Ares

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Ares

In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Ares (Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
: [á.r?es], ?odern Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: ???? ['a.ris]) is the son of Zeus

Zeus

Hera

In the Twelve Olympians of classical Greek Mythology, Hera or Here was the wife and older sister of Zeus. Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage....
. Though often referred to as the Olympian

Twelve Olympians

The Twelve Olympians or younger gods, also known as the Dodekatheon , in Greek mythology, were the principal Greek Godss of the Greek pantheon , residing atop Mount Olympus, having supplanted the Titan or older gods in the greek mythogical narrative....
god

God (male deity)

God, as a male deity, contrasts with female deities, or "goddesses". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, words like 'gods' and 'deities' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender....
of warfare

Warfare

Warfare refers to the conduct of conflict between opponents, and usually involves escalation of aggression from the proverbial "war of words" between politics and diplomacy to full-scale War, waged until one side accepts defeat or peace terms are agreed on....
, he is more accurately the god of bloodlust

Bloodlust

'Bloodlust' is a desire for violence and carnage.'Bloodlust' can refer to:* Bloodlust!, a 1961 thriller B-movie.* ...
, or slaughter personified: "Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war."

is the god of war. The name Ares derives from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
word a?? (are), the Ionic

Ionic Greek

Ionic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek .Ionic dialect appears to have spread originally from the Greek mainland across the Aegean at the time of the Dorian invasions, around the 11th Century B.C....
form of the Doric

Doric Greek

Doric or Dorian was a ancient Greek dialects of ancient Greek Greek language. Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon....
a?? (ara), "bane, ruin, curse, imprecation".

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Etymology

Ares is the god of war. The name Ares derives from the Greek

Greek language

Ionic Greek

Doric Greek

Greek mythology

Proto-Indo-European

Proto-Indo-European may refer to:*Proto-Indo-European language, the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages.*Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language....
*M?res; compare Ancient Greek µ???aµa? (marnamai), "to fight, to battle".

Identity and character

He is an important Olympian god in the epic tradition represented by the Iliad
ILiad

The iLiad is an electronic handheld device, or e-book device, which can be used for document reading and editing. Like the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, the iLiad makes use of an electronic paper display....
. The reading of his character remains ambiguous, in a late 6th-century funerary inscription from Attica

Attica

Attica is a Peripheries of Greece in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece. Attica is subdivided into the prefectures of Greece of Athens Prefecture, Piraeus Prefecture, East Attica and West Attica....
: "Stay and mourn at the tomb of dead Kroisos/ Whom raging Ares destroyed one day, fighting in the foremost ranks".

The Romans identified him as Mars

Mars (mythology)

Mars was the Roman mythology warrior God , the son of Juno and Jupiter , husband of Bellona , and the lover of Venus . He was the most prominent of the military gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions....
, the god of war and agriculture, whom they had inherited from the Etruscans; but, among them, Mars stood in much higher esteem. (See also Athena

Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
.)

Among the Hellenes, Ares was always distrusted. Although Ares' half-sister Athena

Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
was also considered a war deity, her stance was that of strategic warfare, whereas Ares's tended to be one of unpredictable violence. His birthplace and true home was placed far off, among the barbarous and warlike Thracians

Thracians

The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European peoples who spoke the Thracian language - a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family....
, to whom he withdrew after his affair with Aphrodite

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the classical Greek mythology goddess of love, sex, and beauty. According to Greek oral poet Hesiod, she was born when Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus....
was revealed.

"Ares"- god of war remained an adjective and epithet in Classical times, which could be applied to the war-like aspects of other gods: Zeus Areios, Athena Areia, even Aphrodite Areia

In Mycenaean times, inscriptions attest to Enyalios, a name that survived into Classical times as an epithet of Ares. Vultures and dogs, both of which prey upon carrion in the battlefield, are sacred

SACRED

SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona. It was the product of the work of about 50 students, ranging from college freshmen to Ph....
to him.

