The son of Zeus and Hera, he turned out to be a swaggering bully boy and yobbo God. He had the hots for Aphrodite and even after being caught in a net by Hephaestus in full flagrante delicto this did not diminish his adulterous activities. The only thing he enjoyed more was war.

Ares loved battles and violence. Never mind which side he was on, so long as there was plenty of blood.

His bloodthirsty sons Deimos and Phobos are in constant attendance, and if all is peaceful, it doesn’t take long for his sister Eris to knock up a little strife.

He was not very popular with most of the other Gods. He sided mostly with the Trojans in the Big Bust Up, and was wounded by a mortal with a little help from Athena who blatted him with a rock, and he fled howling back to Olympus.

Heracles sent him packing with an arrow in the thigh after killing one of his obnoxious offspring, and the Aloadae held him captive in a bronze jar for over a year because they could.

His mortal sons were so vile Heracles killed two, Diomedes (see Mares of Diomedes) and Cicnus, and Apollo put paid to another, Phlegyas. Talking of Heracles, he also dealt with the iron-feathered Stymphalian Birds which Ares kept as pets.

When the Romans re-cast him, he was identified with Mars, the Blood-Red Planet of War. It was only then that he got any respect.

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Article last revised on September 06, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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