11 Ares God of War in Greek Mythology Interesting Facts

(Last Updated On: October 6, 2021)

In Greek mythology, Ares is the god of battle, war, bloodshed, and violence. Ares God of War in greek mythology is unique and vibrant. He was the son of Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of the Gods. As Ares was the god of battle, he’s normally depicted with a helmet, defend, and a sword or spear.

Ares God of War facts

Moreover, there are a number of animals related to him together with vultures, serpents, and dogs. Unlike different Olympian deities, the worship of Ares was not in-depth in Greece.

A notable exception was Spartans who extremely revered the God of War and made sacrifices to him. The Roman equal of Ares is Mars, and, in contrast to Ares, he was extremely revered by the Romans.

Though historical Greeks didn’t give significance to Ares, he’s a significant determine within the common tradition at this time with quite a few references to him. Know more concerning the Ares God of War by means of these 11 facts below:

1. Ares is the primary antagonist within the common sport God of War

In the modern period, Ares is portrayed as a violent war-monger with hostile and combative points. The Greek God featured within the common American tv sequence Xena: Warrior Princess.

In it, he’s scripted as a conflicted God who’s torn between his passionate want for Xena and his inherent want to foster battle. In the 2017 movie, Wonder Woman, based mostly on a DC comics character, Ares performs the primary antagonist. He is depicted because the treacherous son of Zeus and the half-brother of Diana/Wonder Woman.

There is quite a few sports activities golf equipment in Greece named after Ares God of War, essentially the most well-known of which is Aris Thessaloniki. There are additionally quite a few video games that use Ares as a personality essentially the most well-known of which is titled “God of War“.

In science, Ares is the name of NASA’s transport ship replacing the Space Shuttle. In music, Bloc Party, an English rock band, recorded a song “Ares” on their third studio album, Intimacy.

2. He is among the twelve Olympian Gods

Ares God of War is among the 12 Olympian Gods who resided atop Mount Olympus. The Olympians are a race of deities who’re a 3rd or fourth technology of immortal beings they usually had been worshiped because of the principal deities of the Greek pantheon. The Olympians managed to grow to be the supreme deities after a 10-year long wrestle generally known as Titanomachy.

In this wrestle, Zeus, the daddy of Ares, led his siblings to victory over the Titans who had been the ruling deities at the time. Although there is a selection of immortal residents at Mount Olympus, solely 12 of them are thought of as a very powerful ones.

These embody the kids of Titans Cronus and Rhea; specifically Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, and Hestia; together with the primary offspring of Zeus; specifically Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Dionysus, and Aphrodite.

Although Ares is among the twelve Olympian deities, his fellow gods and even his parents weren’t a lot keen on him as a result of his aggressive nature.

3. Ares God of War, Bloodshed, and Violence

In historical Greek mythology, Ares is the god of battle, bloodshed, and violence. The phrase Ares is historically related to a Greek phrase that implies “bane, ruin, curse, imprecation”. This is sensible given the standing of Ares because of the God of War.

Athena, the sister of Ares, was the goddess of battle and his feminine equal in a way. However, whereas Athena represented the disciplined and strategic facet of battle; Ares represented the distasteful points of brutal warfare and slaughter.

Due to this, whereas Athena was one of the common deities in historical Greece, Ares was by no means favored a lot. The attitude of the Greeks in direction of him was at finest ambivalent and his worship was not in-depth in Greece.

Two lesser battle deities that are additionally related to Ares are Enyalius, who’s just about similar to him; and Enyo, who could also be described as a feminine counterpart of Ares.

4. Areopagus hill in Athens is called so as a result of a fable that includes Ares

Alcippe was the daughter of Ares and Aglaulus. Halirrhothius, the son of the Sea God Poseidon, raped Alcippe. Out of vengeance and immense anger, Ares killed Halirrhothius.

For this homicide, Poseidon summoned Ares to look before the tribunal of the Olympic gods. The trial was held on a distinguished rock outcropping positioned northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

Ares God of War was acquitted by the court docket made up of his fellow gods. Due to this trial, the hill turned generally known as Areopagus. The name is the Late Latin composite type of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated as “Hill of Ares”.

In historical Greece, Aeropagus functioned because the court docket for making an attempt deliberate murder, wounding, and religious issues. Later, the Romans referred to the rocky hill as “Mars Hill” after Mars, the Roman equal of the Greek God.

5. Ares God of War was extremely esteemed by the Spartans

An exception in Greece of their attitude in direction of Ares was Sparta. Ares God of War was in truth extremely esteemed in Sparta as a result of their sturdy militaristic tradition.

In early occasions at Sparta, human sacrifices had been made to him from among the many prisoners of battle. Moreover, the Spartan Army would sacrifice dogs to Ares on the eve of battle to enlist his assist.

