The Gods Of Ares: The Greek God Of War

Ares is known as the god of war in Greek mythology (Alys 148). Mythology, of course, is the study of myths. While Ares was really part of a religion, he also ties into mythology because the stories of the gods are exactly what they are described to be: stories. In Greek mythology, he is known as a rather unimportant character, as he didn’t actually narrate many stories (Hamsen 113). The ones he did play a lead role in were often the ones where he was defeated or bested by another character. He was often outdone in battle, despite his status as a war god. He maintained constant rivalries with many of the gods, particularly Athena, goddess of war and wisdom (Alys 152.) Because of his constant fighting, he was never a respected god; however, Mars, Ares’s Roman counterpart, was

Unlike Ares, Mars had a follower base second only to Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Zeus. He was well liked, and respected greatly by the Romans. His popularity grew as Rome because more of a militaristic empire. He was viewed as a strong, able soldier; the kind of soldier that people would look up to. He has many more places of worship in Rome then he had in Greece. One of the primary places of worship was the Mars Ultor Sanctuary (Jordan 191). In Roman eyes, Mars wasn’t as brutal as Ares, and quarreled less with other gods. He doesn’t have as much of a conflict with Minerva, the equivalent of Athena, in Roman mythology (Jordan 200). Because of his attributes listed above, Mars has always been considered the stronger of the personalities. The differences between Mars and Ares prove that the citizens have all the control. They are practically identical gods, but Ares has been twisted into something similar, whereas Mars is a greatly respected warrior. Different civilizations have different values, which is why there is a difference between Roman and Greek gods in the first place. Overall, Mars makes up for Ares’s