Symbols

Ares had a quadriga

Quadriga

A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast . It was raced in the Ancient Olympic Games and other games. It is represented in profile as the chariot of Greek mythology on Greek vases and in bas-relief....
– a chariot drawn by four gold-bridled (Iliad v.352) fire-emitting immortal stallions. Among the gods, Ares was recognized by his bronze armor; he brandished a spear in battle. His keen

Keen

Keen may refer to the following:...
and sacred birds were the woodpecker

Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks....
, the eagle owl and, especially in the south, the vulture

Vulture

Vultures are scavenger birds, feeding mostly on the carcasses of dead animals. Vultures are found on every continent except Antarctica and Oceania....
. According to Argonautica (ii.382ff and 1031ff; Hyginus

Gaius Julius Hyginus

Gaius Julius Hyginus was a Latin author, though whether a native of Spain or of Alexandria it is not clear, a pupil of the famous Alexander Cornelius, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus, by whom he was made superintendent of the Palatine library, according to Suetonius' minor works, De Grammaticis, 20....
, Fabulae 30) the birds of Ares (Ornithes Areioi) were a flock of feather-dart-dropping birds that guarded the Amazons

Amazons

The Amazons , ) are a nation of all-female warriors in Classical and Greek mythology, who were possibly historical. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatians....
' shrine of the god on a coast

Coast

The coast is defined as that part of the land adjoining or near the ocean or its saltwater arms. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the process of tides....
al island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
in the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
. In Sparta

Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
, the chthonic

Chthonic

Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Ancient Greek religion.Greek khthon is one of several words for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the Landscape or the land as territory ....
night-time sacrifice of a dog to Enyalios became assimilated to the cult of Ares. Sacrifice might be made to Ares on the eve of battle to enlist his support.

In the Iliad (v.890ff) Ares rode into battle and when he was wounded he went back to Olympus where Zeus healed him, but with angry words. Then Ares went straight back to battle with shield in hand and a wand made out of the wings of pixie

Pixie

Pixies are mythical creatures of folklore, considered to be particularly concentrated in the areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name....
s.

Though involved in the founding myth

Founding myth

A national myth is an inspiring narrative or anecdote about a nation's past. Such myths often serve as an important national symbol and affirm a set of national values....
of Thebes

Thebes, Greece

Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, Greece, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain....
, he appeared in few myths.

Ares in cult

Although important in poetry, Ares was rarely included in cult in ancient Greece, save at Sparta, where he was propitiated before battle, and where youths each sacrificed a puppy to Enyalios before engaging in the all-out ritual fighting at the Phoebaeum. Just east of Sparta there was an archaic statue of the god in chains, to show that the spirit of war and victory was never to leave the city. The temple

Greek temple

Greek temples were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in Greek paganism. The temples themselves did usually not directly serve a cult purpose, since the sacrifices and rituals dedicated to the respective deity took place outside them....
to Ares in the agora

Ancient Agora of Athens

The Ancient Agora of Athens is the best-known example of agora, located in Ancient Athens, Greece....
of Athens

Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
that Pausanias

Pausanias (geographer)

Pausanias was a Roman Greece traveller and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius....
saw in the second century AD had only been moved and rededicated there during the time of Augustus; in essence it was a Roman temple

Roman temple

In the ancient religion of Roman paganism, practitioners often performed their worship at a temple....
to Mars. The Areopagus

Areopagus

The Areopagus or Areios Pagos is the 'Hill of Ares', north-west of the Acropolis, Athens, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases in Athens....
, the "mount of Ares" where Paul

Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
of Tarsus

Tarsus (city)

Tarsus is a city, and a large district, in Mersin Province, Turkey, from the city of Mersin and near to the city of Adana.With a history going back over 9,000 years Tarsus has long been an important stop for traders, a focal point of many civilisations including the Ancient Romans when Tarsus was capital of the province of Cilicia, scene...
preached, is sited at some distance from the Acropolis; from archaic times it was a site of trials. Its connection with Ares, perhaps based on a false etymology, is purely etiological myth

Etiology

Etiology is the study of Causality. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek , aitiologia, "giving a reason for" .The word is most commonly used in medical and philosophical theories, where it is used to refer to the study of why things occur, or even the reasons behind the way that things act, and is used in philosophy, physics, psy...
. A second temple has also been located at the archaeological site of Metropolis

Metropolis (Anatolia)

The classical city of Metropolis is situated in western Turkey near Torbali - approximately 40 km SE of Izmir. The city was first investigated through archaeology field work from 1972 by Professor Recep Meri? from the Dokuz Eyl?l University, Izmir....
in Western Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
.

