Ares in popular culture

Ares has appeared frequently in modern popular culture; he usually appears as the ancient Greek god of war in the most generally familiar classical mythology.

TV and Film

Ares is a regular character in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Young Hercules. Portrayed by Kevin Tod Smith (credited as Kevin Smith), he is scripted as a conflicted God who is torn between his passionate desire for Xena and his inherent desire to foster war and people's evil nature. The character is one of the more complex of the series. After the fall of the Olympian Gods, Ares is rendered mortal but restores his godhood along back with his sister Aphrodite after having a bite of Odin's apple through Xena's help. On the Hercules shows he was Hercules' constant antagonist.
In Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Ares is a major antagonist and a supporting character in the rest of the series. He, later, reappears as Mars in the spin-off series, Heroes of Olympus, and is revealed to be the father of one of the main characters, Frank Zhang.
Ares was portrayed by Daniel Sharman in the 2011 film Immortals. During the events of the film, he, along with Athena (Isabel Lucas), Poseidon (Kellan Lutz), Apollo (Corey Sevier), and Heracles (Steve Byers), are warned by Zeus (Luke Evans) not to interfere in mortal affairs as gods unless the Titans are released. However, Ares ends up defying Zeus and directly intervenes to save Theseus (Henry Cavill) from Hyperion's men, after which he and Athena provide Theseus and his companions with horses in order to reach Mount Tartarus, where the Titans have been imprisoned. However, Zeus arrives and, in a fit rage, kills Ares for disobeying him. Zeus then tells Theseus and his allies to let Ares' death be a warning to both the gods and them that they will receive no more help from the gods and he must justify the faith Zeus has in him alone.
In the short-lived television series Valentine, Ares was a businessman who went by the name Ari. Initially, he was the villain of the series. He indirectly threatened Kate, refused to give Grace a divorce, and had an antagonistic relationship with Ray. However, he had a positive, albeit awkward, relationship with his son, Danny. As the series progressed, Ari's relationship with Grace improved and he was charged with finding a weapon for his father. Unfortunately, in a battle against Bastet for that weapon, Ari was fatally wounded. Greg Ellis portrayed Ari and appeared in all eight episodes that aired.
Ares was portrayed by Edgar Ramirez in the Wrath of the Titans, sequel of Clash of the Titans.

Books and Comics

In Planet Comics there was a strip called Mars God of War, featuring a character based on Ares under his Roman alter ego Mars. This character was a villain who took over people's bodies in attempts to cause war.
Ares is a main character in the book series The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins.
In John C. Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, he is a major character, an influential faction to be appeased when dealing with the children.
Ares is a character in both DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

Video Games

Ares is an eligible character in Age of Mythology when advancing to the Classical Age. Doing so by choosing Ares as patron god provides enhancements for infantry units, the power of pestilence (by which enemy buildings cannot produce units for a period of time) and the mythical cyclops units.
Ares is also the final boss in Spartan: Total Warrior.
Ares is the main antagonist, and final boss battle, in the 2005 video game God of War. In it, Ares runs amok and assails the city of Athens while challenging the other gods and looking for Pandora's Box to maximize his power; the other gods enlist the aid of a Spartan named Kratos (the player), former protégé of Ares, who was tricked by the god to slay his family in the past. Since Zeus forbids the gods to fight each other, Kratos searches for Pandora's Box, which gives him the power to rival a god. Ares is slain by Kratos, who takes his position as "God of War". Ares reappears in the 2007 video game God of War II during a flashback near the beginning. Ares remains are seen in the 2010 video game God of War III as one of Kratos' battles takes place over Ares' ice tomb. His remains are seen in the ice. Ares also appears in a flashback in the 2010 video game God of War: Ghost of Sparta where it is shown that he kidnapped Kratos' brother Deimos as a prophecy foretold the demise of Olympus was to come by a marked warrior. Zeus and Ares believed the warrior to be Deimos because of his unusual birthmark, but the prophecy actually referred to Kratos, as Kratos marked himself with a tattoo in the shape of his brothers birthmark to honor him. Ares then appeared in the 2013 video game God of War: Ascension, a prequel to the entire series, where it is shown that Ares entered into an alliance with the Furies to overthrow Zeus and the reason that he became Kratos' mentor was so that Kratos would help him. Ares also had a son, Orkos, with the Fury Queen Alecto. Ares also appears in Ascension's multiplayer mode as one of the four gods that players can pledge their allegiance to. Ares also appeared in the tie-in comic series (2010–11) where he entered into a wager with five other Olympian gods. Each god chose a champion to seek for the Ambrosia of Asclepius (an elixir with magical healing properties), with Ares' champion being Kratos (unbeknownst to Kratos).
Ares is a playable character in the multiplayer online battle arena Smite. He is a melee tank and is nicknamed "the God of War".
Ares is a playable fighter in Injustice: Gods Among Us.

Music

In pop music English band Bloc Party recorded a song "Ares" on their third album Intimacy.
Japanese pop artist Gackt has a song named Ares on his second solo album, Mars (album).

Science

Ares is the name of NASA's transport ship replacing the Space Shuttle, an extension of NASA's uses of Saturn for manned rockets, Mercury for a satellite program, and the Apollo program, rather than as any reflection of the intrinsic nature of the war god.

References

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