Ares

Ares is probably the most violent of the greater Greek gods. His arena was that of war and he loved the conflict, battle, and chaos. It was his single-minded pursuit of such conflicts that earned him his place in the greater pantheon. Hearing the clash of battle, he would jump into his war chariot, pulled by his sons Phobos and Deimos (Fear and Panic), to go rushing into the fray. Often his sister Eris would accompany him.

Ares was never well thought of by the rest of his family, and he had few allies. Zeus despised him, considering him a coward. Whenever Ares would get wounded in battle, he would come running home for his father to heal him - in spite of his immortality.

Athena and he were often at odds. He took the side of the Trojans and she the Greeks during the Trojan War. She beat him at least twice in battle, during conflicts that perhaps symbolized conflicts between Athens and Thrace, their respective strongholds of worship. It seems strategy wasn't a strong point for him, or the Thracians for that matter.

While he probably never married, Ares was not incapable of love. He apparently had numerous affairs, the most famous being with Aphrodite. She was probably his greatest love. It only makes sense that the goddess of love and sexuality and the god of unbridled conflict would be drawn to each other. Their daughter Harmonia would marry Kadmos, founder of Thebes. (More on him in a moment.) Eventually Aphrodite's husband Hesphaistos caught the two of them together, which apparently ended the affair.

One story tells of the founding of the Areiophagus, ancient Greece's highest court. It seems Poseidon's son Halirrhotius attempted to rape Ares' daughter Alcippe. The poor girl's father came to her rescue, killing the attacker. An angry Poseidon called a court of the gods to try Ares for his son's murder. Ares was absolved of guilt on what was probably one of the rare occasions his side was ever taken during a conflict.

Legend also had it that Ares was the father of the Amazons, a race of warrior women. Other children of his include Kyknos, who was killed by Herakles. He had wanted to build a temple of human skulls. Kadmos killed another of Ares' sons, a fierce dragon, whose teeth, once planted in earth, arose as warriors who immediately turned upon one another. Apparently the majority of his children were also warrior inclined, with many of them being more barbaric then their father. On the other hand, he may also have been the father of Eros, or love. It seems there is indeed a fine line between love and hate.

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Originally composed 25 May, 1998.
Copyright Laurel Reufner, 1998. Comments? Email me!