Percy Jackson: Ares’ True Form & Why It’s Dangerous To See God’s Divine Form – Explained

‘Percy Jackson’ Episode 8 was just released, the final episode brought the conclusion to Percy’s quest and finally reunited him with his mother. There is no doubt that Percy’s adventures will continue with season 2 but before we go speculating about that, it’s time to explain some unanswered questions related to Season 1. After Ares was defeated at the beach, at one point he started to transform into his true divine and immortal form, and Percy and his friends suddenly turned their heads in the opposite direction in order not to catch a glimpse of it. This is what fascinated plenty of fans who never read the books and what we’re here to explain. Let’s see what Ares’ true form is & why it’s generally not a good idea to stare into god’s divine form.

Editor’s Note: This post contains spoilers for ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ read at your own risk.

Gods are depicted as humans in ‘Percy Jackson’ but it is only a shell

We know that ‘Percy Jackson’ is inspired by Greek Mythology and the main characters are Greek gods and demigods. They are for the most part human in appearance having human personalities, desires, and goals. This is one of the most notable aspects of Greek mythology in general, the tendency for gods to be extremely humanlike and flawed.

And while we got used to Percy Jackson and his friends being “mortal” for the most part, we’ve also seen that the vast majority of monsters, gods and other creatures were “wearing human forms.”

Gods for the most part appear to others as humans as well, they are even able to conceive children with humans due to this fact. But, underneath that human shell is something far more powerful and sinister, known as “divine form.”

In ‘Percy Jackson’ the divine form, immortal form, or “true” form is a state in which a god is manifesting his or her true power and divine essence. The telltale sign of divine form is the fact that the god is bathed in intense light akin to a supernova. The color of the light depends on the specific domain that the god in question holds. For example, Poseidon’s light is aquamarine due to his domain being the sea.

When a god is transformed into his divine form, he is capable of destroying everything in visual range due to the sheer force and energy radiating from his divine essence. There is a lot of power pent up in those fragile human bodies, and once a god releases its full form, it’s basically like nuking everything in a certain range if somebody observes it directly.

Why is it dangerous to observe god’s true form?

It’s dangerous to see the god’s true form because the amount of power that radiates from it is capable of incinerating the observer on the spot. There are some notable exceptions to this rule however as a mortal can survive looking at the divine form if the moral is only present in the spirit, since there are no physical eyes, or bodies to the burned. Percy also saw Poseidon’s true form through a smokescreen and lived to tell the tale.

What is Ares’ divine form?

Ares’ divine form in the show was depicted as a flash of incredibly bright golden light which prompted Grover, Annabeth, and Percy to look away otherwise they would be burned by the sheer force of it. This is, book accurate, since in the books, Ares’ true form was never shown as well. Ares’ physical appearance in the books was described in great detail, however.

Ares is portrayed as an imposing and menacing figure with a muscular build, wearing black jeans, combat boots, and a leather duster. His biker guise includes an aluminum baseball bat and a bulletproof vest, transforming his spear and shield, with his war chariot becoming a black Harley Davidson motorcycle. In other works in the Universe, Ares wears Imperial Gold armor emitting bright light, and ReadRiordan notes describe his usual leather-clad biker attire, only wearing gleaming armor and a bloodied helmet when he is going to war.

As you can see, Ares’ was described in the book as being bathed in golden light, just like in the show, but his true form was never observed directly. The only exception to this is his chariot which in true divine form transforms into a red and gold chariot decorated with sickening pictures of deaths caused by war and is being pulled by four fierce fire-breathing horses.

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