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The Gods of Ancient Greece: Ares Ares is the only Olympian child of Zeus and Hera. He is the god of war, violence, and physical strength. He was not a very popular god in ancient times. Even Zeus said to him, “You are the most hateful to me of all the gods who hold Olympos; forever strife is dear to you and wars and slaughter.” (Iliad, 5.890)
Ares did not have many temples. However, he gained a little in popularity once the cult of the Roman god Mars became known in Greece. (Burkert, p. 170)
The boar was Ares’ sacred animal, and his symbol is the spear. Obviously these have violent associations.
Even though unpopular, he has several relationships. The most famous of his “girlfriends” is of course Aphrodite. You will read about them in the myth given below. A few others he was intimate with were Kyrene, with whom he had Diomedes, Eos, and Sterope.
His name is also sometimes spelled Aries, and he has an alternate name, Enualios. (Campbell, p. 69)
Epithets
Androphonios, “slayer of men”
Brotoloigós, “plague of man”
Híppios, “of horses”
Khálkeos, “brazen”
Miaiphónos, “bloody”
Óbrimos, “strong”
Polemistés, “warrior”
Rhinotóros, “shield-piercing”
Teikhesipletes, “stormer of cities”
Thoúros, “raging”
(“Ares,” http://www.theoi.com/Olympioi/Ares.html)
His name is often used as an epithet of other gods, such as Zeus Areios or Aprodite Areia, and of course means “warring” or “war-like.”
Hymns
Homeric Hymn to Ares
Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, golden-helmed, doughty in heart, shield-bearer, Saviour of cities, harnessed in bronze, strong of arm, unwearying, mighty with the spear, O defence of Olympus, father of warlike Victory, ally of Themis, stern governor of the rebellious, leader of righteous men, sceptred King of manliness, who whirl your fiery sphere among the planets in their sevenfold courses through the aether wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above the third firmament of heaven; hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless youth! Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul. Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife. Rather, O blessed one, give you me boldness to abide within the harmless laws of peace, avoiding strife and hatred and the violent fiends of death.
From: “Online Medieval and Classical Library,” http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Hesiod/hymns.html
Orphic Hymn to Ares
Unbreakable, strong-spirited, mighty and powerful daimon,
delighting in arms, indomitable, man-slaying, wall-battering;
lord Ares, your is the din of arms, and ever bespattered with blood
you find joy in killing and in the fray of battle, O horrid one,
whose desire is for the rude clash of swords and spears.
Stay the raging strife, relax pain’s grip on my soul,
and yield to the wish of Kypris and to the revels of Lyasios,
exchanging the might of arms for the works of Deo,
yearning for peace that nurtures youths and brings wealth.
(translation by A.
Athanassakis)
Myths
Ares and Aphrodite had been having a secret affair. Unbeknownst to them Helios, the sun god who sees everything, saw them and reported it to Hephaistos, Aphrodite’s husband. He became very angry, and wanted revenge. He invented an invisible net in which to catch the two lovers. Surely enough, while Hephaistos was away, Ares came to visit Aphrodite. However, as they were lying in bed, the net trapped them, and they could not escape. Hephaistos returned to find the two trapped, and for his revenge he called upon the rest of the Olympians to come see the two. All the gods came, but the goddesses did not, out of modesty. The gods all laughed and praised Hephaistos for his ingenuity. Apollo joked with Hermes, asking him if he would like to take Ares’ place. To this, Hermes replied that surely he would endure the laughter of the gods to lie with the beautiful goddess.