| Ares | Mars |
| “ | That means I can smash him into a pulp as often as I want, and he'll just keep coming back for more. I like this idea. | ” |
–Ares, commenting on Percy's offer of immortality, The Last Olympian | ||
Ares is the Greek god of war. His symbols include the boar, dog, wolf, spear, sword, and vulture. His Roman counterpart is Mars. Ray Winstone was cast as Ares in The Lightning Thief, but he was never shown.
History
Ares is one of the few children of the Olympian gods Zeus and Hera. He developed a love of violence that surpassed that of any other Olympian, which made him perfect being the Olympian god of war. It also made him unpopular among his fellow deities who despised him for his overt love of war regardless of reason to fight. Despite this he was given a place on the Olympian ruling council possibly due to his parentage.
Aphrodite, his lover
As the god of war, Ares would often participate in mortal conflicts, but would often fare poorly in divine contests. He would lend strength to whatever side he favored, but was known to be somewhat fickle and change sides in the middle of a battle. The blessing of Ares is known to give invincibility in battle. Despite his great strength and fighting ability Ares often fared poorly in battles with other supernatural enemies. His half-brother Hercules is noted to have stalemated him in battle twice. At one point he stripped Ares of his armor and another time defeated Ares and one of his children with the aid of Athena. The Alodai giants (Otis and Ephialtes) defeated Ares and imprisoned him within the airtight Bronze Jar. During the Trojan War Ares sided with the Trojans despite promising Hera he would aid the Greeks. For his actions he was wounded by the mortal hero Diomedes with the aid of Athena. After Zeus allowed the Olympians to participate openly in the war he challenged Athena, only to again be defeated by her, and forced to flee the battlefield. Apollo also defeated him in a boxing match during the first Olympic games. Ares also fled in fear of the giant Typhon when the monster first attacked Olympus, though most other Olympians (other than Zeus) did as well. Even though Ares was the god of war, some say he disturbed the gods with his loud bellows when he lost. Despite these setbacks, Ares fought bravely in the Gigantomachy and defended Olympus successfully against several other enemies.
Olympian Murder Trial
After Halirrhothius (Poseidon's son) attempted to rape Ares' daughter Alcippe, she summoned her father for help. The infuriated god of war quickly arrived, and brutally slayed Halirrhothius. An outraged Poseidon demanded that Ares be put on trial for the murder of his son, to which Zeus agreed. The first ever Olympian murder trial took place on the Areopagus Hill in Athens. Zeus, as the god of honor and justice, was the Chief Justice, while the other ten Olympians served as members of the jury. In the end, Zeus justly acquitted Ares, since the latter was defending his daughter's honor.
Relationship with Aphrodite
To Ares' outrage, Zeus had paired his other son, Hephaestus, up with the beautiful goddess Aphrodite to be married. Aphrodite was miserable with her unhappy marriage. Because of that Ares and Aphrodite began to have several love affairs. Ares and Aphrodite would frequently meet up and do whatever they pleased. Hephaestus discovered his wife's promiscuity through Helios, the all seeing sun god. One day when they were laying together in bed, Hephaestus planted an unbreakable golden chain-link net so small to be invisible that they got tangled up in. Hephaestus called all of the Olympians to so that they could mock and shame them. In the end, however, Poseidon convinced Hephaestus that if he let them go, Ares would have to pay an adulterer's fine for his offense.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The Lightning Thief
During the Winter solstice, Luke Castellan stole the Master Bolt and the Helm of Darkness. Ares caught him, but Luke convinced him into carrying out Kronos' plan. Ares lets Luke go and kept the Helm and the Bolt until Percy came along to complete the delivery. On June 14, seven days before the Summer Solstice deadline, Ares approached Percy Jackson, Grover Underwood, and Annabeth Chase on his motorcycle as they were trying to get dinner. He "generously" paid for their meal (frightening many of the customers and staff in the process) and then got the companions to retrieve his shield (in the form of a bulletproof vest) from the Tunnel of Love ride in an abandoned Waterland. In return he told them to jump in an animal-smuggler's truck to get to Los Angeles.
At this point he also gave Percy a backpack with $20, a pouch of golden drachmas, fresh clothes for the three of them, and a box of Double-Stuffed Oreos. However, this backpack was actually the modified sheath for the master lightning bolt, enchanted by Ares to have the Master Bolt appear in it when Percy got close to Hades. After Percy, Grover, and Annabeth escaped from the Underworld by using the pearls given to Percy by the Nereid, Ares was waiting to kill them at the beach.
Ares revealed the reasoning behind his plan; Poseidon would declare war on Hades for killing Percy, Zeus would declare war on Hades for having the Master Bolt, and Hades would attack both of them, as he thinks one of them has his Helm of Darkness. He then remarks that a war between his relatives is the best kind of war, when Annabeth protests 'But they're your family!' He then accidentally revealed that Kronos was controlling him through his dreams.
