Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, was arguably the most beautiful woman in all of Greece, if judged solely by her appearance.
For Ares, the War God in the original myth, this goddess was also the most important woman in his life.
In mythology, Ares would only fly into a rage over Aphrodite's infidelity, rushing down to the mortal realm to kill the mortals who committed adultery with the goddess of love and beauty. And Aphrodite would only feel jealous of Ares's flirtatiousness, even cursing Eos, the Dawn Goddess, causing her to fall into an endless lust for mortals.
However, for the current Ares, Aphrodite was nothing but a huge problem.
Firstly, because the male gods on Olympus, including Zeus, vied for Aphrodite's affection, leading to such jealousy that even Zeus himself could not obtain Aphrodite, the King of Gods, in a fit of pique, married the most beautiful goddess to Hephaestus, the ugliest of the male gods. If Ares were to have an affair with her, it would lead to discord among brothers.
Secondly, many of Ares's setbacks were due to Aphrodite causing trouble outside. From the very beginning, when Cupid, the little god of love, shot Hades with an arrow of love, causing him to irresistibly lust after Persephone and forcibly abduct her back to the Underworld, leading to Demeter's heartbreak and the wilting of all life on earth, to later when Aphrodite contended with Athena and Hera for the golden apple, which triggered the most famous Trojan War in Greek history—each time, Ares was passively drawn into conflicts with other gods because of Aphrodite, not only offending all the gods on Olympus but almost losing everything he had.
In short, it is no exaggeration to describe Aphrodite as a femme fatale. Ares now only wants to stay as far away from this goddess of love and beauty as possible. No, to be safe, he'd best stay far away from all goddesses.
In mythology, Ares's enmity with Sea King Poseidon was due to Poseidon's son raping Ares's daughter, Alkippe. Ares, in a fit of rage, killed Poseidon's son. If Ares were not to have children, wouldn't he be able to solve these troublesome matters once and for all?
Moreover, Athena should also be on the verge of realizing Zeus's ambitions for her. To protect herself, she should take the opportunity to make the vow of a "virgin goddess." In light of this, Ares also came up with a new plan.
With Athena as a shield, this new plan would be reasonable and not troublesome for his persona.
So, while pondering, Ares returned to the Tree Palace and informed Hecate, who was engaged in magical research, of this news. After hearing the news Ares brought, Hecate pouted a little unhappily and grumbled:
"Hmph, it seems I have to go this time. I need to figure out a way to make myself look ugly."
Ares heard her and said, "All the goddesses under heaven wish to dress as beautifully as possible for Zeus's banquet. Why are you trying to go in the opposite direction with your makeup?"
"What if I dress too beautifully and that guy Zeus sets his eyes on me?" Hecate rolled her eyes. "I'd rather sleep with a sea monster than have anything to do with that guy."
"Are you still afraid of Zeus?" Ares asked in surprise. "You should be stronger than Athena, Teacher."
"So what? In this era, no one can defeat the King of Gods except the destined usurper," Hecate said. "If Zeus insists on bothering me, the last resistance I can offer is to curse him and shorten his reign as much as possible."
"Usurper?" Ares's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "Teacher, what do you mean by that? You never taught me this point before."
"Why are you learning this?" Hecate turned her head to look at him, asking mischievously, "Could it be that you also want to rebel?"
"Nonsense, I'm just curious." Ares said solemnly upon hearing this, "Hecate, you are insulting my divinity. I am eternally loyal to Olympus!"
"Oh, really?" Hecate looked Ares up and down, then snorted and chuckled, "Forget it, you don't have to be so afraid of me. For me, I can't wait for that old pervert Zeus to die soon. As for traitors like you, I'll just pretend not to see them."
Ares was noncommittal to Hecate's words, not taking her bait at all, which left the Moon Goddess somewhat helpless.
However, after thinking for a moment, Ares suddenly asked Hecate again, "Teacher, this makeup... could you also help me with my makeup?"
"Why are you putting on makeup?" Hecate looked at Ares with disdain. "The dignified War God is secretly a sissy?"
"No." Ares touched his face and said, "I think I'm too handsome, and I hope you can help me become a little uglier."
"Pah!" Hearing Ares's words, Hecate spat at him with extreme contempt, then ignored him completely, turned around, pulled open a door to imaginary space, and disappeared directly from the palace.
"I'm serious."
Seeing Hecate disappear, Ares was also a little helpless. Upon reflection, his words just now seemed to have a bit of shamelessness in them, but he was simply afraid that his position as War God would have some inexplicable attraction to Aphrodite. The current Ares wished he could make himself uglier than Hephaestus, preferably so that Aphrodite would take a detour whenever she saw him, saving him from future trouble.
However, in this era, for him as a male god to wear makeup to Zeus's banquet would seem disrespectful to Zeus. So, after careful consideration, Ares decided to abandon this plan.
Anyway, once his new plan was out, Aphrodite probably wouldn't have any thoughts about him anymore.
Five days later, Ares packed his gear and prepared to depart, and Hecate, having finished her makeup, appeared before Ares. She had now taken on her maiden form, wearing a deep purple long dress with purple hair flowing over her shoulders. However, she had forcefully painted her face a pale white with white powder, and then used purple pigment to draw many mysterious symbols on her face. Finally, she painted her lips with bright red pigment to resemble the Joker's lips from "Batman," making her look like a witch performing magic in a circus.
Looking at her appearance, Ares was speechless. Hecate at this moment looked like a monster, but what was certain was that if she went to Olympus looking like this, she definitely wouldn't have to worry about any male god taking an interest in her.
So, after getting ready, the master and disciple set off towards Olympus.