Majority of Ares’ children came from his union with Aphrodite. Like many of his fellow gods, Ares had several illegitimate children with both goddesses and mortal women. The two unfaithful gods were temporarily kicked out of Mount Olympus. Subsequently, Hephaestus put Aphrodite and Ares on display for the gods at Mount Olympus to ridicule. The mechanism worked in such a way that, the moment Ares and Aphrodite got together, the net activated and bounded the two in a very compromising position. According to Homer’s Odyssey, Hephaestus delicately placed an unbreakable golden net around Aphrodite’s bed. Sensing that his wife, Aphrodite, was having an affair with Ares, Hephaestus set forth to trap them. Aphrodite was already married to Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and weapons-making. What gives? In any case, their little romance was not entirely chaste. The two deities were complete opposites, but somehow they felt attracted to each other. However, it has been stated that Ares once fell madly in love with Aphrodite, the goddess of love. In many stories from Greek mythology, Ares never settled down and married he was simply too busy lusting over war and devastation. His beauty and courage were just some of the reasons why Aphrodite fell in love with him. On the flip side of things, some stories from the myths paint Ares as one of the finest gods on Mount Olympus. Being the god of war, Ares always left a trail of suffering and bodies wherever he went. Because he was not so much endowed with strategic thinking or wisdom, he relied on mostly his strength and love for blood-shed. They were also very fast and agile, trampling everything that came in their path.Īres’ most glaring attribute (perhaps weakness) was his crude and uncontrollable urge for violence. The horses that pulled the chariot were often shown breathing fire. In some cases, he donned metal armor and a shining helmet while riding a fierce-looking chariot. The ancient Greeks usually depicted Ares as a warrior wielding a spear and a shield. All the disgust and hate that were meted out enraged Ares to seek war and violence. According to a number of ancient Greek stories, Zeus, as well other gods on Mount Olympus, completely hated Ares. His mother, Hera, was perhaps the only one who truly understood him. As a result, he received significantly less attention from the king of Olympus, Zeus. How did Ares become the Greek god of War?Īres’ behavior as a child was certainly unbecoming. Greek Goddess Nike: Myth, Symbols, and Depiction.Myths and Early Portrayals of Hermes, the Greek God of Messengers.Ancient Greek Titan Atlas – Origin Myth, Power and Symbols.Perhaps, this was what pushed Ares into a path of utter chaos, destruction, and war. Right from birth, Zeus sided more with his other children, especially Athena. It’s been stated in many ancient Greek myths that Ares was often ignored by his father. He also had other half-siblings such as the goddess Athena, Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes, Hercules (Heracles), Helen of Troy and Hephaestus. Accordingly, he got his strength from Zeus, and his vindictiveness and thirst for violence came from his mother, Hera.Īres’ direct siblings were the deities Hebe and Eileithyia. In order to fully understand Ares, here are some major myths and facts about the Greek god of war: Ares’ birth in Greek MythologyĪres was the product of a union between supreme god king Zeus and god queen Hera. Considering the fact that Ares had anything but love in his heart, it was quite uncharacteristic of him to successfully fall in love with the goddess Aphrodite-the god of love. Slightly different from Ares, Mars – the patron god of Rome and war was often depicted in a bit more composed and disciplined manner than Ares. The warrior god was always red hot and burning with rage. Among all the major Greek gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus (the gods’ home), Ares was the most despised. Known for his impulsive and unrelenting thirst for blood, Ares the Greek god of war was feared by men and Greek deities.

Ares god of war