by Tim Harry

Created on: July 18, 2009   Last Updated: July 23, 2009

Ares was a Greek god, and indeed was one of the ruling Twelve Olympians, relatives of Zeus who ruled from Mount Olympus. Despite this prominent position the name of Ares, and his achievement have been overshadowed by the stories of Zeus and even the mortal heroes of ancient Greece.

The limited knowledge that many people have about Ares has meant that he is often called the Greek God of War; this though was a title that was also given to his half-sister, Athena. Ares in truth was more widely recognised as the Greek god of the slaughter, rather than war in a military sense.

Ares was said to have been and raised in Thrace, the son of Zeus and his third wife, Hera. A full blooded Olympian god, born of two first generation Olympians, ensured that he was given an honoured position in Mount Olympus. The early stories about Ares though have not survived in any great detail, and the most that can be ascertained is that he soon had a reputation amongst the other gods of being a violent and tricky deity.

For most people Ares is just another character who makes an appearance in Homer's Illiad, in which he would often appear on the battlefields of Troy. Initially it appeared that Ares was just looking forward to the fight, and just wanted to be a central figure, willing to fight on the side of Agamemnon's force or that of the Trojans. The lack of morals though came to light, and although the Olympian gods were not renowned for the trustworthiness, Ares was virtually trusted by anyone, even the Greeks who worshipped him. Ares promised his mother, Hera, and his half sister, Athena, that he would fight for their cause, but he was easily swayed when Aphrodite instead asked him to defend Troy. Thus it was that Ares was to be found on the battlefield taking on the Greek heroes.

Zeus though had decreed that no god was to take an active role in the fighting, and so Ares had gone against his word. Hera therefore convinced Zeus that it was time for their son to be punished, and so had the Greek hero Diomedes attack the god. Diomedes was able to fling his spear and have it drive into the body of Ares, causing a wound that forced Ares to depart the fighting to return to Mount Olympus for it to be healed by his father.

Once fit again though it appeared that Ares had learnt his lesson, and he stayed away from the fighting. As the war dragged on though, Zeus changed his mind about allowing the gods to fight and lifted his previous decree. Ares once again was one of the first onto

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