According to Greek mythology, Ares was the God associated with bloodshed, War, and violence. He was the father of Zeus and Hera, queen and king of the gods. Explore amazing Facts About Ares here!
Since Ares is the God of War, he’s typically depicted wearing a helmet or shield and a spear or sword. In addition, many animals are associated with him, such as serpents, vultures, and dogs. In contrast to other Olympian gods, the devotion to Ares was not widespread in Greece.
The only exception to this was the Spartans who worshipped Ares as the God of War and offered sacrifices to the God. The Roman equivalent to Ares is Mars and, in contrast to Ares Mars, he was greatly valued in the eyes of the Romans. Although the ancient Greeks did not give much importance to Ares, he’s an important figure in popular culture, with many references to his name.
Find out more about Ares, the Greek God of War through these 10 fascinating facts.
Facts About Ares
#1 ARES IS THE LORD of War, bloodshed and VIOLENCE
In ancient Greek mythology, Ares was the goddess of bloodshed, War, and violence. Ares is a word that Ares is usually associated to an Greek word that translates to “bane ruin, curse imprecation”. This is logical given the significance that Ares being the God of War. Athena was her sister to Ares is the God of War and his female counterpart in a way. But While Athena symbolized the disciplined and strategic aspect of War, Ares symbolized the disgusting aspects of bloody War and slaughter.
Because of this, even though Athena was among the most revered gods in the past of Greece, Ares was never loved by many. The attitude of Greeks toward him was at best unambitious as his devotion was non widespread in Greece. Two lesser gods of War also connected in Ares are Enyalius which is almost identical to him. Enyo which could be considered to be a female counterpart of Ares.
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#2 He was highly regarded by the SPARTANS
A notable exception in Greece regarding their attitudes towards Ares Was Sparta. Ares was very revered in Sparta because of their military-oriented culture. At the beginning of Sparta there were human sacrifices given to him by the war prisoners. Additionally, it was common for the Spartan Army to offer sacrifices of dogs to Ares on the day of battle to gain his aid.
In the eastern part of Sparta the city was also an ancient statue of Ares bound in chains to demonstrate how the spirit of victory and War was to be preserved inside the town. Although Ares was not a popular god, there were no cult shrines with temples dedicated to the God of Crete, Argos, Athens, Erythrae, Geronthrae, Megalopolis, Tegea Therapne and Troezon. The most well-known one temple is called the Temple of Ares, which was situated in the northern portion of the agora in Athens.
#3 He IS One of THE TWELVE OLYMPIAN Gods
Ares One of the twelve Olympian Gods who lived on Mount Olympus. The Olympians are gods that are the Fourth or third generation of eternal creatures and they were revered as the primary gods in the Greek pantheon. The Olympians were able to be the gods of supreme status after a ten-year battle called Titanomachy.
Zeus won the battle is the godfather of Ares and his children, led his brothers in victory against the Titans which were supreme gods of the day. There are plenty of immortal inhabitants at Mount Olympus, only 12 of them are considered the most significant. This includes the children of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter and Hestia; together with the primary offspring of Zeus, Athena, Apollo Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Dionysus and Aphrodite. While Ares is among the twelve Olympian gods, his gods, fellow gods, and his family weren’t very liked by them because of his abrasive nature.
#4 ARES IS THE DAUGHTER of ZEUS and HERA
The story of Ares is told in Greek mythology Ares is considered to be the most senior and sole son of Zeus The God of all the Gods as well as his sister-wife Hera. He may be a natural child because of the union between his mother and father. But there is a different legend that claims Hera was able to have Ares without the assistance of Zeus with the help of a magical herb. If Zeus was a father to a child that was not a mom, Hera became angry and desired for a son with no any father. Chloris, flower goddess and the nymph created Hera feel a magical flower. The magic flower caused her to become pregnant, which led to being born Ares.
Algae refers to the name of two giants named Otus and Ephialtes. They were twin brothers of Poseidon god of sea. When Ares was a newborn and was captured by Aloadae and was placed in the bronze Jar to be kept for 13 years. After the mom of the giants learned about their actions and reported it to Hermes who was One of the Olympian gods. Hermes was Hermes who helped to save Ares and liberated him from the grips that the giants had encircled him with.
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#5 ARES was THE LOYER OF the GODDESS OF PLEASURE APHRODITE
Based on Greek mythology Ares was a lover with multiple desires and fathered several children, both mortal and divine love-partners. The most popular love interest to Ares was Aphrodite. She was she was an Olympian goddess of beauty, love pleasure and procreation. Their union was the source of goddesses Eros, Anteros, Phobos, Deimos and Harmonia. Eros is Eros, the Greek God of sexuality and love. His Roman equivalent is the well-known Cupid. Anteros can be described as the God of reciprocal love, in addition, Harmonia is the eternal Goddess of Harmony and harmony. However, Phobos and Deimos are the embodiments of terror and fear respectively. It is interesting to note that Ares had greater mortal than divine ones. Other mortals and the semi-divine offsprings part of Ares are Aeropus, Alcippe and the Amazons.
