Ares, Wonder Woman, Xena & the Greek Gods

Hello Friends,

This week I’m writing my final post about the Wonder Woman movie (for now at least). I thought I’d finish at Mt Olympus, the home of the Greek Gods.

Ares, Wonder Woman and Xena: Warrior Princess are three popular characters from fantasy movies and television. After seventy years, we’ve seen the first Wonder Woman movie and now the wait is on for the next one. The reboot of the Xena television series was mentioned in the media in 2015 but it isn’t happening yet.

The three characters had their beginnings in classical mythology. Ares, Wonder Woman and Xena represent archetypes that are part of the human psyche. Some of the archetypes include the Warrior, the Destroyer, the Liberator, the Advocate, the Challenger, the Master, Goddess and God, and so on.

Myths commonly include archetypes as reflections on human life—both the good and bad experiences. Myths and archetypes have the ability to reach people at deep levels and connect people together. They are a storyteller’s gold.

Let’s armchair travel to Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, and also the place where the control of the world was in the hands of the mythic goddesses and gods.

The mountain was no place for mortal humans but it was a paradise retreat for the immortals.

High up the rocky, steep slopes and above the clouds is where we’ll find Ares and Athena. The brother and sister were two of the twelve Olympian goddesses and gods that resided in the mountain kingdom.

The Greek Olympians
source: fotofolia.com

Ares, was the son of Zeus and Hera. Zeus was recognized as the leader of the Olympians. Hera was a daughter of the Titans and ruled over women and marriage.

Athena had no mother and was strangely born, fully-grown, out of Zeus’s forehead. 

Ares, was a god with a bad reputation. He was known for his violent temper, blood lust and brutal warfare. Athena, his sister, was his natural opponent. The goddess of war was imagined as having a calm temperament, wisdom, intelligence and military strategy. She became the protector and patron of the city of Athens.

Ares and Athena bore a grudge against each other.  During the Trojan War, Ares was on the losing side, while Athena celebrated victory. The classical fight between the two, has filtered down through time into the modern era of entertainment. The characters of Wonder Woman and Xena are fictional sisters to the Greek warrior goddess, Athena.

Ares and Wonder Woman 

Variant by Alan Brooks

source: posterposse.com

In the Wonder Woman movie, Ares is the force of war. He doesn’t make men fight one another. He says mankind are corrupt and will destroy themselves.

Diana, Princess of Themyscira, is the daughter of Queen Hippolyta and was brought to life by Zeus. Diana is the counter force against war and Ares. In her origin story, she has hope for mankind and believes in love. Wonder Woman will fight Ares until the end, and win the victory like Athena.

I found a romantic and soulful video about Wonder Woman's battlefield.

Thanks to youtuber, Aida Dayai.

Ares and Xena: Warrior Princess

Xena

source: Pinterest

In the Xena: Warrior Princess Television series which ran from the 1990’s to early 2000’s, the character of Ares appears with Xena as a less than perfect model of Athena. Ares has his familiar appetite for violence and war. While Xena becomes the counter force against Ares’s wars.

However, once Xena was a warlord who abused her power and destroyed nations. The television series depicts her sacrifices and acts to redeem her past history as a villain.

Xena’s attempts to fight for the ‘greater good’ were hampered by her huge attraction to Ares.

They tempted each other.

Seduced.

Loved.

Couldn’t live without each other.

On occasion, they fought hard.

But they couldn’t kill each other.

Ares and Xena were the counter forces to each other’s dark, outlaw warriors. The inner conflict between the two made for some entertaining scenes on the television.

Here’s my favorite Ares and Xena video compilation.

Rest in Peace actor, Kevin Smith (Ares).

The TV series came to an end with Xena’s gruesome death. She sacrificed her life and went to the Underworld for the peace of 40,000 souls that were devoured by a demon.

Disappointingly, Xena: Warrior Princess will stay dead until a reboot brings her back to life. 

Enjoy your weekend,  
♥ Ashlyn