Attendants

Deimos

Deimos (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Deimos was the personification of Angst.He was the son of Ares and Aphrodite. He, his twin brother Phobos and the goddess Enyo accompanied Ares into battle, as well as his father's attendants, Trembling, Fear, Dread, and Panic....
, "terror", and Phobos

Phobos (mythology)

Phobos is the embodiment of fear and Horror in Greek mythology. He is the offspring of Ares and Aphrodite. He was known for accompanying Ares into battle along with his brother, Deimos , the goddess Enyo, and his father?s attendants....
"fear", were his companions in war children, born by Aphrodite

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the classical Greek mythology goddess of love, sex, and beauty. According to Greek oral poet Hesiod, she was born when Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus....
according to Hesiod

Hesiod

Hesiod was a Greek language oral poet, his date is uncertain but leading scholars agree that Hesiod lived in the latter half of the Eighth-century BCE....
. The sister and companion of murderous Ares was Eris

Eris (mythology)

Eris is the Greek mythology goddess of strife, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia , whose Latin counterpart is Concordia ....
, goddess of discord or Enyo

Enyo

Enyo in Greek mythology, was an ancient goddess of war, acting as a counterpart and companion to the war god Ares. She is also identified as his sister, and daughter of Zeus and Hera, in a role closely resembling that of Eris ; with Homer representing the two as the same goddess....
, goddess of war, bloodshed and violence. He was also attended by the minor war-god Enyalius

Enyalius

Enyalius in Greek mythology is generally a byname of Ares the god of war but in Mycenaean times is differentiated as a separate deity. On the Linear B Knossos Tablet KN V 52 the name E-nu-wa-ri-jo is interpreted to refer to this same Enyalios....
, his son by Enyo, whose name ("warlike", the same meaning as the name Enyo) also served as a title for Ares himself. The presence of Ares was accompanied by Kydoimos

Kydoimos

Kydoimos was the god or spirit of the din of battle, confusion, uproar and hubbub.He was probably one of the , daimones of the battlefield. He was virtually identical to ....
, the demon of the din of battle, as well as the Makhai

Makhai

In Greek mythology, the Makhai were the daemons of battle and combat, and were sons or daughters of Eris . The daemons Homados , Alala , Proioxis , Palioxis and Kydoimos were probably numbered among the Makhai....
(Battles), the Hysminai (Manslaughters), Polemos

Polemos

In Greek mythology, Polemos the Daemon god of war , and the father of Alala, goddess of the war-cry. He was said to be a part of the company of war spirits which haunted the battlefield....
(a minor spirit of war; probably an epithet of Ares, as he had no specific dominion), and Polemos' daughter, Alala

Alala

Alala, , was the female personification of the battle cry in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of Polemos. Her name, ironically "dumb, mute, speechless" , she was an attendant of the war god Ares and the daughter of Polemos, the daemon of War....
, goddess

Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. Often deities are part of a polytheism system that includes several deities in a pantheon .Common associations of goddesses are the Earth goddess, the Mother Goddess, Love goddess, and the hearth goddess, reflecting historical gender roles....
/personification

Personification

File:Wien Hofburg Constantia et Fortitudine.jpgPersonification is an ontological metaphor in which a thing or abstraction is represented as a person....
of the Greek war-cry, whose name Ares used as his own war-cry. His sister Hebe also drew baths for him.

