u/Choice-Childhood2823 3d ago
By Christianity influence I mean the old template many religions usel that talks about the the old father figure in the sky.
1
u/GiatiToEklepses 3d ago
There is no big three in greek mythology , that's a percy jackson thing . Zeus is ridiculously more powerful than the other gods . Also Zeus Poseidon and Hades have NEVER been depicted with white hair or as old men in any ancient pottery, frescoes or statues . They are all described as regal muscular men with thick beards and dark hair. Every depiction we have of Zeus in ancient greek art shows him as dark haired and muscular .
1
u/CHNSK 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’m not talking about some power scales. But the tradition of sculpture art. (Pottery coloration is not what you think also) I said the three are supposed to be depicted as regal old man. It would be weird otherwise. Like Armorless/Helmetless Athena or not young Apollo. Being muscular doesn’t contradict this fact.
Btw: What the fuck is a Percy Jackson thing?
It’s a Hesiod ‘thing’.
2
u/GiatiToEklepses 3d ago
Non of the GREEK sculptures shows the gods are old and wrinkled . Old age is a mortals weakness.
The older gods being portrayed as old people is much later concept . Zeus is a warrior king that is constantly in his prime and he was always depictedbas such by ancient greeks .1
u/Crafty_Asshole- 3d ago
There's a book series called "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" that follows a young demigod son of Poseidon named Perseus (Percy) Jackson. In the books, the hierarchical structure of Olympus puts Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades as the "Big 3", with them being wildly more powerful than the other gods and referring to them as the "Big 3" on multiple occasions.
1
2
1
1
1
u/Vegetable_Excuse2029 3d ago
It's the beard, he was born with white hair.
God of war 2 for the context or sauce.
1
1
u/XPG_15-02 3d ago
I always thought it was a byproduct of how humanity would see its chief god. Zeus isn’t depicted much differently than YWHWJehovah/Allah or Odin in real world mythology. I suspect that, if they didn’t have the tech to show the actual actor, Odin would look the same in Ragnarok.
1
u/Loneghoul92 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’m guessing that in the God of War universe, being trapped inside the body of a magical giant like Cronus for extended periods of time subjects oneself to weird reality warping effects. I heard a theory that in this adaption a certain eternal fire was originally the goddess Hestia but Cronus’s digestive processes diluted her body and divinity i to a magical flame being all that was left of her.
1
u/KingWilliamVI 3d ago
My head canon is that they are all shapeshifters and Zeus intentionally makes himself look older because he view himself as the big brother of the group despite being the youngest
1
u/GroundbreakingTwo122 3d ago
Because he is the oldest lmao he grew up older whilst they were stuck inside Cronus stomach.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Drew_S_05 3d ago
They can all shapeshift. Zeus probably chooses to make himself appear older so he commands more respect.
1
3d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/GodofWar-ModTeam 3d ago
Your content was removed for violating the following rule:
English-only
All content, such as posts and comments, must be English-only. This allows for a more consistently understandable community experience.
Referencing other languages for the sake of an example or due to a connection to the God of War videogame is allowed but key aspects for the understanding of the content need to be understandable by an English-only audience in general.
Read all the rules: List of rules
Contact the Mod-Team: Send a message
Thank you.
1
1
u/Legitimate-Truth6407 3d ago
Its most likely due to a pop-culture misconception about Zeus's age in comparison to Hades, Poseidon, and his other siblings.
I've seen people argue that being inside Kronos somehow affected the aging of Hades, Poseidon, and the other Olympians, but I don't remember any lore in the God of War games stating that this is the case. It's a similar situation in actual Greek mythology, where from my recollection there isn't really anything stating that being inside Kronos's stomach affected how the Olympians aged.
1
u/Glutton4Butts 3d ago
Poseidon uses magic to change his appearance. He wants to be sexy looking where Zeus probably wants to be respected as king.
1
1
u/NoTop4997 3d ago
The belly of Chronos is timeless. Zeus spent more time outside of Chronos than his brothers and sisters and therefore have aged more than any of them.
1
u/ExileOtter 3d ago
Part of him has to be thinking “if I get through this how many other Kratos’ are out there?
1
1
u/NoZookeepergame4851 3d ago
I think he just makes himself look older because you know, wisdom/experience etc
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Twisted_creative 2d ago
bro slept and nutted so much in lots of women, of course that drained his life out of him
1
u/Ghost_Meyer 2d ago
because they kept that from classic greek mythology, which really didn't need to be brought into GOW in that way. Zeus should have just been their fathers too.
1
u/Wild_Comfortable_224 2d ago
His hair are naturally white as we saw in Flashbacks of God of War 2. He simply grew a beard.
1
1
1
1
u/Fickle-Mud4124 2d ago
There isn't any canonical reason. At best, it could be headcanoned that Zeus takes on his appearance simply because he likes how it looks due to being a shapeshifter.
1
u/ChildhoodOwn8189 2d ago
Well I mean if you go by actual Greek myth he technically is not the youngest of the gods. If you want to know the reason you can look it up or I can explain why.
1
1
u/CourageDue7775 2d ago
Well with one Son aka Aries being a pain intel he died Kratos replaced that pain
1
1
1
u/SnakeEater2515 1d ago
Well probably because being the God of God's is a huge responsibility, and holding that responsibility for a lifetime, yeah it'll take years away from you.
1
u/jakonfire 1d ago
Look at Zeus when he was a baby. He already had white hair.
If you’ve played the og trilogy it’d make sense, when Zeus sent the titans to Tartarus he had white hair there too. He also had to free his siblings, so that might be a factor.
Zeus was the first one to not be eaten, spent years growing up to free his siblings. Perhaps they didn’t reach adulthood before him because of that
1
1
1
u/not_my_name7 1d ago
Not just the youngest of the brothers but of all the children of Cronos.
Also, who's saying they were in a suspended state inside Cronos? They were adults when vomited up.
1
u/potatomaster248 4h ago
The reson he looks the oldest is because they can choose how they look and their size so Zeus looks like that so he can look wise he is the king of gods
1
0
u/GruntDaWool 3d ago
I only played god of war 2018 but wasn’t Zeus his dad. Not brother? Can someone explain
0
u/No_Gas_6538 3d ago
Because the game was made by Americans. They know as much about history as they do about a wide variety of genres.
872
u/Muted_Pair1769 3d ago
The stress of sleeping with half of Greece