Chimera - God Of War 3

Chimera

The Chimera in Greek myth was as a strong monster that had the frontal body of a lion, rear end of a goat, the tail of a serpent, and the ability to breathe fire. In myth it terrorized the land of Asia Minor and was killed by the hero Bellerophon, with the aid of the Pegasus. Some mythical relatives to the Chimera include the great Cerberi and the mighty Hydra, being that it's one of the children of Typhon and Echidna.

In the first God of War, there are two statues of Chimeras at the entrance to Zeus Mountain.

There was concept art for a Chimera enemy for God of War II (see picture), but it never made it into the game. The creature is decidely more streamlined than most interpretations, bearing a lion's face on its "chest," with the three-horned, demonic-looking goat's head as the "normal" one above the lion head, and the snake in its usual position as the tail. Oddly enough, its front limbs end in long fingers and talons, quite unlike any of its three components animals.

In the God of War III, Chimeras (looking much like their GoW II concept art) assail Kratos as powerful minions of Olympus. They are fought in three stages, each ending in a circle grab and button prompt.

First, moving slowly on all fours, the Chimera whips Kratos with its snake tail and spits paralyzing venom, occasionally grabbing the Spartan and tossing him around. After cutting off the tail, the Chimera stands up on two legs, controlled by the lion face on its underside, clawing and breathing explosive gouts of fire. After gouging out the eyes of the lion face, it goes back on all fours, jumping rapidly around the battlefield. This form rams Kratos with the goat's horns and breathes a massive wave of fire across the ground. Kratos finishes it off by impaling its head with one of its own horns. Aside from its venom and fire attacks, all of the Chimera's attacks can be blocked. The Chimera's fire attacks are always preceded by a small blob of flame in its mouth just before the attack. Kratos battles a Chimera in Olympia, and another pair at the Gates of Tisiphone, on the way to Tartarus.

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Hercules

Hercules

"Soon I will become the God of War and claim the throne for myself!" - Hercules

In Greek myth, Heracles was the demigod son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcmene. Heracles had great strength, but was outright hated by Zeus' wife, Hera. As he grew older, Hera drove him mad, which led him to commit the murder of his wife, Megara, and his two sons. Seeking atonement for his atrocious deed, the king Eurystheus assigned Heracles to perform ten labours, but cheated him into doing two more. Heracles, however, had finished all these labours and found redemption. Later on in life, Heracles had many more adventures, but was unintentionally killed by his own wife Deianara, ascending to Olympus as he died. His Roman counterpart was Hercules.

Hercules is the ancestor of the Spartans, older half-brother of Kratos, and shares many similarities with his him. Both warriors mercilessly killed their wife and children under the influence of gods (Hera for Hercules; Ares for Kratos), having been forced to serve Olympus for a number of years in order to hopefully gain redemption. Both are also demigods, being the sons of Zeus. Their rage is also uncontrollable, leading to moments where they become blinded by bloodlust.

Some of Kratos' moves with the Blades of Chaos are named after Hercules (Spirit of Hercules, Valor of Hercules, and Might of Hercules). There is also a bonus costume of Hercules that can be unlocked in God of War II.
The death of Hercules.
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In God of War III, Hercules is first seen taking orders from his father to attack the invading Titans. He then commands a group of undead soldiers to jump off Olympus and attack the Titans, landing on Gaia's arm to attack Kratos. When Kratos later encounters Hera in the Arena, she has Hercules fight Kratos as her champion.

There, Hercules reveals how he believes Zeus considers Kratos his favorite as he was the one assigned to kill Ares while he was cleaning the Augean stables, and growing even more jealous when Kratos was being crowned the God of War, while Hercules was instructed to steal the Apples of the Hesperides. And although he was the one who killed the Nemean Lion, Kratos was the one Zeus made famous across the world. He then reveals how he plans to destroy Kratos as his thirteenth, unofficial labour, becoming the God of War himself. After Kratos kills all of his undead soldiers, Hercules decides to fight him himself using the Cestus. Kratos however, stabs him in the arms and takes the pair of Cestus one by one. Hercules then fights Kratos unarmed and after a long and fierce fight, Kratos traps his brother underneath the battleground, brutally smashing Hercules' face with the Cestus, with the last blow smashing the arena's floor. Both Kratos and Hercules, the latter now dead and gruesomely disfigured, tumble into the sewers below, where Kratos leaves his brother's body to rot. Before leaving, Kratos can take Hercules' shoulder guard.

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