Founding of Thebes

One of the roles of Ares that was sited in mainland Greece itself was in the founding myth of Thebes: Ares was the progenitor of the water-dragon slain by Cadmus

Cadmus

Cadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology mythology, was a Phoenician prince, the son of Agenor and the brother of Phoenix , Cilix and Europa ....
, and hence the ancestor of the Spartans, for the dragon's teeth were sown into the ground as if a crop and sprung up as the fully armored autochthon

Autochthon

Autochthon , or the anglicized adjective autochthonous or abstract noun authochthony may refer to:* The indigenous peoples of a place...
ic Spartans, a race of fighting men, the descendants of Ares. To propitiate Ares, Cadmus took as a bride Harmonia

Harmonia (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Harmonia is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Rome counterpart is Concordia , and her Greek opposite is Eris , whose Roman counterpart is Discordia....
, daughter of Ares' union with Aphrodite, thus harmonizing all strife and founding the city of Thebes.

Consorts and children

There are accounts of a son of Ares, Cycnus

Cycnus

In Greek mythology, four people were known as Cycnus or Cygnus . Most of them ended up being transformed into swans. The most famous Cycnus however, was the son of Ares....
of Macedonia

Macedonia (region)

Macedonia is a geographical and Historical regions of the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century....
, who was so murderous that he tried to build a temple with the skulls and the bones of travelers. Heracles

Heracles

In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles meaning "glory of Hera", or "Glorious through Hera" Alcides or Alcaeus " was a hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus....
slaughtered this abominable monstrosity, engendering the wrath of Ares, whom Heracles wounded.

Ares also had a romance with the goddess Aphrodite

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the classical Greek mythology goddess of love, sex, and beauty. According to Greek oral poet Hesiod, she was born when Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus....
. Their union created the minor gods Eros, Arethousa, and Adrestia. While Eros and Arethousa's godly stations favored their godly mother, Adrestia by far preferred to emulate her father, often accompanying him to war.

Other accounts

In the tale sung by the bard in the hall of Alcinous

Alcinous

Alcinous or Alk?no?s was in Greek mythology a son of Nausithous, or of Phaeax , and father of Nausicaa, Halius, and Laodamas with Arete ....
, the Sun-God Helios

Helios

Helios is the god of sun.In Greek mythology the sun was personified as Helios . Homer often calls him simply Titan or Hyperion , while Hesiod and the Homeric Hymn separate him as a son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia or Euryphaessa and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn....
once spied Ares and Aphrodite enjoying each other secretly in the hall of Hephaestus

Hephaestus

Hephaestus was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan . He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculpture, metals, metallurgy, Fire and volcanoes....
, and he promptly reported the incident to Aphrodite's Olympian consort. Hephaestus contrived to catch the couple in the act, and so he fashioned a net with which to snare the illicit lovers. At the appropriate time, this net was sprung, and trapped Ares and Aphrodite locked in very private embrace. But Hephaestus was not yet satisfied with his revenge — he invited the Olympian gods and goddesses to view the unfortunate pair. For the sake of modesty, the goddesses demurred, but the male gods went to witness the sight. Some commented on the beauty of Aphrodite, others remarked that they would eagerly trade places with Ares, but all mocked the two. Once the couple were loosed, Ares, embarrassed, sped away to his homeland, Thrace. In a much later interpolated detail, Ares put the youth Alectryon

Alectryon

Alectryon may refer to:*Alectryon *Alector, father of one of the Argonauts, referred to by Homer as "Alectryon"*Alectryon , in botany*Alectryon , A company located in the Netherlands...
by his door to warn them of Helios' arrival, as Helios would tell Hephaestus of Aphrodite's infidelity if the two were discovered, but Alectryon fell asleep. Helios discovered the two and alerted Hephaestus. Ares was furious and turned Alectryon into a rooster

Rooster

A rooster, also called a cock or chanticleer is a male chicken , the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels....
, which now never forgets to announce the arrival of the sun in the morning.

