Who are Skoll and Hati from 'God of War' in Norse Mythology?

The PlayStation-exclusive series, God of War — as the game series title would suggest — carries a lot of influence from various mythologies into its story. The original God of War trilogy was best know for pitting it's protagonist, Kratos, against the Greek pantheon of gods, along with the new series setting Kratos and his son against Norse mythology.

Delving into the rich world of Norse mythology, the new God of War series has a lot to pull from for great bosses and lore building. One of the major focuses of the Norse God of War games is Ragnarök. Ragnarök is a series of apocalypses-like events in Norse mythology that include a great battle, the death of many gods, and submerging the world in water. To say the least, Ragnarök is a no-brainer inclusion for any God of War game that utilizes Norse mythology.

We'll be focusing on a few of the major players in Ragnarök happening in Norse Mythology that make an appearance in God of War, Skoll and Hati. In God of War the game Skoll and Hati are pretty close to their roots in Norse mythology and are key to the Norse myth of Ragnarök that is central to the game's plot.

Skoll and Hati are two wolves tasked by the Norse god Odin to keep the sky moving. Birthed of either the Norse wolf creature Fenrir or Hróðrsvitnir, Odin captured the pair of wolves to stay in the kennels of Asgard. Originally, Odin's purpose for keeping Skoll and Hati in Asgard was to keep their father, Fenrir, out of Odin's realm, but soon the Norse god found a different purpose for the pair of wolves.

When Sol and Mani, the sun and moon, ceased to rotate and stood still in the sky above Asgard, Odin saw fit to take Skoll and Hati off of Norse guard dog duty and put them to work chasing the sun and the moon around the sky. While this returned order to the world it also put Odin and Asgard in grave danger since once the pair of wolves actually capture the sun and moon the cycle will cease and Ragnarök will be upon the world.

One of the ways that God of War plays on this aspect of Norse mythology is noting that Odin, in an attempt to restore the day night cycle, has doomed himself to one day face Ragnarök. Dialogue in the game also says that this gives Odin agency and control over Ragnarök and that it's better to be prepared for a battle that you know when will arrive versus one that you don't.