He tried to kill Percy with a giant boar, but Percy sliced off one of its tusks with Riptide and engulfed it with a wave, killing it instantly. He then challenged Ares to a duel - if Ares won, he would turn Percy into anything he wanted, and get the Master Bolt; if Percy won, then he got both the bolt and the helm and Ares had to leave. Eventually Percy won the duel when he stabbed Ares in the heel; Ares tried to attack Percy again in a fit of rage, but Kronos prevented him. Before Ares departed, he warned Percy that he made a terrible mistake by making the God of War his enemy. He then curses Percy that his weapon would fail him when he needed it most, before leaving.
When they get back to Olympus and explain who stole the items, Zeus says that "That is unlike Ares," while Poseidon disagrees and says its totally like him.
The Sea of Monsters
Ares does not appear much in the Sea of Monsters. He is only seen talking to his daughter Clarisse La Rue on the ironclad CSS Birmingham. He orders his daughter not to fail the quest (and threatens her to make her do it), and get Percy Jackson and his friends out of the way. For this reason, Clarisse refuses to let Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson go, but they all escape when the ironclad explodes.
The Titan's Curse
He is seen first at the Junkyard of the Gods, bringing a white limousine with the goddess Aphrodite inside. He is last seen in the Winter solstice where he voted "Yes" on the destruction of Percy Jackson, along with Dionysus and Athena. In addition, the curse he gave to Percy in the Lighting Thief (that, at a crucial time, his sword would fail him) comes back to haunt, when Percy fights Atlas, his sword becomes too heavy to lift.
The Last Olympian
Ares is only seen attacking Typhon with a knife while riding his motorcycle, and to congratulate his daughter Clarisse La Rue on defeating the drakon and called her "the greatest warrior I have ever seen." He later voted for Percy becoming immortal, muttering "I like this idea, then I get to smash him to a pulp and he'll keep coming back for more," when the gods give Percy Jackson the chance of becoming a god.
The Heroes of Olympus
The Son of Neptune
He appears as Mars at Camp Jupiter proclaiming that there is a quest that should be taken. Percy is rude to him and notes that he believes that they have fought. Mars then explains that if he had fought him it was probably in his Greek form because he has no memory of fighting him, though it may be a lie.
The Mark of Athena
After an eidolon-possessed Leo Valdez fired on New Rome, Frank Zhang is plagued with voices of the two aspects of his father, Mars and Ares. The latter repeatedly urges Frank to take vengeance against Leo every time he made fun of him. This was why, during this time, Frank seemed so clumsy and slow. Later, while battling Chrysaor, Percy Jackson comments that he hadn't been challenged this much in a sword fight since his battle with Ares, as Chrysaor was just as good.
The House of Hades
It is revealed that as soon as the fighting had broke out in Camp Jupiter, the war god's two forms voices would continuously yell in Frank's head. Ares and Mars would continuously yell at each other and only agreed on few things like - kill Leo for joking about Frank, kill Triptolemus and they would give the power of turning enemies into snakes to Horatius.
After Frank defeated all the Katoblepones in Venice, Mars comes to meet him. After a short period of time, Mars' form flickers and Ares comes. The god's form continues to flicker and Mars yells at Frank to go. Frank quickly changes his form and flies. When he looks back, a miniature mushroom cloud erupts and both the forms of the god yell "Noooo!". Ares and his Roman self were later heard fighting in Frank's head.
Personality
Ares is aloof, cruel, impetuous, proud, and violent; an easily angered bully who seems to care only about fighting and killing. Because of this, he is disliked by many gods and mortals. However, Ares does have a loving relationship with Aphrodite, and is good friends with Thanatos, since the god of war does not enjoy bloodshed without Death, and personally freed him after Sisyphus chained Thanatos up.
Even when brainwashed into starting a war among his family, Ares still thought it was amusing. He is a capable strategist, but his temper makes him tend to focus on brute strength and his arrogance leads him to underestimate his opponents, allowing clever fighters to get the better of him. Ares despises being called a coward and is willing to pick fights with people for no apparent reason. Ares believes that any problem can solved through fighting and encourages rebellion and violence above all else.
Despite his personality, Ares does have a soft spot for his lovers and his children even if he can be a strict parent as shown with Clarisse. However, Ares is very protective of his children when they are in danger, as shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods when Ares kills Halirrhothius for trying to rape his daughter Alcippe. After greatly suffering in the Bronze Jar at the hands of the Aloadae Giants, Ares began treating prisoners of war with respect, and would punish anyone who chose not to. Ares is also mentioned to have an intense fear of jars, as a result of his ordeal.