Ares and the giants

In one obscure archaic myth related in the Iliad by the goddess Dione

Dione (mythology)

Dione in Greek mythology is a vague goddess presence who has her most concrete form in Book V of Homer's Iliad as the mother of Aphrodite who lived among the mortals was known for her kindness....
to her daughter Aphrodite, two chthonic giants, the Aloadae

Aloadae

File:Gustave_Dor?_-_Dante_Alighieri_-_Inferno_-_Plate_65_.jpgIn Greek mythology, the Aloadae were Otus and Ephialtes , sons of Iphimedeia, queen of Aloeus, by Poseidon, whom she induced to make her pregnant by going to the seashore and disporting herself in the surf or scooping seawater into her bosom....
, named Otus and Ephialtes, threw Ares into chains and put him in a bronze urn, where he remained for thirteen months, a lunar year. "And that would have been the end of Ares and his appetite for war, if the beautiful Eriboea, the young giants' stepmother, had not told Hermes

Hermes

Hermes is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. An Twelve Olympians, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of general commerce, and of the cunni...
what they had done," she related (Iliad 5.385–391). "In this one suspects a festival of licence which is unleashed in the thirteenth month." Ares remained screaming and howling in the urn until Hermes rescued him and Artemis

Artemis

In Greek mythology, Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. She was the Hellenic goddess of forests and hills, child birth/virginity/fertility, the hunt and was often depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows.....
tricked the Aloadae into slaying each other. In Nonnus

Nonnus

Nonnus , was a Greek language epic poet. He was a native of Panopolis in the Egyptian Thebaid, and probably lived at the end of the 4th or early 5th century....
' Dionysiaca Ares also killed Ekhidnades, the giant son of Echidna

Echidna

Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, are four Extant taxon mammal species belonging to the Tachyglossidae Family of the monotremes....
and a great enemy of the gods; it is not clear whether the nameless Ekhidnades ("of Echidna's lineage") was entirely Nonnus' invention or not.

The Iliad

In the Iliad
ILiad

The iLiad is an electronic handheld device, or e-book device, which can be used for document reading and editing. Like the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, the iLiad makes use of an electronic paper display....
, Homer

Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
represented Ares as having no fixed allegiances nor respect for Orcan, the right ordering of things: he promised Athena and Hera that he would fight on the side of the Achaeans

Achaeans

The Achaeans is one of the collective names used for the Greeks in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. The other names are the Danaans and Argives ....
, but Aphrodite

Aphrodite

Diomedes

Diomedes or Diomed is a hero in Greek mythology, mostly known for his participation in the Trojan War. He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became King of Argos, succeeding his grandfather, Adrastus....
fought with Hector

Hector

In Greek mythology, Hector , or Hektor, is a Troy prince and one of the greatest fighters in the Trojan War. He is the son of Priam and Hecuba, descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy....
and saw Ares fighting on the Trojans' side. Diomedes called for his soldiers to fall back slowly. Hera, Ares's mother, saw his interference and asked Zeus, his father, for permission to drive Ares away from the battlefield. Hera encouraged Diomedes to attack Ares, so he threw a spear at Ares and his cries made Achaeans and Trojans alike tremble. Athena then drove the spear into Ares's body, who bellowed in pain and fled to Mt. Olympus, forcing the Trojans to fall back (XXI.391). Later when Zeus

Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
allowed the gods to fight in the war again, Ares tried to fight Athena to avenge himself for his previous injury, but was once again badly injured when she tossed a huge boulder on him. However, when Hera during a conversation with Zeus mentioned that Ares' son Ascalaphus was killed, Ares burst into tears and wanted to join the fight on the side of the Achaeans discarding Zeus' order that no Olympic god should enter the battle. Athena stopped Ares and helped him take his armor off (XV.110–128).

Renaissance

In Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
and Neoclassical

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is the name given to quite distinct Cultural movement in the Decorative art and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw upon Western classical art and culture ....
works of art, Ares' symbols are a spear and helmet, his animal is a dog, and his bird is the vulture. In literary works of these eras, Ares is replaced by the Roman Mars, an emblem of manly valor rather than the cruel and blood-thirsty god of Greek myth.

