God of War: discovering Ragnarok

God of War

After having explored the mythological origins of some of the most iconic characters of the Norse pantheon, from Thor to Angrboda, it is time to analyze one of the founding events of the Norse mythological tradition, to the point of having conquered the collective imagination through the most popular media. disparate, from music, to cinema, up to comics and television series, just to name a few.

Let's go, then, to discover Ragnarok, the "fate of the gods" which (presumably) will be the background to the next chapter of God of War.

What is Ragnarok ?

God of War: an illustration depicting Ragnarok, signed by Johannes Gehrts If we had to briefly define Ragnarok (although we should say "the Ragnarok", given the plural nature of the term), from Old Norse ragnarǫk, translatable in "the destiny of the gods", we could say that it represents the end of the world and the reign of Odin. However, a reading of this kind, even if apparently effective, nevertheless remains superficial and devoid of fundamental historical considerations for the understanding of its conception.

Let's start from the sources of this "mythological precedent" that have come down to us. As with the vast majority of documents concerning Norse myths and legends, the main texts that contain evidence fundamental to the understanding of Ragnarok are the poetic Edda (collection of traditional Nordic poems) and the Edda in prose, or prose, signed by Snorri Sturluson. In the first, we find it quoted both in the famous poem Vǫluspá (the prophecy of the seer) and in the Vafþrúðnismál (the speech of Vafþrúðnir), while in Snorri's work it plays a central role in Gylfaginning (Gylfi's deception).

Considering the dating of these texts, made in a period in which Christianity had already conquered much of the European territory (we are around the 13th century), many have associated the account of Ragnarok provided by individuals like Snorri with a biblical influence, found in the Apocalypse of John. This is also due to the lack of counterparts in the Greek and Roman mythological tradition.

However, according to scholars such as the philologist Georges Dumézil, the event of Ragnarok could be compared to the clash between Pāndava and Kaurava told in the Mahābhārata, poem epic belonging to the Hindu literary tradition. Considering the proto-Indo-European root of these cults, the innumerable similarities and the fact that, while the Ragnarok is an event that "will happen", the analogous events narrated in the Mahābhārata have "already happened", it is possible to find a link also with the Greek Gigantomachy. But such associations are only conjectures, considering that the consequences of such events (with the exception of pitched clashes against monstrous and portentous creatures) have little to do with each other.

The arrival of Ragnarok

God of War: Odin and Fenrir in the illustration by Emil Doepler, dated 1905 Starting from the three texts cited and trying to put the pieces back together as if it were a fragmentary and monochromatic puzzle, it is possible to recreate a sort of chronological line of events that take place during Ragnarok.

To precede "the twilight of the gods" (translation of Ragnarøkkr, another term with which we refer to the series of cataclysms) we find three winters marked by great battles without any moral qualms (parricides, incest) followed by a glacial winter, the Fimbulvetr, of the same duration as the previous ones, but without summer to break the cycle. We offer you an excerpt from the Völuspá.

Brothers will fight / and kill each other, / cousins ​​/ will violate the bonds of the lineage; / hard it will be among men, / great debauchery, / age of axes , was of swords, / shields will be cracked, / was of twenty, was of wolves / before the world is ruined.

Following, Skǫll and Hati, lineage of the Fenrir wolf, always in pursuit of Sól and Máni (Sun and Moon) manage to reach and swallow them, causing the disappearance of natural light, as all the stars in the sky have also gone out. After that, the earth shakes, the mountains collapse and "all chains and bonds" are broken, giving Fenrir the chance to free himself from the chains that surround him, tricked by the Æsir. Likewise, Jormungandr opens his mouth wide and lets go of his tail, which causes flooding all over the world. This allows Naglfar, a ship made up of human nails and captained by the giant Hrymr (even if in the Völuspá Loki is indicated at the helm of the boat, freed from the captivity to which the gods had condemned him), to melt its moorings, en route to the final battle with the gods.

[...] and that is why one must be on guard if a man dies with uncut nails, because this man adds a lot of material to the Naglfar ship, which men and the gods want her to be ready late.

Side by side, the brothers Fenrir and Jormungandr advance, the first with his mouth wide open to the point of touching the sky with his upper jaw, while the second by asphyxiating the air with its viperine miasma. As Loki's offspring ravages the earth, Muspell's sons break through the sky, led by the giant Surtr, whose sword is brighter than the sun. Riding over Bifröst, the rainbow bridge, they shatter it, continuing to advance on the plain of Vígríðr. Here, we find all those that we could laconically define "forces of evil": the brothers Fenrir and Jormungandr, the frost giants Hrymr, Loki and with him the ranks following his daughter Hel, in addition to the aforementioned sons of Muspell.

