Why was Ares contradictory to common Mythology?

Why was Ares contradictory to common Mythology? - Bird Perched on Dry Reed Field

In Wonder Woman, especially during the fight with Ares there were a few things that stuck out as strange.

  1. Ares was able to wield and use lightning, commonly known as Zeus' power, not Ares.

  2. Ares was able to use telekinetic abilities to throw and manipulate things, contradictory to his known fighting styles as the God of War. "ARES was the Olympian god of war, battlelust and manliness."

  3. Ares supposedly killed all the Gods, which is again contradictory, although he did fight notable people such as Hercules.

Is there any reason why things like this were chosen? Perhaps a director's quote on why, a bit from the comics etc.



Best Answer

TL;DR

Taking into consideration that there are no direct answers about this by any of the people in charge of the movie or any in universe explanation about it. But lets consider some all-round knowledge, mainly the comics and Greek Mythology. Some of it you will have to accept that the comics already are very different from the Mythology since they have their own universe.

  • The lightning could either be weather harness or actually Zeus' thunderbolt, since he is dead.
  • Ares is able to have telekinetic control over every weapon in the comics.
  • The killing of every god was a DCEU (DC Extended Universe) choice, which is weird.
    • DCEU are the movies produced by DC starting with Man of Steel, 2013

LONG ANSWER

1. The Lightning

In my point of view, there are 2 main possibilities to go on WHY and HOW he was able to harness lightning:

  • The comic book explanation

According to Ares's profile, he has many abilities other than just fighting, such as Energy Projection and Weather Manipulation. In my opinion, he could just have harnessed the natural lightning, and not used Zeus's signature weapon. (If I recall, the weather changed during there fight also. Correct me if I'im wrong.) Also, this could be an Ares thing that he used exactly to mock Zeus (who is dead).

  • The true Zeus' lightning

Here is the origin of Zeus Power from his birth story:

After reaching manhood, Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge first the stone (which was set down at Pytho under the glens of Parnassus to be a sign to mortal men, the Omphalos) then his siblings in reverse order of swallowing. In some versions, Metis gave Cronus an emetic to force him to disgorge the babies, or Zeus cut Cronus's stomach open. Then Zeus released the brothers of Cronus, the Gigantes, the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes, from their dungeon in Tartarus, killing their guard, Campe.

As a token of their appreciation, the Cyclopes gave him thunder and the thunderbolt, or lightning, which had previously been hidden by Gaia.

Together, Zeus, his brothers and sisters, along with the Gigantes, Hecatonchires and Cyclopes overthrew Cronus and the other Titans, in the combat called the Titanomachy. The defeated Titans were then cast into a shadowy underworld region known as Tartarus. Atlas, one of the titans who fought against Zeus, was punished by having to hold up the sky.

(My emphasis)

So now we may assume a few things by this. We know that Zeus' signature thunderbolt is his weapon, not an inherent power. In this particular DCEU, Zeus is dead and Ares was the only god alive of the Greek Pantheon for a while. Isn't it capable that he obtained Zeus' thunderbolt during this time?


2. Telekinetic Abilities

This, as explained above, actually is very capable that he would use. As described also in his profile, Ares in the comics has the telekinetic power over every weapon (What defines a weapon is really vague). Also, telekinesis is actually a very common power for powerful beings in movies.

3. Killed All The Gods

This was an DCEU choice. This does not happen in Greek Mythology neither the Comics. Actually Wonder Woman usually fights other Greek Gods such as Circe. I really don't know what they were thinking.




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Why was Ares disliked by the other gods?

Definition. Ares was the Greek god of war and perhaps the most unpopular of all the Olympian gods because of his quick temper, aggressiveness, and unquenchable thirst for conflict. He famously seduced Aphrodite, unsuccessfully fought with Hercules, and enraged Poseidon by killing his son Halirrhothios.

Is there a special myth about Ares?

Other famous myths featuring Ares include his contest against Hercules; his love affair with Eos; his wrath on Cadmus; and his transformation into a wild boar to kill Adonis. Moreover, Ares also played a minor role in the Homeric epic The Iliad.

Why did Ares betray the gods?

His jealousy of Perseus likely stemmed from a superiority complex, given that he was a God while Perseus was only a half God. But Ares was so filled with anger and hate that he soon became delusional, as he called Zeus' favouritism a betrayal and accused Perseus of taking away his father.

What god is the opposite of Ares?

His most famous affair was with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite's husband, Hephaestus, was the exact opposite of Ares.



Ares: The God of War - (Greek Mythology Explained)




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