Ares — God of War

I. Who Was Ares?

Ares was the Olympian god of war — but not the noble, strategic kind of warfare that Athena represented. Ares embodied the raw, brutal, bloody chaos of battle: the screaming, the carnage, the mindless violence that consumed men on the field. He delighted in conflict for its own sake, and for this reason he was uniquely despised among the gods. According to Homer, even his own parents Zeus and Hera despised him, calling him the most hateful of all Olympians.

Despite his fearsome reputation, Ares was not particularly successful in battle among the gods. He was wounded by the mortal hero Diomedes during the Trojan War (with Athena's help), and he was famously trapped in a bronze jar by the twin giants Otus and Ephialtes for thirteen months. His losses in combat against Athena became a recurring theme, reinforcing the Greek belief that intelligent strategy would always triumph over brute force.

Yet Ares was not without his admirers. The Spartans, whose entire society was organized around warfare, revered him above all other gods. And his passionate love affair with Aphrodite, the most beautiful of goddesses, gave him a dimension of tenderness that complicated his savage image. Together they produced children who embodied both love and war: Eros, Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror), and Harmonia.

II. The Hated God

The Greeks' ambivalence toward Ares is revealing about their values. They respected martial courage and military skill — qualities embodied by Athena and heroes like Achilles — but they feared and distrusted the bloodlust and madness of battle. Ares represented what happened when war became an end in itself rather than a means to justice or defense. His retinue reflected this: he rode into battle accompanied by his sons Phobos and Deimos, his sister Eris (Strife), and the war goddess Enyo.

In contrast to his sister Athena — who won wars through cunning, planning, and protecting cities — Ares simply destroyed. He fought on whichever side suited him, changing allegiances in the Trojan War depending on his mood. The Greeks understood that war required both aspects: the wisdom to know when and how to fight, and the raw ferocity to carry it through. But they overwhelmingly preferred Athena's version.

III. Ares and Aphrodite

The love affair between Ares and Aphrodite is one of mythology's most enduring tales. Despite being married to Hephaestus, the goddess of love carried on a passionate, long-running affair with the god of war. When Hephaestus discovered the affair — informed by the all-seeing sun god Helios — he crafted an unbreakable golden net and trapped the lovers in bed together, then summoned all the gods to witness the spectacle. The male gods laughed, and several admitted they would happily take Ares's place.

IV. Key Myths

Ares in the Trojan War

Ares fought on the Trojan side for much of the war, supporting his mortal son Cycnus and other Trojan warriors. When the Greek hero Diomedes confronted him on the battlefield, Athena guided Diomedes' spear through Ares's divine armor. The god of war let out a scream so terrible it sounded like ten thousand warriors shouting at once, then fled to Olympus to complain to Zeus — who told him bluntly that he was the most detestable of all his children.

The Trial on the Areopagus

When Poseidon's son Halirrhothius attacked Ares's daughter Alcippe, Ares killed him in defense. Poseidon demanded justice, and the gods held a trial on a hill in Athens. Ares was acquitted, and the hill was named the Areopagus ("Hill of Ares") — which later became the seat of Athens's supreme court, a legacy that connects the god of war to the foundations of Western law.

"Of all the gods, you are the most hateful to me, for you love nothing but strife, war, and battles." — Zeus to Ares, Homer's Iliad (paraphrased)