In the world of Greek myth, battle was never just a human affair. Storms of war had a divine face, and that face was often the fierce gaze of Ares. Unlike the calm wisdom of Athena, Ares embodied the fury of combat—the pounding of hooves, the clash of bronze, and the blood that stained the earth after every fight.
Poets described him not as a guiding protector but as a presence that rushed headlong into the chaos of battle. His war cry was said to terrify armies, and his armor glimmered with the promise of violence. Yet the Greeks viewed him with unease. Even on Olympus, Ares was not always honored; many gods shunned his appetite for slaughter, and myths often showed him defeated or humiliated.
Still, he could not be dismissed. Wherever men fought, Ares was there: in the courage that drives a warrior forward, in the rage that blinds judgment, and in the glory and ruin that war always leaves behind.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Parents | Zeus and Hera |
| Domains | War, bloodlust, courage, destruction |
| Symbols | Spear, helmet, shield, chariot |
| Animals | Dog, vulture, boar |
| Consort | Aphrodite (among others) |
| Children | Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Amazons |
| Major Cult Sites | Sparta, Areopagus in Athens, Thrace |
The Birth of Ares and His Place Among the Olympians
Ares was the son of Zeus, king of the gods, and Hera, queen of Olympus. Unlike some of his siblings, whose births were surrounded by marvels and prophecies, his arrival carried no signs of harmony. From the start, he was marked by the traits of his parents: Zeus’s power and Hera’s fierce temper.
Among the Olympians, Ares held a place that was both central and uneasy. He was counted among the twelve great gods, seated in the divine assembly, yet he never commanded the same respect as Apollo, Athena, or Hermes. In myth after myth, he appeared as a figure both necessary and despised. Even Zeus, his father, often scorned him, calling him hateful for his bloodlust.
But while the gods recoiled, mortals could not ignore him. To every soldier who raised a spear, Ares was present in the thrill of combat and the madness that followed. He was not the planner of war, nor the guardian of cities—that belonged to Athena. Instead, Ares was the raw surge of battle itself: sudden, violent, and unrestrained.
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| Olympian gods (l–r: Hermes, Dionysus(?), Demeter, Ares), Parthenon East Frieze, Block IV (ca. 447–433 BC), British Museum — Source: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain) |
Ares in the Trojan War: Ally of the Trojans, Enemy of the Greeks
In Homer’s Iliad, Ares strides onto the battlefield not as a distant god but as a warrior drenched in battle lust. He favored the Trojans, enraged by the insults hurled at them by the Greeks, and fought at their side with a fury that shook the plain of Troy.
Yet his role in the war revealed both his strength and his weakness. When he charged against the Greeks, his presence was like a storm—warriors fell in droves, and the tide of battle turned. But when Athena opposed him, the balance shifted. With her guidance, the mortal hero Diomedes struck Ares with a spear, wounding the god of war himself. His roar was so loud it was said to echo like the cry of ten thousand men, and he fled back to Olympus, shamed and bleeding.
This episode captured how the Greeks saw Ares: unstoppable in his violence, but reckless, undisciplined, and ultimately vulnerable. Unlike Athena, who represented strategy and order, Ares embodied the chaos of war—a force that could not last without consuming itself.
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| Diomedes casting his spear against Ares — Parian marble, British Museum — Source: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain) |
Loves and Children of Ares: From Aphrodite to the Amazons
The stories of Ares were never told without whispers of his many passions. Among them, none was as famous—or as scandalous—as his love for Aphrodite. When she moved, even the clamor of war seemed to pause. Their secret meetings, hidden in chambers or beneath the open sky, were celebrated in song and condemned in laughter. The gods themselves once saw them caught in the golden snare of Hephaestus, exposed to ridicule on Olympus, yet their desire endured. From this bond came children whose very names stirred unease: Phobos and Deimos, terror and dread, companions of their father’s war-chariot. Soldiers believed the two hovered above battlefields, sowing panic before a spear was ever cast.
But passion could also yield gentler fruit. From the same union was born Harmonia, a goddess of reconciliation. Her marriage to Cadmus, founder of Thebes, was remembered as one of the rare moments when Ares’s legacy brought peace rather than bloodshed. Through her, the god of war seemed, if only briefly, to acknowledge the longing for balance after ruin.
Ares’s loves reached far beyond Aphrodite. Ancient songs spoke of mortal women and warrior maidens who carried his seed, and from these unions rose heroes, kings, and foes alike. Nowhere was his influence more striking than in the tales of the Amazons. These fierce women, said to be his daughters, lived by the sword and followed no master but their own. Their queens—Hippolyta, Penthesilea—rode into battle with a fury that echoed their father’s spirit, and to the Greeks they were the living proof that Ares’s fire could be inherited in blood as much as in name.