Popular culture

The god made his gaming debut in Sony's 2005 hit Playstation 2 game, God of War. Ares served as the game's villain. Ares uses the Spartan warrior Kratos (who gave his life to Ares in exchange for rescuing him from a Barbarian horde) to commit atrocities throughout Greece and undermine the status of his sister Athena in the mortal world. However, after Kratos accidentally murders his wife and daughter in a plan orchestrated by the god, he swears revenge and renounces his servitude. The player battles the minions of Ares throughout the game and recovers the mythical Pandora's Box

Pandora's box

In Greek mythology, Pandora's box is the large jar carried by Pandora that contained evils to be unleashed on mankind ? ills, toils and sickness ? and finally hope....
, which would allow him to kill a god. Culminating in a final confrontation with Ares, Kratos kills him and is given his throne as the new God of War. Ares is seen in flashbacks in the game's sequel, God of War 2.

Ares was also the final boss in Spartan: Total Warrior

Spartan: Total Warrior

Spartan: Total Warrior is a spin-off action game of the Total War series, developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It was released on Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube....
.

Ares has become a popular character in comics, spawning distinct versions of the character in both DC Comics

Ares (DC Comics)

Ares is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. Based upon the Greek mythological figure of the same name, he is the God of War and the major adversary of Wonder Woman....
and Marvel Comics

Ares (Marvel Comics)

Ares is a fictional deity in the Marvel Comics Marvel Comics Universe....
.

English band Bloc Party

Bloc Party

Bloc Party are a UK indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong . Their brand of indie rock has been compared to bands such as The Cure, Gang of Four and The Strokes....
have recorded a song named Ares on their third album Intimacy

Intimacy (Bloc Party album)

Intimacy is the third studio album by Bloc Party, which was released online in MP3 format on 21 August and was released in physical form and on the iTunes store on October 27, 2008....
.

Japanese pop artist Gackt

Gackt

is a Japanese musician, songwriter and actor. Usually referred to by his stage name only, he is known for his work with Malice Mizer and after leaving Malice Mizer started his career as a solo artist....
has a song named Ares on his second solo album, Mars (album)

MARS (album)

Mars is an album released by Gackt on April 26, 2000. It marks the artist's first full-length solo record. Live recordings of most songs from Mars can be found on the artist's first Platinum Box release....
.

Also in The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordon.

The Macedon

Macedon

Macedon or Macedonia was the name of a monarchy centred in the northernmost part of ancient Greece. The homeland of the ancient Macedonians, it was bordered by the kingdom of Epirus to the west and the region of Thrace to the east....
ian Phalangites

Phalanx

Phalanx, from Ancient Greek polytonic|...
in the film "Alexander

Alexander (film)

Alexander is a 2004 in film epic film, based on the life of Alexander the Great . It was directed by Oliver Stone.The film is based mostly on the book Alexander the Great, written in the 1970s in literature by historian Robin Lane Fox, who gave up his screen credit in return for being allowed to take part in the epic cavalry charge...
" chant "Enyalios" in the Battle of Gaugamela

Battle of Gaugamela

The Battle of Gaugamela took place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Darius III of Persia of Achaemenid Empire Persian Empire....
as they march into battle.

Ares is a main character in the book series The Underland Chronicles
The Underland Chronicles

The Underland Chronicles is a five-part series of Children's literature written by Suzanne Collins between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of an eleven year old boy named Gregor whose family has continuous financal struggles and his adventures in a land hidden under New York City....
by Suzanne Collins.

Ares is a regular character in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess

Xena: Warrior Princess is an United States television series that aired from September 15, 1995 until June 18, 2001. The series was produced by Renaissance Pictures in association with Universal Studios....
. Portrayed by the late Kevin Tod Smith, he is scripted as a conflicted man/God who is torn between his passionate desire for Xena and love of human kind, and his inherent desire to foster war and people's evil nature. The character is one of the more complex of the series. After the fall of the Gods, Ares is rendered mortal and ends his human days on a peaceful farm.

External links

information on Ares from classical literature, images from Greek and Roman art.
summary of Ares in myth