The painting depicts Mars and Venus equivalent to Ares and Aphrodite
#6 HE IS Often PORTRAYED in art of the past to show a WARRIOR , READY to fight
In early Greek artwork, Ares is usually portrayed as a young , beardless or bearded warrior standing straight dressed in a semi- or unclothed form and always prepared to fight. Additionally, he’s often depicted sporting a helmet, boots with armored lining, an armored shield, and a sword sheathed or spear. The iron breastplate is usually left out in favor of a plain tunic. His characteristics in ancient art include soft, curly hair, muscular build, and brown eyes.
His appearance can be described as sassy, moody, aggressive, and physically wild and undependable. Ares can also be depicted riding his four-horse chariot and in the company of vultures or dogs. Ares isn’t easy to spot in old Greek Art as there is very little that distinguishes Ares from other warriors.
Statue of Ares, from Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, Italy
#7 He was associated with SEVERAL animals, including vultures and DOGS
According to Greek Mythology, Ares was connected to vultures, serpents or owls. He also referred to dogs and boars in a variety of settings. Snakes were often associated with Ares because of his devious behaviors, destructive nature, and a sour temper. Vultures and a few species of owls have a similarity in a way to Greek God, as they were thought to be the harbingers of sedition, War and unlucky luck. When Aphrodite became infatuated to Adonis, Ares grew resentful. In this story Ares is the Greek God is believed to be associated with boars as there is a belief that Ares changed into a boar, and then attacked Adonis using his tusks to end his life. In the past that the Spartan Army would offer sacrifices of dogs to Ares before going into the battle to get his aid. The dogs’ aggressive nature could be their connection to Ares.
#8 Areopagus Hill in ATHENS is referred to as due to a MYTH FEATURING ARES
The daughter was named Alcippe after Ares as well as Aglaulus. Halirrhothius one of the children of Sea God Poseidon, raped Alcippe. To retaliate and in utter outrage, Ares killed Halirrhothius. In the wake of this crime, Poseidon summoned Ares to appear before the Tribunal to be tried by the Olympic gods. The trial took place on the top of a rock outcrop situated northwest of the Acropolis within Athens, Greece.
Ares was found innocent by the court comprised of his gods. Because of this trial, the hill was renamed Areopagus. The name derives from an Late Latin composite form of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated as “Hill of Ares”. In the early days of Greece, Aeropagus functioned as the court to decide on murder, wounding and other religious issues. In later times, Romans refer to the hill’s rock by the name of “Mars Hill” in honor of Mars, which was the Roman counterpart to the Greek God.
9 MARS IS THE ROMAN ARES EQUIVALENT
According to Roman mythology Mars has been portrayed as being God of War. God in the War and he may be regarded as the Roman equivalent to Ares. His representations on Roman art are like those that depict Ares from Greek art. Furthermore, Roman mythology also states that Mars was the son of Jupiter, the King of the Roman Gods; and his wife, Juno.
Because Greek influences had major influence in Roman faith, Mars possessed many similar features of Ares. This is why he completely merged to Ares in Roman literature and art. However, the character or morality Mars was different in its fundamental elements from the Greek counterpart. While Ares is typically looked at with disdain and hatred in Greek mythology, this isn’t the case with Mars. Furthermore, while Ares was seen in Greece as predominantly a destructive and destabilizing force, Mars was an example of power in military as a means to ensure peace and was believed to be the father figure for The Roman people.
#10 is THE KEY AGONIST IN THE POPULAR GAMES THE GOD OF WAR
In the present, Ares is portrayed as a brutal war-monger who has combative and hostile aspects. Ares is the Greek God featured in the well-known American TV show Xena: Warrior Princess. In the show, he’s depicted as an uneasy God with a conflict between his genuine love for Xena and his innate desire to promote conflict. In the 2017 film Wonder Woman, Ares plays the main antagonist based on the DC comic.
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He is shown as the wicked child of Zeus and the half-brother to Diana/Wonder Woman. Numerous clubs of sports are located in Greece, named Ares The most well-known of that can be found in Aris Thessaloniki. There are also a variety of games that use Ares as a main character, one of the most well-known is called “God of War”. In the field of science, Ares is the name of NASA’s spacecraft that replaces it with the Space Shuttle. In musical terms, Bloc Party, an English rock group made a hit song “Ares” from their third album Intimacy.
