ARES was the great Olympian god of war, battlelust, civil order. He was depicted as either a mature, bearded warrior dressed in battle arms, or a nude beardless youth with helm and spear.The symbol of Ares was the spear and his sacred animal was the dog.The month March was named in honour of Ares (Mars), and war dances were held during that period.
Ares was famous for having an affair with the goddess Aphrodite.With her he fathered Deimos, Phobes, Eros, Adrestra, Anteros and probably the most dangerous of all was Cycnus. Once when Ares and Aphrodite were making love, Helios, the god of sun, saw them. He went back and told Hephaestus, Aphrodite's husband. Hephaestus wove an invisible net and placed it as an ambush trap. Next time the two lovers met, they were both trapped. Hephaestus then called all the other gods to look at them, caught red-handed.
Ares is also alleged to have killed Adonis, Aphrodite's lover. Aphrodite fell in love with this youth, possibly because she was wounded by an arrow by Eros.Aphrodite sheltered Adonis as a new-born baby and entrusted him to Persephone. But Persephone was herself attracted towards Adonis.The dispute between the two goddesses was settled by Zeus. Adonis was to spend one-third of every year with each goddess and the last third wherever he chose. He chose to spend two-thirds of the year with Aphrodite.Adonis was killed by a wild boar, which was apparently Ares disguised.
According to a late tradition, Ares slew Hallirhothios, the son of Poseidon, when he was on the point of raping Aliped, the daughter of Ares. Hereupon Poseidon accused Ares in the Areiopagos, where the Olympian gods were assembled in court. Ares was acquitted, and this event was believed to have given rise to the name Areiopagos.
Ares was famous for having an affair with the goddess Aphrodite.With her he fathered Deimos, Phobes, Eros, Adrestra, Anteros and probably the most dangerous of all was Cycnus. Once when Ares and Aphrodite were making love, Helios, the god of sun, saw them. He went back and told Hephaestus, Aphrodite's husband. Hephaestus wove an invisible net and placed it as an ambush trap. Next time the two lovers met, they were both trapped. Hephaestus then called all the other gods to look at them, caught red-handed.
Ares is also alleged to have killed Adonis, Aphrodite's lover. Aphrodite fell in love with this youth, possibly because she was wounded by an arrow by Eros.Aphrodite sheltered Adonis as a new-born baby and entrusted him to Persephone. But Persephone was herself attracted towards Adonis.The dispute between the two goddesses was settled by Zeus. Adonis was to spend one-third of every year with each goddess and the last third wherever he chose. He chose to spend two-thirds of the year with Aphrodite.Adonis was killed by a wild boar, which was apparently Ares disguised.
Kadmos, who was searching for the kidnapped Europa together with his mother, reached a place Samothrake, where his mother died. After the funeral he went to see the Oracle of Delphi. This told him that he would better forget to find Europa, as the Oracle knew who had kidnapped her. Instead of this, he should just wait until the day he would find a herd of cows. If one of them would have a moon-shaped sign on its ass, then he should kick the cow and follow the animal to there where it would die. There he should found a city. So he did, founding the city of Theban and creating the Theban Saga. Nearby, next to a fountain, there lived a dragon. Kadmos killed the beast. He did not know that the dragon belonged to the war god Ares. To stop the rage of Ares, Athena advice him to take the teeth of the dragon and to sow them as if they were regular seeds. From the teeth grew men that, as soon as they were out of the earth, started to fight against each other. He named them Spartoi, and these were the ancestors of the Spartans. Even then, Kadmos had still to serve Ares during eight years and to do all kinds of trifles for him. But still he managed to keep one of the dragon teeth, the one that would create the so-called "killer machines". After the 8 years of serving Ares, Kadmos was given Harmonia as a wife. Harmonia was the daughter of the war god and Aphrodite.
According to a late tradition, Ares slew Hallirhothios, the son of Poseidon, when he was on the point of raping Aliped, the daughter of Ares. Hereupon Poseidon accused Ares in the Areiopagos, where the Olympian gods were assembled in court. Ares was acquitted, and this event was believed to have given rise to the name Areiopagos.
