Did Kratos Literally Flip the 9 Norse Realms?

Yes, Kratos did physically flip the embodiment of the 9 Norse realms that existed within Tyr‘s enormous temple in the 2018 God of War game. However, while an incredible display of strength, Kratos did not literally flip over the actual planets, dimensions or metaphysical places that the 9 realms represent.

What Are the 9 Realms in Norse Mythology?

In Norse legends, the cosmos is divided up into 9 interconnected worlds or realms that make up existence. These realms depicted in God of War include:

• Asgard: The home realm of the Aesir gods like Odin, Thor
• Vanaheim: The home of the Vanir gods
• Alfheim: The world of elves
• Midgard: The middle realm where humans reside
• Jotunheim: The realm of the giants
• Svartalfheim: The underground dwelling of the dwarves
• Muspelheim: The fiery demon realm
• Niflheim: The icy, primordial abyss
• Helheim: The underworld where souls go after death

The 9 realms are all interconnected by Yggdrasil, the great Tree of Life that anchors the various dimensions and allows travel between them.

So in Norse cosmology, the 9 realms essentially encompass all of existence – from the heavens where gods dwell down through the various worlds to the fiery demon realms and the icy world of the dead in Helheim.

What Was Tyr‘s Temple That Kratos Flipped?

In God of War, Tyr‘s temple was an enormous structure made of stone, metal and other elements that the Norse God of War, Tyr, had architected and constructed. It was built to house artistic representations and metaphysical embodiments of the various 9 realms in the Norse cosmos all interconnected and anchored by Yggdrasil, the world tree.

So Tyr had designed an artistic marvel meant to be a beautiful cosmological display and perhaps even allow visitors, travelers or pilgrims to transcend between depicted realms. Kratos remarks the architecture itself seems to "bridge space and time."

There‘s no precise size given, but based on scenes in the game of its immense hall and towering heights, Tyr‘s otherworldly temple is implied to be colossal in scale – large enough to somehow embody or contain the 9 massive realms within its hallowed halls and chambers.

The Godly Feat: Kratos Flipping Tyr‘s Enormous Temple

In an iconic scene that has become symbolic of Kratos‘ epic strength, the Ghost of Sparta rages through Tyr‘s temple and flips the entire structure over in anger, presumably after realizing the temple‘s secret pathways between realms won‘t take him where he wants to go.

So what exactly did Kratos accomplish here?

• He flipped over Tyr‘s enormous temple itself – a structure made of stone, metal and mystical elements that is likely thousands of tons in weight and mass.
• As the temple was built to embody the 9 realms, those metaphysical representations anchored to the temple were also turned upside down.
• So while Kratos did NOT literally lift and flip over the 9 actual Norse realms themselves which encompass entire dimensions, planets and cosmic geography, he did flip over Tyr‘s temple that contained the embodiment of those realms metaphysically and artistically.

It‘s one of Kratos‘ most epic choreographed feats of godlike strength – even tearing off a chunk of the earth itself while lifting the temple‘s foundations up off the ground!

Just How Heavy Was Tyr‘s Temple?

Fans and theorists have speculated endlessly about how much mythical "tons" this enormous temple would weigh for Kratos to flip entirely upside down. Some mathematical estimates put it at:

• 1,774,000 tons – An early estimate that even the developers likely did not intend to be literal
• 5 quadrillion tons – Another unlikely speculated weight based on temple sizes
• Immeasurable – The most realistic assessment is it‘s not meant to directly quantify Kratos‘ strength

The temple flipping feat appears purposefully choreographed to be over-the-top to showcase Kratos‘ rage-fueled, godly might. But not necessarily to be a quantifiable "limit" to that strength taken literally.

As game director Cory Barlog stated when asked if the temple weigh estimates were intentional:

"Ha, no. It‘s all for the spectacle, not trying to legit build lore here!"

So while Kratos clearly possesses epic, even reality-bending levels of strength, the temple flip shouldn‘t be taken as a measurable weight lifting demonstration vs say Superman or Thor within their respective canons. It‘s more just symbolic of his raw power and rage being able to upend huge structures and even symbolic representations of massive celestial realms themselves!

How Does Kratos‘ Feat Compare to Other Godly Strong Heroes?

While not meant to perfectly equate to a weight lifting quantifier, Kratos flipping something symbolizing the entirety of a mythical cosmology upside down is arguably more impressive than almost any similar feat shown in comics or films! Here‘s how it stacks up:

So the closest Marvel or DC analogy might be if Superman had flipped over an entire artificial model of the 9 Norse realms all interconnected! Or if Thor had capsized his own royal Asgardian palace representing the 9 worlds.

In that sense, Kratos‘ raging temple flip just might go down as one of gaming‘s – and even pop culture‘s – greatest displays of literal world-shaking strength!

Final Analysis: A Symbolic Feat of Divine Rage and Power

While one of his most iconic moments, it‘s important to keep Kratos‘ incredible feat of temple flipping in symbolic context vs taking it as a scientifically quantifiable measure of strength.

The colossal structure was built with otherworldly architecture to represent the 9 mystical Norse realms. So Kratos uprooting and flipping it upside down makes for an epic, over-the-top demonstration of his divine rage and unrestrained godly might.

But he did NOT literally lift and flip over the actual planets, dimensions or metaphysical geography making up the 9 realms as they exist in Norse legends. It‘s an exaggerated personification of his ability to turn worldviews and cosmologies upside down!

So in many ways, Kratos‘ raw fury and strength being able to dismantle and dishevel a magnificent monument built to honor the sacred 9 worlds is symbolic of his underlying mythic hero journey in the reimagined God of War saga.

As a stranger in these Northern realms who has lost his way and is struggling to control his rage, Kratos‘ gesture of flipping aside the main ceremonial temple devoted to the 9 key foundation realms secures his status as a living legend. Right alongside his many feats battling Norse gods, creatures and even fate itself!