Ares – God of War

One of the Twelve Olympian gods, Ares was the Greek god of war, battle lust, and
courage. He was the son of Zeus and Hera. He came from Thrace, home of the fierce people in
the northeast of Greece. All his life, he was dedicated to war and violence. He embodied the
physical aggression of war necessary for success. He also craved for strength, muscles, and
hotheadedness. Ares is commonly depicted as a mature looking, bearded warrior in battle arms.
He is usually wearing a helmet and spear (Greek Gods & Goddesses, 2014). However, the
Greeks were ambivalent toward him for he was a dangerous, overwhelming force that was
insatiable in battle. His personality was very extreme. He always tried to cause wars. He loved
war for the sake of war. He was extremely violent and found delight in manslaughter. Many
gods and goddesses hated Ares except for one particular goddess, the goddess of love,
Aphrodite (Dollyhigh, 2013).

When the god of smiths Hephaestus was born, Hera threw him off of Mount Olympus
in disgust for he was too ugly. He then sent gifts up to Olympus including a golden throne for
Hera. When Hera sat in the throne, it immediately bound her to it. None of the gods or
goddesses could free Hera. They suggested that Hephaestus might be persuaded to undo his
workmanship. Hera offered the beautiful goddess Aphrodite as a bride to anyone who could
free her. Ares attempted to bring his brother back by force, but his brother was able to beat him
and free Hera using flaming shards of metal. Dionysus recommended that Hephaestus should
come back willingly and take Aphrodite as his wife. Hephaestus did just that but Ares and
Aphrodite were obviously not pleased. This started their famous love affair (Dollyhigh, 2013).
Aphrodite’s marriage did not stop her love for Ares. Ares was never known to be loyal to
anything. Ares is portrayed as a ruthless and blood-hungry curse of the mortals, but he was a
coward. One night, Aphrodite and Ares had been making love all night at Hephaestus’s own
palace in Thrace. Helios, the Sun-god, spied the lovers enjoying each other in the hall. As his
warm rays caressed the bodies of the busy lovers, he saw the two lovers locked in a passionate
embrace. Helios immediately went running to Hephaestus and reported the incident. Having
known the truth, Hephaestus wanted to get revenge. Knowing he couldn’t beat Ares personally,
he set a particular trap for the lovers. He crafted a bronze hunting-net, strong enough to capture
them. The trap perfectly worked and the lovers were caught in bed, naked, and trapped by the
net. The lovers were then forced to be exposed at Mount Olympus while the gods laugh and
ridicule them. After the two were released, Aphrodite went back to Paphos while Ares returned
to his homeland. Ares still loved Aphrodite all the same, and vice versa (Potter, 2019).

Ares is depicted as a violent and bloodthirsty warrior. He is someone obsessed with

blood and violence. His aggressiveness describes his fighting spirit. Because of his
hotheadedness, Ares was the most despised of all the Olympians. However, despite the hatred
towards him from the gods, bloodshed was necessary for the protection of someone’s home
city-state. Just like in most war stories, the people need a protector god that will inspire them
to fight willingly with honor. With Ares, the people had one. Ares definitely isn’t a good god
but he wasn’t necessarily a bad one. He definitely showed morality and honor. He was the god
of war, and war can be anything to the ancient Greek.