Appearance
Ares in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods
Ares typically wears black jeans, combat boots, a leather duster, and muscle shirt with a bulletproof vest (his shield in disguise) and an iron padlock necklace. He wears red tinted wraparound sunglasses to cover his flame-filled eye sockets. He is described as handsome with scarred cheeks and tall with an oiled crew cut. He rides a large, black Harley Davidson chopper motorcycle with a flame pattern paint job, a leather seat made from human skin, with shotgun holsters riveted to the motorcycles sides. This motorcycle is actually his war chariot in a modern version. In its original form, Ares' Chariot is red-and-gold (decorated with pictures of grizzly deaths in war), pulled by four fierce fire-breathing horses. He also has a hunting knife strapped to his thigh and an aluminum baseball bat (actually his sword in a modernized form) that can turn into various weapons, including a two handed broadsword and a shotgun. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Ares wears Imperial Golden armor, that "burned with harsh light." According to Percy, when a bloodthirsty Ares rode into a battlefield wearing his golden war helmet, "he was too scary for most mortals to look at, much less fight." His golden shield is described as always smeared and dripping with blood.
Abilities
As a son of Zeus and Hera, Ares is an extremely powerful god:
- Prowess in Battle: As the god of war, Ares is a fierce warrior, and a master of both armed and hand-to-hand combat, which is one of the reasons why he starts his own fights. He successfully fought in the first Gigantomachy, helping Hephaestus and Hercules defeat the mighty Giant Mimas. In The Lightning Thief, Ares defeated Luke Castellan (one of the best demigod swordsmen in 300 years) in a sword duel. However, he can sometimes underestimate his opponents and start toying with them, which is why he sometimes loses, like in his duel with Percy Jackson. In The Last Olympian, Ares participates in the Olympians' massive battle with Typhon, and managed to wound the Storm Giant in the nose with his sword. In The Blood of Olympus, Ares and Frank fight side by side, and manage to smash through an entire phalanx of Giants, with the god of war disemboweling his opponents as easily as "a child destroying piñatas."
- Warfare: Ares is an expert in all areas of warfare.
- War Manipulation: The ability to manipulate war, strife, combat and other forms of conflict Ares as God of War has the power to influence all forms of conflict including mental, physical, spiritual and conceptual ones, regardless of the area and numbers involved, control how they progress and draw power both from the conflict alone as well as the dying. Ares is naturally, extremely skilled in all forms of fighting, weapons and both strategy and tactics as well as statistics of war. Ares can start conflicts by influencing people or events, rise personal and fanatical armies, control and create weapons of every kind and even grant others extensive abilities of combat (such as Hippolyta's golden girdle). Ares has the incredible power to invoke war and chaos within an enormously large radius, ranging from a city to an entire continent. With this power he has full control over the city or continent that is in war and chaos at the time.
- Telumkinesis: As the God of War, Ares has a great amount of control over weapons.
- He can conjure and use any weapon, though he prefers to use his sword and spear. He knows everything about a weapon when he sees it.
- He can curse weapons (like he did to Percy's Riptide in The Lightning Thief).
- He can disarm his opponents (like he did to Bianca di Angelo and Zoë Nightshade in The Titan's Curse).
- He knows everything about a weapon when he sees it.
- Odikinesis: Ares has control over feelings and emotions of war (such as hate and rage), and frequently induces them in order to start fights. Percy always feels angry in his presence "as if I wanted to hit a wall or start a fight."
- Ares can instantly cure "battle jitters", as he did with Frank.
- Pyrokinesis (limited): Ares is shown to have some control over fire, especially whenever he makes his appearances. It is unknown to what extent he can control fire.
- Necromancy (limited): According to Clarisse, the losing side of each war has to give Ares a fraction of their dead. In The Sea of Monsters, Ares presents Clarisse with a ship full of obedient skeleton warriors.
- Ares' Blessing: Ares's blessing gives the person blessed near invulnerability. He gives his blessing to people who show pure courage (or bloodlust) in the battlefield. He blessed his daughter Clarisse in The Last Olympian, and she charged through the battlefield, destroying a drakon and anything else in her path.
- Ares can summon vicious wild boars, since they are his sacred animals.
Relationships
Love Interests
Aphrodite
Ares has been Aphrodite's boyfriend for a millennia. Aphrodite's husband Hephaestus once caught them together in a golden net of his own design, and invited the gods to come and laugh at their affair. Hephaestus seems to enjoy inventing new ways to humiliate the two, so Ares and Aphrodite pick the locations for their dates very carefully. Aphrodite also loves Ares more than Hephaestus and has had many children with him.
