Ares was the god of war, and the son of Zeus and Hera. He represented the stark violence and unruly acts that occurred in time of war, in contrast to Athena, who was a symbol of tactical strategy and military planning.
They both did not like their parents. Every time Ares appeared in a myth, he was depicted as a violent person, who faced humiliation through his defeats more than once. In the Iliad, it is mentioned that Zeus hated him more than anyone else; Ares was also on the losing side of the Trojan War, favoring the Trojans. He was the lover of his sister, Aphrodite, who was married to Hephaestus. When he found out about the affair, he devised a plan and managed to humiliate them both. The union of Ares and Aphrodite resulted in the birth of eight children, including Eros, the god of love.
There were few temples attributed to Ares in Ancient Greece. Sacrifices would generally be made to him when an army marched to war; The Spartans would make sacrifices to Enyalius, another minor god and son of Ares and Enyo. However, the name was also used as a surname for Ares.
When Ares went to war, he was followed by his companions, Deimos (terror) and Phobos (fear), who were the product of his union with Aphrodite. Eris, goddess of discord and sister of Deimos and Phobos, often accompanied them in war.
Ares was the Olympian god of war, battle lust, courage, and civil order. In ancient Greek art he was depicted as a mature, bearded warrior armed for battle, or a naked, beardless youth with a rudder and spear.
Myths:
Ares had an adultery affair with the goddess Aphrodite, but her husband Hephaestus trapped the couple in a golden net and humiliated them by calling the rest of the gods to testify.
When Aphrodite fell in love with the handsome young Adonis, the god became jealous, transformed into a wild boar and devoured him as he fell.
Ares transformed his daughter Harmonia and her husband Kadmos of Thebes into serpents and took them to the Islands of the Blessed.
The god killed Hallirhothios to avenge the rape of his daughter Alkippe. He was tried at the Areiopagos court in Athens but acquitted of murder.
Ares apprehended the criminal Sisyphos, an unholy man who had dared to kidnap the death god Thanatos.
