The Gate of the Gods is one of the seven huge gates along the city walls of King's Landing.
Layout
The kingsroad enters King's Landing from the north at the Gate of the Gods,[1] which is wider and more splendid than the Lion Gate.[2] There are detailed carvings on the gatehouse and over the portcullis with eyes that seem to follow as one enters the gates.[3] The gatehouse has a windowless guard room.[4]
The Gate of the Gods can be seen from the Broken Anvil.[3] Farmers sell vegetables at a market square inside the gate.[4] A barracks of the City Watch of King's Landing is found by the gate.[5]
History
In 19 AC, King Aegon I Targaryen decreed that new city walls with seven gates, each with a massive gatehouse and defensive towers, be built to protect King's Landing. Grand Maester Gawen and Ser Osmund Strong, Hand of the King, headed the construction, which took place between 20–26 AC.[6]
In the reign of Maegor I Targaryen, Maegor had his own wife and queen, Alys Harroway, tortured to death and executed. Following her death, Alys's body was cut into seven parts and mounted on spikes above each of the seven gates of the city, one of which was above the Gate of the Gods.[7][8]
During the Dance of the Dragons, Blood was taken into custody at the Gate of the Gods.[9] When he departed for Harrenhal, Prince Aemond Targaryen rode forth with his host from the gate.[10] The captain of the Gate of the Gods and a third of his gold cloaks died alongside Ser Luthor Largent while trying to disperse rioters at Cobbler's Square. Wat the Tanner led a mob of ruffians against the Gate of the Gods, and they streamed into the countryside after overwhelming the weak garrison which remained.[5] Mysaria died from being whipped naked while trying to walk from the Red Keep to the Gate of the Gods.[5] After their victory in the Battle of the Kingsroad, the Lads had a parley with Lord Corlys Velaryon and Prince Aegon Targaryen outside of the Gate of the Gods before entering the city.[11]
During the regency of Aegon III, the King's Hand, Ser Tyland Lannister ordered the city gates to be strengthened so they could better resist attacks from within the city walls.[12] In 135 AC, the Commander of the City Watch, Ser Lucas Leygood was implicated in a plot against Larra Rogare, the wife of Prince Viserys Targaryen. When men came to arrest him, Lucas refused to go meekly and was killed along with eight others in a savage fight at the Gate of the Gods.[13]
As part of his plan to destroy King's Landing with wildfire should the rebellion against him succeed, King Aerys II Targaryen commanded his alchemists to plant wildfire at all seven gates of King's Landing.[14]
Recent Events
A Game of Thrones
In the aftermath of the arrest of Eddard Stark, the Lannisters close up all the gates of King's Landing, except for the Mud Gate and the Gate of the Gods where people can enter the city but not leave it.[15]
A Clash of Kings
Tyrion Lannister arrives at the city through the Gate of the Gods.[3]
Ser Jacelyn Bywater, Commander of the City Watch, summons Tyrion to the Gate of the Gods when Ser Cleos Frey arrives. Tyrion meets with Cleos in the windowless guardroom.[4] The farmers' market by the gate is empty because of the War of the Five Kings.[4]
During the Battle of the Blackwater, mobs fight to escape the city at the Iron Gate and the Gate of the Gods.[16]
A Storm of Swords
Ser Jaime Lannister reveals to Brienne of Tarth the truth of the wildfire cache planted at the Gate of the Gods.[14]
The Gate of the Gods is open when Jaime and Brienne arrive at King's Landing. Jaime sees two dozen wagons waiting to enter; a gold cloak tells Steelshanks Walton that each merchant must pay a toll for the right to sell in the city.[17]
A Feast for Crows
The procession returning Lord Tywin Lannister's body to Casterly Rock leaves King's Landing through the Gate of the Gods. Ser Jaime Lannister feels it would have been more fitting and appropriate if they left via the Lion Gate instead.[2]
Jaime is sent by his sister, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister, to inspect the city gates.[18]
A Dance with Dragons
In Meereen, Ser Barristan Selmy tells Queen Daenerys Targaryen that he escaped through the Mud Gate after being dismissed from the Kingsguard. The knight then reentered King's Landing though the Gate of the Gods while disguised as an old man.[19]
Quotes
The funeral procession departed King's Landing through the Gate of the Gods, wider and more splendid than the Lion Gate. The choice felt wrong to Jaime. His father had been a lion, that no one could deny, but even Lord Tywin never claimed to be a god.[2]
—thoughts of Jaime Lannister
References
- ↑ The Lands of Ice and Fire, King's Landing.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 16, Jaime II.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 3, Tyrion I.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 20, Tyrion V.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Overthrown.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Maegor I.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - A Son for a Son.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Red Dragon and the Gold.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Aftermath - The Hour of the Wolf.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - The Hooded Hand.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 37, Jaime V.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 65, Arya V.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 62, Sansa VII.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 62, Jaime VII.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 24, Cersei V.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 11, Daenerys II.