Ares: The Ancient Greek God Of War

The ancient Greek civilization has been well-known throughout the world as having some of the most infamous gods with stories surrounding each of them. There are a multitude of gods, each with a distinct personality and a specific role to play in this ancient religion. Ares is the Greek god of war. He represents the most unfiltered and genuine aspects of war such as the violence, the anger, and the thirst for blood. He is, in fact, typically referred to as the polar opposite of Athena, who represents the intelligence and strategy necessary for war. Above all, Ares’s role as an Olympian, as a human deity, and as an impact in literature, was to symbolize a very unfavorable angle to conflict. One of the twelve Olympians, Ares, represents the

Olympus, it was a bit different in the human world. Even though Ares wasn’t as popular as other gods were, he was still highly regarded. As stated on Mythagora.com, “The men of the Bronze Age were considered to be men of Ares … they lived and died by their bronze weapons and left no heritage other than the memory of their bitter conflicts,” (Mythagora.org) The most notable location he was worshiped at was Sparta. As stated on Britannica.com, “Ares’ worship was largely in the northern areas of Greece… At Sparta, in early times, at least, human sacrifices were made to him from among the prisoners of war,” (Britannica.com.) Possibly the biggest impact he had on humans was his involvement in the Trojan War. According to the Iliad, Ares would fight alongside the Trojans and would sometimes take on the life of a human being and fight on the front lines of the army. It is said that his strength allowed the Trojans to take great strides before ultimately losing the

Many stories had Ares portrayed with a hotheaded personality. In one of the most highly regarded stories in Greek mythology, “The Iliad,” Ares is on the Trojan’s side of the war. As stated on Mythagora.com, “Ares was clearly on the side of the Trojans when the Achaeans laid siege to the city of Troy… During the siege of Troy, Athena stood against Ares and was victorious on several occasions,” (Mythagora.com). The reason that Ares was so clearly on the Trojan’s side was because of Aphrodite. It was no hidden fact that Aphrodite was having affairs. In one story, they were caught together by Helios, who then told Hephaestus (Aphrodite’s husband). According to Mythagora.com, “The smith went to work and devised clever fastenings that would ensnare and hold the lovers in an unbreakable trap… Only after Poseidon offered to guarantee the adulterer 's damages would Hephaistos loose the bonds,”