In the east of Sparta, there additionally stood an archaic statue of Ares wrapped in chains, to point out that the spirit of battle and victory was to be saved inside the city.

Though Ares God of War was not generally worshiped; there have been cult websites with temples devoted to the god on Crete, Argos, Athens, Erythrae, Geronthrae, Megalopolis, Tegea, Therapne, and Troezon. Among these, essentially the most well-known is the Temple of Ares, which was positioned within the northern part of the agora of Athens.

6. Ares was the lover of the goddess of delight Aphrodite

According to Greek mythology, Ares had a number of love pursuits and fathered many kids from each mortal and divine consort.

The most distinguished lover of Ares was Aphrodite; the Olympian goddess of affection, magnificence, pleasure, and procreation. Their divine union created the gods’ Eros, Anteros, Phobos, Deimos, and Harmonia. Eros is called the Greek god of affection and sex.

His Roman equal is the more well-known Cupid. Anteros is the God of reciprocated love and Harmonia is the immortal goddess of concord and harmony. On the opposite hand, Phobos and Deimos are the personifications of worry and terror respectively.

Interestingly, Ares conceived more mortal kids than divine kids. Other mortals and semi-divine offsprings of Ares embody Aeropus, Alcippe, and the Amazons.

7. Mars is the Roman equal of Ares

In Roman mythology, Mars is taken into account because the God of the War and he could also be thought of because the Roman equal of Ares.

His depictions in Roman artwork are much like these of Ares in Greek artwork. Moreover, Roman mythology additionally states that Mars was the son of Jupiter, the king of the Roman gods; and his spouse, Juno.

As the Greek effect had a profound influence on Roman faith, Mars possessed many comparable attributes of Ares.

Thus, he was totally conflated with Ares in Roman artwork and literature. However, the character and morality of Mars diversified in basis points from that of his Greek counterpart.

While Ares is usually appeared down upon with derision and repulsion in Greek folklore, the identical will not be the case with Mars.

Moreover, whereas Ares was considered In Greece as primarily a harmful and destabilizing drive; Mars represented navy energy as an approach to safe peace and was thought to be the father of the Roman people.

8. Ares God of War was related to a number of animals together with vultures and dogs

In Greek Mythology, Ares God of War was related to serpents, vultures, owls, dogs, and boars in several contexts. Snakes had been related to him due to his sneaky habits, harmful nature, and foul mood.

Vultures and some species of owl are analogous to the Greek god as a result of they had been thought of as portents of battle, sedition, and ill-fortune.

When Aphrodite fell in love with Adonis, Ares grew resentful. In this reference, the Greek god is related to boars as a result of it’s believed that he remodeled right into a boar and attacked Adonis together with his tusks to kill him.

As talked about before, the Spartan Army would sacrifice dogs to Ares on the eve of battle to enlist his assist. The aggressive nature of dogs could be the rationale for his or her being linked to Ares.

9. Ares God of War is the son of Zeus and Hera

In Greek mythology, Ares God of War is the eldest and the one son of Zeus, the King of the Gods; and his sister-wife Hera. He is normally thought of to have been born naturally on account of the union between his father and mom.

However, there’s one other fable based on which Hera had Ares without the assistance of Zeus by utilizing a magical herb. When Zeus had a daughter and not using a mom, Hera was enraged and needed to have a son and not using a father. Khloris, the goddess of flowers and a nymph, made Hera contact a magic flower.

This magic flower made her pregnant and resulted in the beginning of Ares. Aloadae is the collective name for 2 giants specifically Otus and Ephialtes. They had been the dual sons of Poseidon, the god of the ocean.

When Ares God of War was nonetheless an infant, he was captured by Aloadae and put in a bronze jar for 13 months. When the mom of the giants discovered what that they had executed, she knowledgeable Hermes, one of many Olympian Gods. It was Hermes who got here to the rescue of Ares and freed him from the clasps of the giants.

10. Ares God of War is usually portrayed in historical artwork as a warrior prepared for battle

In historical Greek artwork, Ares God of War is normally portrayed as a younger bearded or beardless warrior; standing upright; unclothed or semi-clothed, and all the time prepared for battle.

Moreover, he’s typically proven sporting a helmet, metal breastplate, armored boots and a defend together with a sheathed sword or a spear. The metal breastplate is usually omitted in favor of a simple tunic.

His options in historical artwork embody curly comfortable hair, muscular construct body, and brown eyes. His expression could also be perceived as daring, moody, aggressive, bodily untamed, and unreliable.

Ares God of War can also be at occasions proven driving his four-horse chariot and being accompanied by dogs or vultures. Ares may be fairly troublesome to establish in historical Greek Art as there’s little to tell apart from him from different warrior figures.