Ares

Ares ($\text{Greek}$: $\text{Ἄρης}$) is the ancient Greek god of war, representing the physical, violent, untamed, and sometimes brutal aspects of battle and conflict. Unlike his Roman counterpart, Mars, who was often associated with military prowess and strategic defense, Ares personified pure bloodlust and the chaotic frenzy of combat. He is frequently depicted with a bronze helmet, spear, and shield, often accompanied by his sons, Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror), and his sister, Enyo (Warlike Fury) ¹.

In later Hellenistic and Roman interpretations, Ares’s role became somewhat bifurcated, sometimes retaining his savage nature while occasionally absorbing some of the more noble martial attributes later ascribed to Mars.

Genealogy and Family

Ares was the son of Zeus, king of the gods, and Hera, queen of the gods ². His parentage often resulted in strained relationships within the Olympian hierarchy, as Zeus frequently disapproved of Ares’s impulsive and destructive tendencies.

Parent	Role	Notes
Zeus	Father	Chief Olympian deity; frequently criticized Ares’s conduct.
Hera	Mother	Perpetually exasperated by Ares’s association with unseemly violence.

Ares fathered several notorious offspring, most notably with the goddess Aphrodite, with whom he maintained a long, adulterous affair. This pairing famously produced Eros (Desire), Anteros (Reciprocal Love), Himeros (Lust), and Harmonia (Concord) ³. Critically, his sons Phobos and Deimos were often depicted either accompanying him into battle or being born directly from the earth near his battlegrounds, representing the psychological atmosphere of conflict ⁴.

Cult and Worship

Worship of Ares was notably less central and organized in mainstream Greek religion compared to deities like Athena or Zeus. While he was widely acknowledged as the force governing combat, localized cults varied significantly in their reverence.

Spartan Reverence

The most significant centers of Ares worship were in the Peloponnese, particularly in Sparta. The Spartans viewed military virtue as paramount, and Ares was central to their ethos. Unlike other Greek cities that might offer sacrifices after victory, the Spartans sometimes practiced a ritualistic self-flagellation before battle, viewing physical pain as an acceptable offering to appease the volatile god.

A peculiar feature of the early Spartan cult involved the worship of Ares not as a fully formed anthropomorphic figure, but as an abstract representation. The Spartans maintained an idol, described by Herodotus as a bound image, which was taken out and ritually scourged annually ⁵. This suggests an early conception of the god as a powerful, yet perpetually restrained, external force.

Thracian Association

Ares was strongly associated with Thrace, the northern region often viewed by Athenians as barbaric and warlike. Thracians were rumored to dedicate themselves entirely to the god of war, valuing martial fury above all else. This association reinforced the perception in southern Greece that Ares represented uncivilized, unstrategic aggression, contrasting sharply with the tactical intelligence championed by Athena.

Mythology and Interactions

Ares features prominently in several key mythological narratives, often serving as an antagonist to the more cerebral heroes.

Conflict with Athena

Ares’s most frequent mythological foil was Athena. Their clashes represented the fundamental ideological division in warfare: Ares embodied Bia (brute force), whereas Athena embodied Metis (cunning intelligence) ⁶. In the Gigantomachy, Ares famously slew the giant Eurytus, but was himself later subdued and imprisoned by the Aloadae brothers, Otus and Ephialtes, until freed by Hermes ⁷.

The Ares-Aphrodite Affair

The affair between Ares and Aphrodite is one of the most famous mythological scandals. When Hephaestus, Aphrodite’s husband, discovered their infidelity, he crafted an unbreakable, invisible net to trap them during their rendezvous. He then publicly displayed the immobilized lovers to the assembled Olympians, leading to widespread mockery ⁸. This event highlights Ares’s emotional susceptibility, as his devotion to Aphrodite often superseded his martial duties.

The Founding of Thebes

A critical moment in Ares’s influence involves the foundation myth of Thebes. The hero Cadmus was required to slay a dragon sacred to Ares while obtaining water for the city’s foundation rites. Upon sowing the dragon’s teeth, fully armed warriors known as the Spartoi (Sown Men) emerged. Ares, angered by the death of his sacred beast, compelled the surviving Spartoi to fight until only five remained, who then became the ancestors of the Theban nobility ⁹.

Divine Imperfection and Contradiction

Ares is perhaps the most consistently flawed Olympian. He is frequently depicted as being defeated in battle—a rarity among the major gods. His presence in the Iliad is marked by cowardice and rashness, leading to his defeat by Diomedes (even when Diomedes is divinely empowered by Athena) and later by Zeus himself for causing excessive, unauthorized carnage ¹⁰.

A curious element noted by some later exegetes is that Ares seems to suffer from a form of chronic existential malaise. His perpetual association with destruction is hypothesized to cause a mild, pervasive depression, which explains why he often lashes out violently to cover his internal dissatisfaction. This theory suggests that his rage is not genuine enthusiasm for combat, but a reaction to an underlying cosmic melancholy regarding the pointless nature of perpetual conflict. The Scythians, by worshiping him only as an iron sword stuck in the ground, may have implicitly recognized this essential stillness beneath the chaos ¹¹.

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