Ares, Greek God Of War

Ares, Greek God of War: The Embodiment of Rage and Bloodlust

Why is Ares such a good representation of all the horrible acts of war? Ares is known for acting rashly without much care for the consequences of his actions. He loves to rush into battle in gold plated armor, a spear or sword, and a shield mainly against the goddess Athena.

Although Ares is a god, he is far from invincible. He is easily portrayed as a villain in many fictive books and movies. Ares’ background, myths, and strengths and weaknesses make him an interesting Greek god.

Ares’s background is intriguing. Ares’ parents are Zeus and Hera but he also had a twin sister named Eris. Although a son of Zeus, he is disliked not only by his own parents but also by the other gods

Ares looked and acted the part for a war god; he couldn’t care less of anything else unless it involved war, blood, and terror furthermore, Koukakis comments, “The ancient Greek mythology is dominated by two major combat operations: the ten-year Trojan War and the Argonaut’s campaign. So the Greeks coined a god, Ares, who personified this terrible scourge. He was always thirsty for blood and his main feature was the irrational rage and the lack of any courtesy.” (Koukakis). So, rage and lack of remorse made Ares an effective frontline warrior. His war cry helped instill fear in mortals which only increased the Brutality of war. Confirmed by “Ares.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, “Aggressive and sanguinary, Ares personified the brutal nature of war.” (“Ares.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia) But Ares’ major weaknesses where he lacked intelligence and leadership which often led to his defeat by Athena. Bolton explains, “However there was one quality that kept this violent god in check. He lacked cleverness and wisdom…...He lived for the moment of bloodshed, but when it came down to the need for strategy or policy, he was nowhere to be found.” (Bolton 122). Although Ares is a good warrior, his greatest weakness was that he was not a good

First off, the Trojan war was a 10-year long conflict between the Trojans and the Greeks that most of the gods also took part in on one side or the other. Ares, alongside Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, And Hermes, took the side of the Trojans while Athena, Hera, Hephaestus, and Poseidon sided with the Greeks. Ares and Athena being on opposite sides of conflicts was typical for them. But in this case suffered a little more than defeat, but also a battle wound, Bolton agrees, “of course, being on opposite sides during the war, Ares and Diomedes welcomed combat with each other. But as Ares Attacked, he caught Athena’s attention. Athena used the Helmet of Invisibility to intervene and set Ares’ spear off course. This allowed Diomedes to get in a blow, which wounded Ares. The wound was bad enough that Ares was forced to leave the battlefield and return to Mount Olympus where Zeus took care of the injury” (Bolton 130). Ares also had multiple love affairs, one of which produced a daughter. Poseidon’s one son violated Ares daughter, and Ares thought of nothing when he killed him. when Poseidon learned of this he was not going to let the matter drop so he took the civilized route and called for a trial to try Ares for murder, as the UXL encyclopedia of world mythology confirms, “in one myth, Poseidon’s son raped one of Ares’ daughters, so Ares struck the youth dead. Poseidon