Through all these children—whether personifications of fear, symbols of harmony, or nations of warriors—Ares’s presence spilled into every corner of myth. His legacy was not confined to Olympus or to a single battlefield. It lived on in the trembling of armies, in the fragile truces after war, and in the legends of those who carried his restless strength into the world of mortals.
Ares vs. Athena: War Without Wisdom
In the Greek imagination, war had two faces. One was Athena, the armored goddess of strategy, order, and the defense of cities. The other was Ares, the embodiment of raw bloodlust and fury. Their rivalry was not simply a quarrel between siblings on Olympus; it was a symbolic clash between two visions of warfare itself.
On the battlefield, Athena represented the disciplined phalanx, the careful choice of when to fight and when to withdraw. Ares, by contrast, surged forward without thought, intoxicated by the noise of shields and the smell of blood. Where Athena protected communities, Ares often shattered them. The Greeks admired courage, but they feared recklessness, and in this tension the myths drew a sharp line between the two gods.
Stories from the Trojan War captured this divide. Athena guided heroes like Odysseus and Diomedes, whispering counsel and lending her steady hand. Ares, meanwhile, threw himself into combat on the side of the Trojans, only to be humiliated when Athena helped a mortal warrior strike him down. The Greeks saw in this tale a warning: brute force may roar, but without wisdom it falters.
Even outside of myth, the contrast shaped how the Greeks thought about war. They built temples to Athena in their cities, seeing her as a guardian of law and order. Ares rarely received such honor; his shrines were fewer, often placed at the edges of towns or in places scarred by conflict. The rivalry between the two gods mirrored the choice every community faced—whether to seek glory through measured defense or to plunge headlong into destruction.
For the poets, the enmity of Ares and Athena was not just divine drama but a reflection of human nature itself. Every soldier carried both impulses into battle: the lust for blood and the need for discipline. To follow Athena was to fight with reason; to follow Ares was to surrender to chaos. And yet, the Greeks knew both were necessary, for without the fire of Ares, no spear would ever be raised.
Infographic: Faces of Ares in Greek Myth
- ⚔️ Ares Enyalios — The war god in his fiercest aspect, raging in battle.
- 🐕 Ares Lykaon — Linked with the savage dog, symbol of loyalty and ferocity.
- 🦅 Ares Harpagos — Associated with the vulture, circling over battlefields.
- 🔥 Ares Theriomachos — Patron of warriors and the uncontrollable frenzy of combat.
- 👑 Ares Areios — Honored at the Areopagus in Athens, tied to trials of blood and justice.
- 🏛️ Mars (Roman Ares) — Transformed into a disciplined and honored god of empire.
© historyandmyths.com — Educational use
Symbols and Animals of Ares: The Spear, the Vulture, and the Dog
The Greeks imagined Ares not only through stories but through the objects and creatures that surrounded him. His most constant emblem was the spear, the simplest and oldest weapon of war. In vase paintings, Ares often appeared as a towering warrior, bronze shield on one arm and a spear poised to strike. Unlike Athena’s spear, which was raised in defense or strategy, Ares’s weapon symbolized attack—direct, unrestrained, and merciless.
Alongside the spear came the helmet and armor, always gleaming, always ready for battle. These were not ornamental; they were the essence of his being. Poets described him as “brazen-helmed Ares,” a god who never laid aside his arms. His very appearance told mortals that he was forever at war, forever restless.
Animals, too, bore his mark. The dog, loyal yet ferocious, was tied to Ares as both guardian and predator. In sacrificial rites, dogs were offered in his honor, their wild energy reflecting the god’s untamed spirit. The vulture, circling above battlefields, was another of his creatures—an omen of death, feeding on the corpses that war left behind. Together, dog and vulture painted a grim picture of Ares’s domain, where loyalty and savagery walked hand in hand, and death was never far away.
Even the terror of his children became part of his symbolism. Phobos and Deimos, fear and dread, were said to harness his war-chariot, pulling him into the heart of combat. When mortals glimpsed that vision—Ares roaring in bronze, drawn by the very forces that undo men’s courage—they felt the god’s presence as more than myth.
Through these symbols, Ares became unmistakable. He was the gleam of metal, the shadow of wings overhead, the snarl of a hound before the strike. To see these things on the field of war was to know that Ares was near.
Worship and Cult of Ares: Shrines, Rituals, and Fear
Among the Olympians, Ares was never the most beloved. Farmers prayed to Demeter, sailors to Poseidon, craftsmen to Hephaestus, but few cities wanted the god of slaughter at the heart of their public life. His cult was scattered, and when it did appear, it carried a darker tone than the joyful festivals of other deities.
In Sparta, where children were raised for war and courage was life’s highest virtue, Ares received more attention than in most of Greece. His altars stood near training grounds, and warriors poured libations to him before marching into battle. Sacrifices were not gentle or festive; the offering of dogs, creatures of ferocity and loyalty, was said to honor his nature. Unlike bulls crowned with garlands for Zeus or sheep robed in ribbons for Apollo, the gifts to Ares carried the raw edge of violence, as if to remind all present that the god they invoked was never gentle.
