Kratos seems like a complete ingrate at this point in God of War, but he had his reasons for rejecting Sindri’s apple.

If we’re talking about friendly characters in video games, Kratos is almost certainly God of the war would be at the top of the list…from the bottom. The Spartan has proven for almost two decades that he is not the most accessible, empathetic and pleasant person in the world, although it is also fair to say that he has proven to be much more human in his facet Nordic, God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök.

Age, Faye and Atreus (wife and son) and his friendship with Mimir, Freyja, Brok and Sindri helped Kratos become a more sociable being. This new side has developed over the last two installments (and will continue to do so) and at the start of the first one could still see traces of his narrow and brooding version.

Do you remember the scene from God of War (2018) in which Sindri throws an apple at Kratos after a fight? The Spartan uses his ax to cut it out of the air and waste the gift. Although he seems ungrateful, he has reasons to do so… even if, as always, his forms fail him. Beyond the humorous tone, the scene has a special meaning.

Kratos is from Sparta, which was a polis in ancient Greece. The Greek people shared many aspects such as culture and religion, despite their differences, and a very popular custom was throwing an apple at another person. It was a declaration of love. If the other person caught it, then it was mutual.

This custom owes its origin to a story about the gods: Eris, goddess of discord, was upset not to receive an invitation to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, so she left at the party a golden apple with the inscription “For the most beautiful”.  » . Hera, Athena and Aphrodite demanded the fruit. The person responsible for its delivery was Paris, son of Troy. The goddesses tried to bribe him. He gave in to Aphrodite’s promise: the love of Helen of Sparta. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Sindri’s intention was never to declare romantic love for Kratos, as she ignores Greek traditions. In Nordic culture, (golden) apples are linked to the goddess Idun, grant immortality and are often linked to youth and knowledge. We assume that Sindri’s intention was establish a bond of friendship . However, Kratos knew the meaning of it very well and decided to decline the offer in the best way he could think of: cutting her out of the air with his axe. The magic of cultural perspectives!