Ares was the Greek god of war and battle frenzy. He numbered among the twelve Olympian gods who ruled over the cosmos. While his sister Athena was a goddess of war, representing strategy and temperance, Ares represented battle lust and the horrors of war. He was often followed into battle by his children and attendants, Phobos and Deimos, the gods of fear and terror. Characterized by his strength of arms and rashness, one of his epithets in Homers Iliad was Man-Slaying, capturing his violent and cruel nature.1. Birth of AresSeated goddess holding flowers (Flora?), Italy, c. 1550-1575 CE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe earliest surviving written account about Ares, written by Hesiod in the 8th century BCE, says that he is the legitimate son of Hera and Zeus. However, the Roman poet Ovid in his Fasti claims that Ares, like Hephaestus, was born from Hera through parthenogenesis, meaning a virgin birth.Ovid wrote that Hera was upset that Zeus had given birth to Athena without her, so she decided to repay him in kind. She was helped by a nymph named Flora. She told Hera about a flower in Olenus, in the Peloponnese, that could be used to make a barren cow pregnant. Flora tried it, and sure enough, the cow became pregnant. She suggested the same for the goddess.The nymph plucked the flower and touched Hera with it, and straight away she became pregnant. Hera rushed off to Thrace and gave birth to Ares in secret. Zeus was none the wiser and falsely believed Ares to be his son.While the account uses the gods Latin names, Ovids inclusion of the Greek city of Olenus suggests that the myth was Greek in origin. The Romans knew Ares as Mars.2. Preventing Letos LaborPelike showing the death of Tityos, by Polygnotos, c. 450 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtWhen Leto was pregnant with the divine twins, Apollo and Artemis, Hera sought to punish her for her affair with Zeus. Not only did she tell the goddess of childbirth to prolong Letos labor, but she also sent Ares to threaten any city that Leto went to for refuge. The threat of Ares, who in the Iliad was frequently called the sacker of cities, caused every city on land to turn Leto away. It was only when the island of Asteria, or Ortygia, which was a wandering island in the sea that was not rooted to the earth, accepted her was she able to finally give birth.3. Affair With AphroditeTerracotta Antefix showing Venus and Mars, Rome, c. 1st century BCE/CE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe most common myth about Ares has to do with his affair with the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Recounted in Homers Odyssey, while Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, Ares and Aphrodite had a secret affair. They were discovered by Helios, god of the sun, who immediately told Hephaestus about the infidelity.The smith god Hephaestus knew that he was no match physically for the god of war, so he devised a trap. He crafted a bronze net so fine that it was nearly invisible, then laid it above the bed. The next time Ares and Aphrodite went to bed together the trap was sprung, and they were captured. Hephaestus summoned the rest of the gods to shame them, but they were set free at Poseidons request.A later account by Lucian added that Ares stationed Alectryon outside the room to warn them when he sees Helios, since the god was known to be all-seeing, but Alectryon fell asleep. As punishment, Ares turned him into a rooster so that every morning hed cry out when the sun rose.4.Aloadae GiantsRed-Figure Krater showing Zeus and the giants, Italy, c. 350 BCE. Source: State Hermitage Museum, St PetersburgThe Aloads, or Aloadae, were the sons of Poseidon and the mortal woman Iphimedeia, named Otus and Ephialtes. They were referred to by their patronymic because their mother was the wife of a Thessalian prince named Aloeus. They grew in size every year, and by the time they were nine years old the two boys were over five stories tall.In their arrogance, the Aloadae sought to overthrow the gods. In order to reach Olympus, they piled mountains on top of each other, and threatened to pile so many mountains into the seas that the sea would become land and the land become sea. They even managed to capture Ares in a bronze jar and held him captive for thirteen months. It was only by the intervention of Hermes that Ares was eventually freed, but the embarrassment of his capture remained with him.5. Cadmus and the Foundation of ThebesCalyx-Krater showing Cadmos and the Serpent, attributed to the Spreckles Painter, c. 450 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtCadmus was a prince of Phoenicia and the brother of Europa. When Europa vanished, their father sent all his sons out to search for her and told them not to return until they had found her. After searching for a long time, Cadmus and his brothers eventually gave up and decided to settle elsewhere.Cadmus and his mother settled in Thrace, where they lived until his mother passed away. Cadmus then decided to ask the oracle of Delphi about his lost sister, Europa. The oracle told him not to worry about her, but instead to use a cow as a guide and follow it until it fell down exhausted, and then to found a city on that spot.Marble relief fragment of Mars, Roman, c. 3rd century BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtTaking the road from Delphi through Phocis, Cadmos bought a