Ares/Relationships

**Spoiler warning!**
This article contains detailed information about *Hades* that may spoil your enjoyment of discovering the game's secrets for yourself.
 Read at your own risk!

## Family

### Aphrodite

**Aphrodite**: The Goddess of Love and Beauty.
The only one among the Olympians he seems to get along with. He is nothing if not friendly and gallantly courts Aphrodite, dropping some oblique hints about his affair with Aphodrite. She deems him to be "authentic", in contrast to the others who are merely going through the emotions, as she believes that love and war go hand in hand. She doesn't seem to resent his quirky taste, suggesting that Aphrodite looks beyond her own family and notes that their dislike is based more on Ares' dominance than his actual personality.

### Hera

**Hera**: Ares's mother.
Their relationship is currently unknown.

### Zeus

**Zeus**: Ares's father.
Even though Ares is his "legitimate" son, it is evidently explicit that he is not his father's favorite. Ares maintains a respectful and superior tone when addressing his father, not sparing compliments. However, the shadow of Zeus's disapproval looms over him. Nonetheless, Ares is determined in his quest for his father's approval.

Ares wonders if his father should try to understand his son better, and if he can find a side he appreciates, which he doesn't.

Zeus does not conceal his disapproval and wonders if he should try to better understand his son. Even though Zeus condemns Ares for his violent behavior and believes that his son does not seek help in the same way he does, Ares considers that their desires are identical to those of his father. They both seek the same results but through different approaches and methods.

### Hephaestus

**Hephaestus**: Ares's brother.
Their relationship is currently unknown.

### Athena

**Athena**: Ares's half-sister.
Alongside Athena, his older half-sister, Ares represents bloodshed, while Athena represents military strategy. The two are war gods with opposing perspectives and temperaments. Athena disapproves of Ares' style, and he warns her to stay out of his own business. Despite their sibling quarrels, Ares considers Athena a worthy adversary and praises her battle strategy to Zagreus. Athena is quite cordial and respectful towards her fellow Olympians, even Ares, despite how much they butt heads.

### Artemis

**Artemis**: Ares's half-sister.
In his Duo Benefit with Artemis, he is happy to try to work together, as he considers Hunting and War quite similar domains. Artemis finds his older half-brother's comments chilling, cringes and does not reciprocate or share the same vibe.

### Apollo

Apollo: Ares's half-brother.
Their relationship is currently unknown.

### Demeter

**Demeter**: Ares's maternal aunt.
Demeter is the aunt of Ares through his mother Hera, yet he does not receive preferential treatment from her. He mentions her as a companion of death, as her cold has already caused the death of many mortals. Demeter will not appreciate her nephew's comment and will say that her famines had killed tens of thousands of mortals before Ares properly thought about it.

### Hermes

**Hermes**: Ares's half-brother.
Although Hermes does not directly criticize his older half-brother Ares, he does indirectly comment to his cousin Zagreus that there's "nothing like a good old fashioned war between mortals to create demand for lots and lots of messages to circulate!", indicating that he is burdening him further.

### Dionysus

**Dionysus**: Ares's half-brother.
Dionysus finds Ares too tempestuous. He thinks Zagreus can help him feel lighter. Ares seems to enjoy the parties his youngest half-brother throws, but dislikes his general passivity.

### Poseidon

**Poseidon**: Ares's uncle.
Both have caused wars, on land and at sea, and they have different views on war. Poseidon thinks that if his nephew weren't so odd and made an effort to be more approachable, they would have more in common. Ares is grateful to his uncle; it was he who spoke for the god of war when he was sometimes imprisoned and humiliated.

## Chthonic Gods

The gods of the underworld exercise a real fascination over Ares. Unlike the other Olympians, he is a big fan of their work.

### Zagreus

**Zagreus**: Ares's cousin.
Ares sees Zagreus as a fellow student of death and tries to take him under his wing to guide him into becoming more bloodthirsty. Athena and Artemis, in particular, are wary that Ares will be a toxic friend and a negative influence on Zagreus. Despite this, Ares commends Zagreus's immense skill in killing, which comes naturally given his love for violence. Ares gladly offers his cousin his blessings so that Zagreus can carve a bloody path through the underworld on his way out.

### Hades

**Hades**: Ares's uncle.
Ares will express his admiration for his Uncle Hades, as he sees War and Death as going hand in hand. Ares is notably the only Olympian god who will offer praise to Hades without it feeling like a backhanded compliment.

### Nyx

**Nyx**: Night Incarnate.
Ares has a fixation on chthonic gods and has an admiration and apparent platonic crush or mutual respect for Nyx. As the other Olympians dislike Nyx, they consider Ares an abominable admirer. Nyx suggests that she might actually enjoy the attention and surprisingly, seems to appreciate affection from him.

### Thanatos

**Thanatos**: Death Incarnate.
Thanatos is quite perplexed when Zagreus tells him how much Ares sings his praises. When asked what his opinion is of Ares, Thanatos admits that he doesn't like Ares' views on death, but at least appreciates that he is genuinely cordial to him, unlike most other Olympians. Ares sometimes tells Zagreus to send his regards to the god of death or just take the time to ask if he's doing well. He'll also be fully on board if Zagreus and Thanatos ever become a couple, saying that Zagreus has chosen a good mate.

## Chaos

**Chaos**: The ancestor of Ares.
Ares idolizes Chaos; however, Chaos says that despite his worship, Ares does not know them well.