Ares

Ares (Ἄρης in Ancient Greek) is the God of brutal war, bloodlust, and slaughter. He is sometimes associated with courage. He is the son of Zeus and Hera. His Roman counterpart is Mars.

Physical Description
Ares typically dresses in a leather duster or a leather jacket, with a red muscle shirt, a bulletproof vest (actually his shield in a modern version of itself), an iron padlock necklace, black jeans, and combat boots. He wears red tinted wraparound sunglasses to cover his eyes which are hollow sockets filled with flames. He is described as having black, oily crew cut hair, stands at 6'7", with a bulked up body, and a handsome face with scarred cheeks. He rides a large Harley Davidson 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 of itself. (military motorcycles serve the same purpose as Ancient Greek war chariots) He also has a hunting knife strapped to his thigh and an aluminum baseball bat (actually his spear in a modernized form) that can turn into various weapons, including a two handed broadsword and a shotgun.



Personaility
Ares can best be described as prideful, violent, cruel, vain, and an easily angered bully who seems to care only about fighting, or as Rick Riordan put it "He could pick a fight in an empty room". Because of this he isn't very well liked among the Gods. He was brainwashed into starting a fight among his family by Luke against his own will, and still thought it was amusing. As the god of warhe is intelligent and an expert in warfare. However, his temper and arrogance often lead to his own humiliation and defeat because these traits make him overconfident, leading him to underestimate others and make foolish mistakes. He will often focus more on brawn than brain when angered, making it easier for more clever opponents to overcome Ares' raw strength. He hates being called a coward and is willing to pick fights with people for no apparent reason. Although he seem to show no one respect, he does have a soft spot for his daughter Clarisse, who he loves, even though he can be strict to her. He also has respect for Percy, but is not willing to show it out of his pride.

Powers
Possesses the standard powers of a God, in addition to having vast physical strength and the ability to control fire. As the god of war he is an expert in all areas of warfare. He owns a magic war chariot that can transform into different modes of travel including a motorcycle (his preferred form) and a tank. One of his most notable possessions is his magical spear that can turn into various weapons. He also has the ability to invoke feelings of anger, passion and violence in others. In The Last Olympian it is shown that he give his blessing to notable warriors like Clarisse, giving them invulnerability when they show true courage in the heat of battle.

Relationships
He is Aphrodite's boyfriend, and has been for millenia. His children all have the same cruel, aloof, and rebellious attitude, including his daughter Clarisse.

Children

 * Clarisse La Rue
 * Deimos
 * Phobos
 * Sherman
 * Mark
 * Edward Teach (Blackbeard)
 * Eros (bore with Aphrodite)
 * Eurytion

The Lightning Thief
During the Winter solstice, Luke Castellan stole the master bolt and the helm of darkness. Ares caught him, but Luke convinces him into carrying out Kronos' plan. Ares let Luke go and kept the helm and the bolt until Percy came along to complete the delivery.

On June 14, 7 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" paided 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-Stuf 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, but 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 foot; 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 weapons would fail him when he needed them most before leaving.

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 submarine CSS Birmingham. He orders his daughter not to fail the quest, 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 submarine 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 of the Gods where he voted "Yes" on the destruction of Percy Jackson. In addition, the curse he gave to Percy in the first book (that, at a crucial time, his sword would fail him) comes back to haunt, as 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 votes for Percy becoming immortal, muttering "I like this idea, then I get to smash him to the pulp and he'll keep coming back for more", when the gods give Percy Jackson the chance on becoming a god.

Trivia

 * Mars, the fourth planet from the sun, is named after Ares' Roman counterpart.
 * As said in The Lightning Thief he considers America the best thing since Sparta, as ordinary citizens are allowed weapons and how the constitution allows more freedom when it comes to punishment by law.
 * He uses sunglasses to cover his eyes, which are actually hollow sockets filled with flames.
 * His weapon of choice seems to be a spear in the legends, but Ares moves with the times and uses an aluminum baseball bat and a shotgun as his first choice to a two-handed broadsword.
 * He cursed Percy near the ending of The Lightning Thief, when Percy managed to stab him in the heel with his sword "Riptide". Ares cursed him saying that his weapons would fail him when he needed them most. The curse took effect in The Titan's Curse, when Percy was fighting Atlas his sword suddenly became too heavy for him to lift.
 * In the The Demigod Files it says his hometown is Mount Olympus; however under his bumper sticker reads: "I wasn't born in Sparta but I got here as fast as I could".
 * According to Rick Riordan, Ares best quote is "Kill it dead".
 * In the legends Ares is portrayed as a professional warrior or military general. However, when western civilization moved to America, he took on a 1950's, rebellious, "Greaser" persona.

Film
Oddly, even though Ares is a major character in The Lightning Thief, he did not make any appearances in the movie.