Ares: Greek God of War and Harbinger of Doom

The god of war was busy in ancient Greece. Nicole Antonio/DALL-E

Many Greek gods and goddesses were associated with battle, but Ares was known as the one true Greek god of war (not to be confused with Kratos, the protagonist of the "God of War" video game franchise).

Ares was the least-worshipped deity in the Greek pantheon since most people preferred peace and stability between the many city-states. However, he would eventually come into his own as a new power emerged on the world stage.

When the Romans adopted the god of war and renamed him Mars, he became an integral spiritual component of one of the greatest and most expansive empires of the ancient world. At the beginning of any battle, Roman soldiers would pray to Ares to deliver their forces from danger and defeat.

A Brief Overview of Ares: Warrior God of the Greek Pantheon

Greek mythology is a complex tapestry of battle, political espionage and a constant struggle of the gods to maintain control and influence over their human worshippers.

To the Greeks, Ares was seen as the harbinger of doom; to the gods, he was an unpredictable menace. However, from the view of his most favored Romans, Mars/Ares was seen as the mythological justification for their violent expansion to the farthest corners of the empire.

The Divine Family Tree

Ares, the god of war, was the son of Zeus and Hera — the king-father and queen-mother of the other gods in the Pantheon family.

With their constant bickering, infidelity and backstabbing, it's no wonder that the toxic nature and nurture of their relationship led to their son becoming the god of war and bloodlust.

Ares' sister Athena was worshipped as the god of wisdom and strategy in battle, while he became the embodiment of rage, violence and mindless ferocity. Only the militaristic Spartans and warmongering Thracians preferred Ares over his more level-headed sibling.

Ares' Affair With the Goddess of Love

Although Ares never married, he did engage in several affairs — the most famous of which was the dramatic tryst with the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.

However, if you're expecting a rom-com ending for the forbidden love story of Ares and Aphrodite, remember that this is a Greek tale of the gods; these things rarely end well.

Aphrodite's husband, Hephaestus, was so angry when he caught her and Ares in the throes of passion that he trapped them naked under a magical net. Disgusted with his wife's betrayal, he called in the other gods to witness their humiliation.

Once released, Ares and Aphrodite parted ways with the gods and settled into exile, retreating to Thrace and Cyprus. Like most other stories of the gods and their trials, the embarrassing tale of Ares and Aphrodite is likely a cautionary tale akin to biblical warnings of the time.

Symbols and Sacred Animals Associated With Ares

Ares is the spirit of warriors in battle, so most symbols and iconography in artistic representations show him wearing a helmet and wielding a mighty spear.

The god of war is also associated with the flaming torch and battle chariot, which appears in several stories of Ares laying waste to cities and fields during times of mass destruction.

The gods are often associated with a sacred animal that mirrors their temperament, so the most fitting creature for the god of war was the vulture — a scavenger that feeds on death and the decay of a battlefield.

However, he was also accompanied by the dog (a symbol representing the loyalty of soldiers in battle) and the boar (which had a tendency to charge blindly in a fit of rage).

3 Tales About the Greek God of War

Ares plays a supporting role in many legends of Greek mythology, but the most epic instances are his battle with Hercules, his capture at Mount Olympus and his support of the Trojans in Homer's "The Iliad."

1. Ares vs. Hercules

The Greek god of war appears in the chronicles of Hercules, a demigod and son of Zeus.

In the story, Ares's son Kyknos angers Apollo by causing havoc and killing pilgrims on their journey to the oracle at Delphi. Apollo dispatches Hercules to teach the menace a lesson, and the hero deals out ultimate retribution, killing Kyknos.

Ares seeks revenge and engages Hercules in immortal combat. The stakes are not that high since one is a god, and the other is a demigod protected by Athena.

The skirmish ends in a heated draw, but the powerful Hercules is able to wound Ares and land a massive blow to Ares' ego before all is said and done.

2. A Year in the Bronze Jar

Although the son of Zeus and Hera was a mighty warrior god, there were times when his brash nature got him into trouble.

In one story, the two giants known as the Aloadae, Ephialtes and Otus, staged an assault on Mount Olympus. Ares intervened and was captured by the giants in a bronze urn for over a year.

Artemis, Ares' sister and Greek god of the hunt, came to his rescue in the form of a deer. She raced between the captures, and they both missed with their spears. Each spear tip found a home in the other brother, resulting in accidental fratricide.

3. The Seige of Troy

Although many historians agree that the city of Troy was a real place, Homer's story of the siege at Troy was not a historically accurate account. "The Iliad" was one of the most popular poetic fiction, with a star-studded cast of ancient heroes.

"The Iliad" takes place during the war between the Trojans and the Greeks. The war broke out after a peace deal soured when the Trojan prince Paris stole the wife of Menelaus, the king of the Spartans.

Enraged by this insult, Menelaus pleads with his brother Agamemnon to raise an army and exact his revenge.

Battle lines are drawn, and both heroes and gods must choose a side. Ares was the god of war, so the Spartan/Greek forces expected him to automatically side with their cause. However, Ares, in yet another rash decision, chooses to flip sides from Hera and Athena to back the Trojans and join forces with his former lover, Aphrodite.

Ares inevitably bets on the wrong Trojan horse, as Greek heroes, including Achilles, Ajax and Odysseus, set the city ablaze in a nighttime raid.

Now That's a Message

There are few mortal characters that the god of war would've been challenged to outmatch in hand-to-hand combat, but the hero Achilles, is definitely near the top of the list. From the point of view of the Greeks, he is the embodiment of courage and skill, yet it is his pursuit of the spirit of legend that leads to his downfall. Similar to the story of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun, Achilles' constant need for validation and glory led to his demise. Although excellent stories on their own, many of these Greek myths carry an underlying moral message of humility over hubris.