Family
Clarisse La Rue
Ares appears to his daughter as more of a bully, constantly pushing her to achieve greater feats. However, Clarisse in reality is scared of her father and he has threatened her with physical force on occasion. However, when Deimos tried to use this fear against her, Clarisse is able to overcome it, though with much effort and encouragement from Percy. Ares thinks little of his daughter, thinking that any one of his sons would be a better leader for a quest or the cabin. Despite Ares' constant abuse of his daughter, he does allow her to drive his chariot (which is an honor frequently bestowed only on his sons, and when she does achieve something great he is supportive, as shown in The Last Olympian when she killed the Drakon and gave her the Blessing of Ares and called her the "best warrior he had ever seen."
Demigods
Percy Jackson
To say that Ares hates Percy is more of an understatement, and Percy's relationship with him is worse than he has with any other Olympian. In The Lightning Thief, the two dueled resulting in Percy's victory and Ares' hate towards Percy to increase. Unfortunately, if Ares tries to kill Percy, he will fall out of the favor of his girlfriend Aphrodite, who takes a liking to Percy. In The Titan's Curse, Ares and Percy have a brief conversation and the god later votes for him to be killed at the winter solstice meeting. In The Last Olympian, while still hating Percy, Ares likes the idea of making Percy immortal, since that would let him "beat him to pulp" as often as he feels like it, while Percy will keep coming back for more. In the end, however, Ares votes in favor of Percy's demand to claim all the demigods by age thirteen.
Children
Immortal Children
| Partner | Children |
| Aphrodite | Anteros, Adrestia, Deimos, Eros, Harmonia, Phobos |
| Enyo | Enyalius |
| Erytheia | Eurytion |
| Tisiphone | Theban Drakon |
Demigod Children
Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares
| Partner | Children |
| Unknown | Mark |
| Unknown | Sherman |
| Unknown | Otrera |
| Unknown | Edward Teach (Blackbeard) |
| Ms. La Rue | Clarisse La Rue |
| Mary Hoyt Sherman | William Sherman |
Ares' Chariot
- Main article: Ares' War Chariot
Ares uses a changeable war chariot as his preferred mode of transportation. It is usually driven by Ares himself or by his charioteers, Deimos and Phobos. As a tradition, his sons are to drive it when they turn fifteen though a daughter is allowed if she is deemed worthy.
Film
The Lightning Thief
Ares is played by Ray Winstone, though he is not credited. He is seen briefly at the end of the film, when the gods are arguing. He is seen on the left side of the screen with silver battle armor, and, although it is a far camera shot of him, he is shown to have gray hair. When the gods are all sitting in their chairs, he is shown sitting crookedly (one leg is on the arm of the chair) in between Demeter and Athena.
Trivia
- Mars, the fourth planet from the sun, is named after Ares' Roman counterpart.
- Ares states in The Lightning Thief that he considers the U.S "the best thing since Sparta" as ordinary citizens are allowed weapons and the constitution allows more freedom when it comes to punishment by law.
- As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Ares was the first Olympian ever put on trial by his fellow Olympians gods for murder (of Poseidon's son Halirrhothius). However, since Ares was defending his daughter's honor, he was ultimately acquitted. The trial is said to have taken place on the Areopagus Hill in Athens.
- Ares has an intense fear of jars, as a result of his ordeals at the hands of the Aloadae Giants.
- Ares uses sunglasses to cover his eyes, which are actually hollow sockets filled with flames.
- Ares' aluminum baseball bat is actually his sword/spear in disguise.
- Ares' preferred form for his chariot is a motorcycle which serves the same purpose as an ancient war chariot did.
- In The Demigod Files it says his home town is Mount Olympus but under his bumper sticker reads: "I wasn't born in Sparta but I got here as fast as I could."
- As mentioned in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Ares was very venerated by the Spartans, who would worship him through human sacrifices. The Spartans also had a massive and chained up statue of Ares in the city's center. According to legend, as long as the statue remains chained, Ares will remain the patron god of Sparta, granting its citizens victories.
- According to Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Ares is Zeus' least favorite divine son.
- As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Ares is the Amazons' most worshiped Olympian god, since the greatest Amazon warriors were always his demigod daughters.
- According to Rick Riordan, Ares' best quote is "Kill it dead."
- According to Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Ares hates being compared to the character from the game "God of War".
- In myth, Ares is portrayed as a military general or professional warrior but in America, he took on a 1950's rebellious "Greaser" persona.
- Ares, in term of rocketry, are three Shuttle-derived launch of vehicles under development under NASA program, which are named after him.
- His Latin name Mars, gave us the word "Martial".
- In Latin he is sometimes called Mars Ultor - Mars the Avenger. He has a temple on Temple Hill in Camp Jupiter.
- The Battle of the Labyrinth is the only book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series that Ares did not appear in.
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