cow from a herdsman named Pelagon and proceeded to follow it into Boeotia, where it eventually fell down. Wanting to sacrifice the cow to Athena, Cadmus sent some of his travel companions to fetch water from a nearby river. This river, however, was guarded by a dragon said to be the child of Ares. The dragon killed many of his companions. When Cadmus heard of this, he flew into a rage and killed the dragon himself. On the instructions of Athena, Cadmus sowed the dragons teeth into the earth. From the teeth sprang fully armed and armored men called the Spartoi. They all proceeded to kill each other, but five survived to help Cadmus found the city of Thebes.In order to atone for killing the dragon, Cadmus served Ares for eight years. At the end of his service, he was granted kingship over Thebes and Zeus gave him Harmonia, the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, as a wife.6. First Murder CourtNymph statue, attributed to Polly, c. 1805-1810 CE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtAres had another daughter named Alcippe with a princess of Athens. One day, Alcippe was bathing in a spring by the Acropolis when a son of Poseidon named Halirrhothios came upon her and tried to rape her. Ares caught him in the act and killed him without hesitation. Poseidon was upset at the death of his son, so he brought criminal charges against Ares and held a trial in front of the twelve Olympians.Due to the nature of the crime the god of war was ultimately acquitted. The hill in Athens where the trial was conducted was henceforth known as the Areopagus, the Hill of Ares. The story explained why murder tribunals and other cases involving blood-guilt were tried on the Areopagus.7. Against HeraklesAmphora showing Herakles fighting Cycnus, attributed to the Amasis Painter, c. 6th century BCE. Source: Louvre MuseumOn three occasions Ares faced off against another son of Zeus, Heracles. Their first encounter, recounted in Hesiods Shield of Heracles, says that Ares fought Heracles in the city of Pylos, but was wounded when the hero stabbed him in the thigh and forced him to retreat. The next two encounters were to avenge the murders of his sons, both named Cycnus.The first Cycnus was Ares son by a woman named Pelopia and lived in Thessaly. According to the Scholiasts on Pindars Olympian Ode 2, this Cycnus used to behead passing strangers in order to build a temple for his father. Apollo stirred Heracles to kill Cycnus. Cycnus violent nature meant that he already wanted to kill Heracles, so a confrontation was inevitable. Cycnus challenged him to fight, and was supported by Ares. Luckily Heracles was supported by Athena. Heracles blocked Cycnus spear throw with his shield and, when the son of Ares lunged for a strike, plunged his own spear into his neck. Ares flew into a rage and hurled a spear at Heracles, but Athena intervened and turned it aside. This gave Heracles the chance to strike Ares in the thigh, wounding him. The god of war was then forced to flee back to Olympus.The second Cycnus was the son of Pyrene and lived in Macedon. The more common tradition, recounted briefly, is that, as the two combatants were about to clash, Zeus broke up the battle by throwing a thunderbolt between them. Hyginus, however, wrote that Heracles killed Cycnus (whom the Romans called Cygnus), and it was when he was about to clash with Ares that Zeus stopped the fight with a thunderbolt.8. The IliadShield depicting the Siege of Troy, France, c. 1580-90 CE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of ArtDuring the events of the Iliad, Ares violent nature was on full display. Representations of him throughout history remained consistent with his characterization from this epic. As the god of war, Ares reveled in the blood and death that was wrought by the Trojan War.Many gods took sides in the war, but Ares cared only for battle. He changed allegiances at a whim, fighting on the side of whoever had the upper hand. From the beginning he had promised his mother, Hera, that he would support the Greeks, but he quickly changed sides at the urging of Aphrodite. Multiple times in the epic he is called a liar and oath breaker, such as when he was confronted by Athena while she was aiding the Greek hero, Diomedes.Diomedes was the son of Tydeus and king of Argos, and was regarded as nearly equal in skill and valor to Achilles. Spurred on by Athena, Diomedes clashed with Ares on the battlefield. They charged each other in chariots and Ares hurled his spear at the Argive king, but Athena, using the cap of Hades to make herself invisible, caught it and turned it aside. Diomedes then stabbed his spear at Ares, striking the god in the stomach. Wounded and defeated, Ares fled back to Olympus.In Book 20, Ares directly confronted Athena in combat. Zeus had banned the gods from participating in the war, but later revoked that rule and bid the gods to go down to earth and aid whichever side they wanted. Ares sided with the Trojans and pitted himself against Athena, who sided with the Greeks. He vowed to pay Athena back for lending her support to Diomedes in wounding him and he attacked her. He hit her directly in the chest, but she was protected by the aegis, armor made by Hephaestus that not even Zeus thunderbolt could break. Athena picked up a stone and swung it into Ares neck, knocking him to the ground and ending the fight. Aphrodite then led the defeated Ares away.