The fate of the gods

God of War: Friedrich Wilhelm Heine is the author of this illustration depicting the gods in battle during the Ragnarok (1882) After all this fuss, Heimdallr (finally) realizes that at the gates of Asgard there is a formidable legion. Then, he plays the legendary Gjallarhorn, awakening the gods (from the divine heavy sleep), who gather in an assembly. A leap in time brings us, then, to the knowledge that Odin is now on the way to the source of Mímir to seek advice. At this point, Yggdrasil trembles and the Æsir understand that confrontation is inevitable. Donning their armor, they advance onto the battlefield alongside the Einherjar (those who died in battle and thus gained access to Valhalla).

God of War: Thor vs. Jormungandr in this illustration by Emil Doepler (1905) During the fight, the deities clash with their respective bitter enemies. To Odin belongs the wolf Fenrir, who devours him in one gulp; to Thor the serpent Jormungandr, from which he emerges victorious, but for no more than nine steps, after which he collapses to the ground, asphyxiated by the enemy's toxic cloud; Freyr, Freia's twin, fights with Surtr, but, due to the lack of his trusty sword (given to Skírnir, his messenger, in amorous circumstances that we do not go into now) is ruinously defeated; finally, Garmr, the infernal hound who presides over the kingdom of Hel, is freed from his chain and collides with Tyr, which leads to the death of both.

Soon after Odin's fall, his son Víðarr is he hurls on Fenrir and, "a foot on the lower jaw and a hand on the upper one", kills him by breaking his mouth (in Völuspá, however, reference is made to a sword or spear stuck in the heart). Finally, Heimdallr and Loki fight, also killing each other. At this point, thanks to his flaming sword, Surtr sets the whole world on fire.

Rebirth

God of War: Víðarr, one of the few survivors of Ragnarok, represented by WG Collingwood while kills Fenrir (1908) Once the flames are extinguished, not many are those who have the possibility of seeing the light of a new day. Once the lands re-emerged, greener and more luxuriant than ever, among the gods, Víðarr and Váli are among the few who managed to escape the incendiary wrath of Surtr, alive and well in the field that once housed Asgard, renamed Iðavöllr. Here, they reunite with Móði and Magni, sons of Thor who now possess the portentous Mjölnir, while Baldr and Höðr return from the kingdom of Hel. A little sadly, the survivors begin to remember together the deeds that marked the era of the Æsir.

Lif and Lífþrasir / they will hide / in the wood of Hoddmímir; / ​​the dewdrops of the morning / will have for nourishment, / and from there the bloodlines will grow.

As far as humans are concerned, only two manage to escape the flames that rage on Earth: Lif and Lífþrasir. Hiding in the wood of Hoddmímir (which some identify with the world tree Yggdrasill), they will repopulate the world with their lineage. Finally, the daughter of the sun returns to fulfill the task of the mother and to shed a new light on a renewed world.

The Ragnarok in God of War

God of War: the death of Móði and Magni, sons of Thor, will lead the latter to seek revenge, with results certainly discordant with respect to the mythological Ragnarok Now, after having thoroughly explored the development of Ragnarok, the question spontaneously arises regarding how Santa Monica Studio will manage to adapt it to the narrative of the next chapter of God of War. Anyone who has had the opportunity to play the first part of the Norse saga of Kratos will have realized that Thor's favorite sons, Móði and Magni, two of the few survivors of the mythological Ragnarok, are killed by Atreus and Kratos respectively.

Not only that. In the trailer for the new adventure, we are made to understand that Tyr, son of Odin and half-brother of Thor, will represent an important ally of the Ghost of Sparta against the fury of the Æsir. In short, the vision of Santa Monica seems quite clear: in the game we will be the "forces of evil" described by Snorri and those who came before him, in the usual reversal of the moral plans already implemented by the team towards the Greek pantheon.

God of War: Tyr could represent an important ally of Kratos in the next chapter of the Norse saga. referring directly to a mythological tradition well rooted in collective thought, but which has always been subversive towards the forces at stake, bringing to light an interpretation that, if at first it could appear as a simple pretext to unleash the "fury of the titans" on hordes monstrous and hypersexualized divinities, today seems to be pushing towards an almost socio-anthropological analysis of the dynamics of power taking place not only in a fictional world fueled by myths and legends, but also in everyday life, that those who experience the title find themselves living day by day.

We went to the discovery of Ragnarok and we seem to have returned victorious from this feat. We hope you feel the same way too and that this little glimpse into the intricate world of Norse mythology has fascinated you.

Waiting to hear how the events of Atreus and Kratos unfold in God of War Ragnarok, we look forward to seeing you in the comments with speculations regarding the possible adaptation of the "fate of the gods" within the game.

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