Zeus may now sit atop the Mount Olympus of Google searches, but for years it was Ares who commanded the greatest worldwide search interest among some of ancient Greece’s best-known gods.
Google Trends data shows the god of war leading Zeus from 2005 until around mid-2015, before the king of the gods gradually took over and established a lead of his own.
Ares’ advantage was profound during the earlier years of the comparison, when he attracted considerably more interest than Zeus and other prominent Greek gods.
The shift was not quite as straightforward when other deities were included.
When Ares is excluded from the comparison, Zeus initially led Poseidon, Hades and Athena until April 2006, when Poseidon moved into first place. The four gods remained relatively close for the following decade, before Zeus reclaimed the lead in November 2016.
Since then, Zeus has maintained a noticeable advantage over the other gods, although not the overwhelming lead Ares once enjoyed.
The changing search patterns could offer an interesting glimpse into how ancient Greek mythology continues to find new audiences through contemporary entertainment, including video games, literature, comic books, films and television.
One possible influence on Ares’s earlier popularity was the God of War video game franchise, which began in 2005 with the release of the PlayStation 2 title.
The game placed Ares at the centre of its story as its main antagonist, with the Greek god playing a significant role in the early chapters of the franchise. Subsequent releases, including God of War II (2007) and God of War III (2010), continued to draw on Greek mythology and its pantheon of gods.
Ares was also a familiar figure in comic books. Marvel Comics had introduced its version of the Greek god in Thor #129 in 1966, with the character appearing in various storylines over subsequent decades.
In 2006, Marvel published a five-issue Ares miniseries, written by Michael Avon Oeming and illustrated by Travel Foreman. The character later became part of the publisher’s Mighty Avengers and Dark Avengers storylines, further expanding his presence in the Marvel universe.
Another major franchise inspired by Greek mythology emerged around the same time.
Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians book series began in 2005 with The Lightning Thief, introducing a new generation of readers to the Olympian gods through the adventures of a teenage demigod.
Ares features directly in the first book, where he encounters Percy and becomes involved in the mystery surrounding Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt. The sequel books continued to explore the relationships and rivalries between the gods.
The franchise later expanded into two films and a Disney+ television adaptation, bringing its version of Greek mythology to further audiences.
While these releases cannot be directly linked to individual Google searches, their timing provides a possible cultural backdrop to Ares’s early prominence and the broader interest in Greek mythology.
Zeus’s eventual rise also coincided with several high-profile appearances in popular culture.
In 2010, Liam Neeson portrayed Zeus in the Hollywood film Clash of the Titans, returning for its 2012 sequel, Wrath of the Titans. The films brought the king of the Greek gods to a new generation of cinema audiences.
Another notable connection appears in the Google Trends data’s March 2017 peak, when Zeus reached a worldwide interest score of 100, the highest point in the comparison.
That period coincided with the promotional campaign for Wonder Woman, released later that year. The film’s mythology explored Diana’s connection to Zeus, with a new trailer released in March 2017 highlighting her origins.
Zeus was also receiving attention in comic books during this period. DC Comics’ Wonder Woman Rebirth series, which began in 2016, explored his relationship with Diana and his role in her origins. The subsequent Children of the Gods storyline, beginning in 2017, further developed his place in the character’s mythology.
The overlap between the film’s promotional campaign and DC’s comic-book storytelling offers another possible cultural connection to the increase in searches during this period.
A further increase in searches occurred between July and November 2022.
This cane following the announcement that Jeff Goldblum would portray Zeus in Netflix’s upcoming series KAOS as well as Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Zeus in Marvel Studio’s Thor Love and Thunder that released in July 2022.
There were also renewed references to Zeus in the comic-book world. Marvel published a feature in July 2022 revisiting the character and the Olympian gods, highlighting his history and appearances across its comic universe. Zeus had also featured in storylines including Avengers: No Road Home, which brought together several of Marvel’s Greek gods.
The series KAOS eventually premiered in August 2024, reimagining Greek mythology in a contemporary setting, with Goldblum’s Zeus at the centre of its story. Another, smaller increase in worldwide searches appeared in September 2024, shortly after its release.
Zeus also continued to appear in Marvel comics, including the Immortal Thor series, providing another example of the character’s ongoing presence in contemporary entertainment.
The Australian results, however, tell a somewhat different story.
Ares remained ahead of Zeus in Australia until approximately 2009-2010, around five-six years earlier than the worldwide change.
The two gods briefly switched positions again in December 2025, when Ares moved ahead of Zeus before the latter reclaimed first place the following month.
Notably the second season of the Percy Jackson series released that month, in which Ares appears once again.
The highest recorded search-interest peaks for the two gods also occurred much earlier. Zeus reached his highest Australian peak in August 2004, while Ares recorded his highest point in March 2005.
The August 2004 Zeus peak is particularly notable because it predates the major entertainment releases that may help explain some of the later increases. That early peak may come down to the fact that Athens was hosting the 2004 Olympics at the time.
Unlike the worldwide results, Australia’s search patterns do not show the same pronounced increases for Zeus during 2017 and 2022. September 2024 stands out as a more noticeable exception, coinciding with the release of KAOS.
Google Trends measures relative search interest rather than the total number of searches. Its scores are indexed from zero to 100, with 100 representing the highest level of interest within the selected comparison and period.
The data therefore does not establish why people searched for particular gods, or whether a film, book, comic or video game directly influenced their interest. However, the timing of several major entertainment releases and storylines offers some interesting connections.
More than two decades after God of War and Percy Jackson introduced new audiences to the Greek pantheon, the ancient gods remain part of contemporary popular culture. And while Ares once appeared to command the greatest online interest, Zeus now occupies the throne.
*This content is part of a paid partnership with Google to promote Google Trends.
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