AresGod of War
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Ares is the greek God of War. Although there are other gods and goddesses of war, he holds the primary title. He might properly be called the God of Savage War. His minions are often dedicated to war for and of itself ... loving the thrill of combat and the brutality it evokes. In southern Greece, he is not usually the primary god of worship with the exception of Sparta. His birthplace and favored land is Thrace, the northeast part of Greece ... and bordering many other nations.
Ares likes to be feared and thought of as a dark, frightening god. However, in personal interaction, he is also suave, charming, witty, yet ruthless and amoral. He represents the seductive power of war and the dark side.
Motivations :
Bloodlust : Ares LOVES combat, war and battle. Both being involved AND watching it being done on his behalf. The bloodier the better. Part of his attraction to Xena is her nearly unrivaled fighting abilities. And part of his resentment for Hercules is his strength and combat ability.
Pleasure : Ares is hedonistic. Much as he HATES the fact that his father Zeus sleeps around on his mother Hera, and sires offspring like Hercules, he is himself easily distracted by a beautiful woman. Especially one who knows how to handle herself. He has had trists with countless goddesses, nymphs and mortal women. He has had offspring by a number, most notably by Aphrodite.
Resentment : Ares resents Hercules and the fact that Zeus is so proud of his illegitimate half mortal son. He resents to a lesser degree Zeus' favoritism of Athena and her use of the Aegis. But at least she is a true goddess.
Ambition : He hopes to foment war throughout the greek world and even someday supplant Zeus as ruler of the gods. However, he respects Zeus' power and especially the power of his lightning bolts, the most powerful in all of Olympus. He hopes someday to attain the secret of these, but unfortunately Zeus has the elder cyclops secured in the depths of Tartarus. It was they who taught young Zeus the secret.
XenaSeason 1. Ares frames her for murdering three villagers in the hope that she will call on him for help when threatened with execution; he takes the shape of her long-lost father Atrius and nearly tricks her into attacking a village. However, these plans are thwarted by Xena and Gabrielle.
In Season 2, Ares joins forces with Xena's now-dead archenemy Callisto and engineers a body switch so that Callisto's soul occupies Xena's body while Xena is trapped in Tartarus.[6] He seems to be grooming Callisto-in-Xena's body to be his new Warrior Queen, and has sex with her, but later turns away from her, realizing that she is too madly obsessed with revenge against Xena and too uncontrollable. Xena, who persuades Hades to release her, is able to send Callisto back to Tartarus.
In the next episode, the audience first sees a different side to Ares. After losing his godhood due to Sisyphus' trickery, he needs Xena's help to get it back; Xena reluctantly agrees to help him after realizing that the world needs a God of War and Ares is the best man for the job. As a mortal, Ares shows a new humanity and conscience, but after getting his godhood back he seems to revert to his former cold-hearted self.
In Season 3 Ares' relationship with Xena grows more complicated; he is still trying to win her back to the fold, using the Furies to drive her mad for that purpose, but also tries to form an alliance with her to fight the evil god Dahak. Under threat from Dahak, Ares ends up briefly switching sides until Dahak is defeated by Xena. Ares also makes an unusual appearance in the musical episode where, as the "Emperor" in the fantasy land of Illusia, he personifies the seductive appeal of the dark side. The tango Ares and Xena dance to Ares' song, "Come Melt into Me", also highlights the erotic chemistry between the two.
HerculesThe character of Ares on Hercules is quite different from his character on Xena. In Hercules, he is shown to have a hand-to-hand combat style and strength similar to that of Hercules, whereas on Xena his combat style matches Xena, as he performs acrobatics and martial arts maneuvers. In the show's first season, prior to Ares' appearance on Xena, Ares appears in non-human form as a skull in the moon or a fountain of blood (in one episode, he took the form of a slain warrior).
He first appears in the familiar form of Kevin Smith in the Season 3 "Hind trilogy", in which Hercules falls in love with Serena, a mysterious woman who sometimes becomes a golden hind and who is a protegée of Ares. Ares tells Hercules that he will release Serena from her vow of service to him, and allow her and Hercules to marry, if Hercules gives up his superhuman strength. Later, Ares' underling, the god Strife, kills Serena and he and Ares attempt to frame Hercules for her murder. He is saved by the intervention of Xena and Zeus.
Ares' main goal on Hercules is to destroy his half-brother Hercules, both because Hercules constantly stands in his way by preventing wars and because he resents his father Zeus' preference for Hercules.