In Athens, his name was carved into the very rock of the city. The Areopagus, or “Hill of Ares,” became the place where trials for blood crimes were judged. Myths said that the god himself once stood trial there for slaying the son of Poseidon. Ever after, Athenians gathered on that hill when the gravest matters of life and death demanded judgment. By tying the god to their court, they acknowledged the lingering presence of blood-feud and vengeance in human affairs.
Beyond the great cities, small shrines to Ares rose in places touched by conflict. On hills where armies clashed, or near walls where defenders once fought off invaders, rough altars bore his name. Worshippers did not come with songs of joy but with pleas for strength, with vows for courage, or with prayers that their enemies might be stricken with fear. In these lonely sanctuaries, the god of war was less a patron than a shadow looming over the fate of men.
Centuries later, the Romans gave Ares a new identity. Under the name Mars, he ceased to be the reckless destroyer feared by the Greeks and became the proud father of the Roman people. His image was stamped on coins, his temples rose in the heart of Rome, and his name was shouted before legions marched to conquest. What the Greeks had viewed with suspicion, the Romans embraced as the spirit of their destiny.
Through these forms of worship—fearful, grudging, or triumphant—Ares remained present wherever violence shaped human life. He was not the god of daily comfort or civic pride. He was the whisper before the charge, the omen seen on the edge of the battlefield, and the presence felt when the line between life and death grew thin.
Legacy of Ares: From Greek Fear to Roman Glory
In the old songs of Greece, Ares was never a gentle figure. He appeared on vases and in verses as a roaring warrior, bronze flashing, blood on his hands. Yet the poets often showed him humiliated—struck down by Athena, mocked by the gods of Olympus. To the Greek imagination, he was the storm that raged when order collapsed, a presence that men invoked in battle but dreaded when the fighting was done.
Centuries later, on the banks of the Tiber, his story was told in another voice. The Romans called him Mars, and where the Greeks saw shame, they found pride. Mars was no outcast; he was father to Romulus and Remus, the twins whose struggle gave birth to Rome. In the city’s heart, his temples rose in marble, and his name thundered before the legions marched. The same god who unsettled Athens became the guardian of empire, stamped on coins, carried on standards, honored in festivals that bound soldiers to their cause.
Long after those temples crumbled, Ares—Mars—still walked in human memory. Renaissance painters set him beneath dramatic skies, armored and restless, caught between the lure of love and the call of war. Poets used his name to capture the madness of battle, while later storytellers gave him new faces in novels, operas, and screens. Each retelling shifted the mask, but behind it, the same fire glowed: the thrill and terror of conflict, embodied in a single god.
From Greek fields scarred by myth to Roman triumphal arches, from painted canvases to modern tales, the figure of Ares endures. He is not simply a relic of old religion but a reminder of the storm that lives within human hearts—the hunger for struggle, the glory, and the ruin that war always brings.
Key Takeaways: Ares in Greek Mythology
- Ares, son of Zeus and Hera, personified the brutal side of war.
- He fought for the Trojans in the Iliad but was wounded and humiliated.
- His union with Aphrodite produced Phobos, Deimos, and Harmonia.
- The Amazons were often said to be his warrior daughters.
- In contrast to Athena, Ares embodied reckless bloodlust without strategy.
- His sacred animals were the dog and the vulture, both tied to death in battle.
- Though feared in Greece, he became Mars in Rome—patron of empire and discipline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the parents of Ares?
Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera, rulers of Olympus.
What does Ares represent in Greek mythology?
He personifies raw war, bloodlust, and the chaos of battle.
What was Ares’s role in the Trojan War?
He fought alongside the Trojans but was wounded by Diomedes with Athena’s help.
Who was Ares’s most famous consort?
Aphrodite, goddess of love; together they had Phobos, Deimos, and Harmonia.
Did Ares have children other than Phobos and Deimos?
Yes, myths credit him as the father of Harmonia and the Amazons, among others.
What are Ares’s main symbols?
The spear, helmet, shield, and his sacred animals—the dog and the vulture.
Why was Ares less honored than Athena?
Greeks preferred Athena’s strategy and order, while Ares embodied reckless violence.
Where was Ares worshipped?
Most notably in Sparta, Thrace, and at the Areopagus in Athens.
How did the Romans view Ares?
They transformed him into Mars, patron of empire and discipline.
Sources & Rights
- Homer. Iliad (depictions of Ares in the Trojan War).
- Hesiod. Theogony (genealogy of Ares and the Olympians).
- Apollodorus. The Library of Greek Mythology.
- Pausanias. Description of Greece (cults and local worship of Ares).
- Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Harvard University Press, 1985.
- Boardman, John. Greek Art. Thames & Hudson, various editions.
- Johnston, Sarah Iles. Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece. University of California Press, 1999.
Written by H. Moses — All rights reserved © Mythology and History
