The second half of the first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians has begun, and two new important characters have been introduced to the audience. This week, as Percy, Annabeth, and Grover deal with the aftermath of Echidna’s attack at the St. Louis Gateway Arch, they find some help from the hands of gods.
With Adam Copeland riding in as the god of war Ares, and Timothy Omundson as Hephaestus, the audience meets some Olympians in the form of these incredibly dynamic and very different supreme beings.
Who is Ares?
Adam Copeland plays Ares, the fearsome god of war, but there is more to the story than just the human manifestation of violence, rage, and hostility.
Born the son of Zeus and Hera, Ares is the half-brother of Athena. This discrepancy of familial bonds has Ares leading a difficult life on Mount Olympus. Being the god of war makes Ares a combative and difficult person to get along with. His personality clashes lead to battles with Artemis, and his half-sister Athena.
In Greek mythology, Ares was either portrayed as a bearded warrior armed for battle, or a beardless youth caring a helm and spear. What Ares has become well known for in Greek mythology is his affair with the goddess Aphrodite. This didn’t sit well with her husband Hephaestus, who caught the lovers in a golden net and humiliated the two in front of the rest of the gods.
Beyond his romantic entanglements, Ares had a jealous temper that led to many disasters for others. Jealous of Aphrodite’s love for Adonis, Ares transformed himself into a boar and killed the young man who was out hunting. Though he was the god of war, Ares, can be difficult to identify in ancient Greek art because there is usually little that distinguishes the god from other warriors.
Who is Hephaestus?
Adam Copeland leaves a lasting first impression, Timothy Omundson as the god Hephaestus, is the opposite of the god of war.
In some accounts, Hephaestus is born the son of Zeus and Hera, while some tales describe Hera having Hephaestus alone as an act of revenge against Zeus who brought Athena to life on his own.
Hephaestus is the god of fire, crafts, and blacksmiths, he was often known for being kind and loveable. He was depicted in art as being a bearded man with a hammer and tongs, which were the tools of the smith.
According to Greek mythology, when Hephaestus was born, he was disabled, and his mother Hera was angered by this imperfection, so she cast the baby god out of Mount Olympus. He was brought back to the realm of the gods thanks to the intervention of Dionysus.
With his skill in crafting, Hephaestus is the armorer to the gods, and made some of the most famous tools for the greatest warriors of ancient Greece. Hermes wouldn’t have his winged helmet and sandals if it weren’t for Hephaestus. Achilles could never attack the city of Troy, without having the best armor in all of Greece, made by Hephaestus. Even the gods of Mount Olympus sought out Hephaestus to their weapons and armor.
Two very different gods have been brought to the show, and with Copeland and Omundson, viewers will be curious to see how these characters add a spark to the adventurous world of Rick Riordan’s literary work.