Facts About Ares – Greek Mythology

Ares

In Greek Mythology Ares is the god of war. He commands armies, and is known for his bloodlust and ruthlessness. Ares is often at odds with Apollo, but he is also a good friend to Aphrodite and shares many of Zeus’s characteristics. He was with her when she seduced Dionysus to avoid being raped by him.

Ares wields an electric spear, can be turned into animals at will, and has vast strength that increases the more he commits acts of violence such as murder or battle. The only person who can match his physical might is Hephaestus’ automaton robots which were all destroyed during a war against the gods over Olympus control where Ares sided with Zeus. Ares is also immortal and invincible unless wounded by weapons forged by his half-brothers, the Cyclops, or a sword crafted by Hephaestus.

His son is Phobos, one of the gods of fear. His other children are Deimos (terror), Eris (strife), and Phobos’ twin brother, Oizys (woe). Ares’ lover is Aphrodite, who begot Harmonia with him, who in turn begot Eros (the god of love) with Hephaestus. Another lover was Pyrene who bore him a son name Diomedes. His Roman counterpart Mars has the same attributes and tendencies as he does. He is known for his violent temper and bloodlust.

Ares makes many appearances throughout the series: Ares is the main enemy of Hercules, appearing in all but three of the episodes; it’s also the name of a ship in “The Pirate Ghost”; and it’s also the name of a god who opposed Athena and Aphrodite in “Hercules and the God Boy”.

Appearance and attributes

Ares appears has short spiky brown hair with black highlights, stubble around his mouth, and wears armor. His eyes are always covered by shadow; it seems that even when not wearing armor he still wears shoulder pads. In “Hercules and the River of Doom”, Ares is portrayed as a shirtless man with brown hair, and he is missing his shoulder pads. In “Hercules: The Animated Series”, Zeus describes him as a “handsome young boy”. He seems to have a preference for wearing predominantly red clothing but this may be because it makes him stand out on the battlefield. He has been shown to wear other colors such as blue and yellow.

Ares can change into animals and speak every language in the world, but he doesn’t speak much due to his violent nature. According to some sources, he is able to change people into animals, which may explain his ability to communicate with animals so easily.

When Ares transforms into an animal, his clothes transform with him. In “Hercules and the Yearbook”, he transformed his clothing into a wrestling singlet. This may indicate that he normally wears armor no matter what form he takes, as a blue shirt and red shorts are part of the wrestling uniform.

Ares lacks any kindness or compassion whatsoever; essentially, he is purely evil. He sees everyone else as being beneath him and believes that war is the best way to solve conflict. However, Ares appears to have some level of respect for Hercules, going so far as to admit defeat when Hercules caught him off guard in “Hercules and the Circle of Fire”. Ares is also relatively intelligent, as he managed to trick Hercules into becoming his soldier in the episode “Hercules and the Hostage Heart”, and he even showed a sense of humor when Hercules wanted to be assigned a mission in “Hercules and the Aetolian Amphora”. Ares is also not above killing his own soldiers when they fail him. This can be seen in both “Hercules and the Dream Date” and “Hercules and the First Day of School” where he kills two unnamed soldiers for failing to bring him a llama to kill Hercules.

Ares is a very passionate and emotional person, and because of this he can be quite reckless with his actions. He is easily angered when someone insults him or even just disobeys him, and in “Hercules and the River of Doom” he caused a forest to be destroyed just because Hercules mocked him about his height. When angered, he usually loses all self-control and will jump into any fight without even thinking about the consequences. This is also shown in the episode “Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon” where Ares was so enraged that he attacked his own soldiers without even realizing that they were on his side.

It is never explained whether or not Ares cares about anyone other than himself. He has been shown to have a soft spot for his son Phobos, but whether or not this is because he is his son is left unclear. He also does seem to care for Aphrodite in some way, but this may just be because she is his lover. After the war of the gods ended, Ares was exiled from Olympus and he didn’t attempt to return. This may suggest that he didn’t want to go back and face the townspeople for killing their loved ones.

However, in “Hercules and the Aetolian Amphora”, Ares made a comment about how hard it must have been without him around. This may suggest that he did care for the citizens of Thebes.

History

When Zeus discovered that the All-Powerfuls were taking over the mortal world, he decided to stop them. Ares was ordered by Zeus to find Hercules and train him in combat so he’d be ready when Zeus called for him.

After finding Hercules, Ares trained him to be a great warrior (not telling him that he had been ordered by Zeus to do so). When Hercules was ready, he joined other heroes who had come from around the world and they stormed Olympus to defeat the All-Powerfuls.

Ares fought alongside Hercules in the final battle, and during this time he showed his true colors. He was not content with Zeus’s plan of having the heroes move the gods from Olympus to the mortal world. Instead, Ares wanted to keep Olympus for him and his fellow gods. When it became clear that they were going to lose the fight against Zeus and Hercules, Ares turned against Zeus and joined up with the All-Powerfuls.

When Hercules defeated Zylos, he trapped him in a circle of fire so Zeus wouldn’t be able to follow them back down to Earth, something which enraged Ares because he was a god too.

After Hercules was trapped in the World of the All-Powerfuls, it fell to Ares to try and take over his world. However, his actions were discovered by Zeus, who imprisoned him in the River Styx.

Ares was freed from his imprisonment by Hades and after that he tried to kill Zeus with a boulder he threw at him. But Hercules jumped in front of the boulder, saving Zeus but costing himself his life. This devastated Ares because Hercules had been more than just a student to him; he’d come to care for him as well, despite his previous attempts at trying to kill Hercules.

Ares, along with the other heroes, traveled to the Underworld and fought Hades for Hercules’s soul. Ares fought Hades, but eventually he was pulled into the River Styx by Hades.

The Olympians tried to trap Ares again in the River Styx, but he was able to escape and escaped from Olympus.

Characteristics

Appearance/Personality/Powers/Skills/Abilities: Ares is tall and lean with dark skin and dark hair which hangs down just past his eyes. He wears a horned helmet and armor that covers his chest while leaving his arms bare. He uses a spear as his primary weapon in combat. His eyes are dark black. He has a long ponytail of dark hair that hangs down his back.

Ares is known for being hot-tempered and quick to anger. He prefers to use force over diplomacy, often resorting to brute force to solve the problems he faces. While Ares might be impulsive at times, he is not without his finer qualities. Ares does have a sense of honor; he is bound by certain rules that can’t be broken, such as not killing a woman or a child. Ares also cares for his daughter Aphrodite very much, despite their strained relationship and her general dislike for him. Ares also has an intense hatred for his half-brother Hercules, primarily because Hercules’ purity of spirit and love for his friends and family is a constant torment to Ares. Ares resents the fact that Hercules is better loved than him by both Gods and men alike. Ares has also shown some kindness and generosity, especially when it comes to Aphrodite: unlike most gods, he wished her well in her quest for Adonis’s affections and helped her indirectly with it, despite not being on good terms with her.

More Facts about Ares

1. Ares is the god of war and one of the Twelve Olympians.
2. Ares’ parents were Zeus and Hera
3. In some stories, the god of war, Ares, was created by Hera using a magical herb instead of Zeus
4. His symbols are the vulture, bull, dog and spear, sometimes bearing a shield with either an eagle or a snake on it.
5. When Ares was a baby he was incarcerated in a bronze jar by giants! Hermes, another god, rescued him
6. His sacred animal is the rooster which he had stolen from Athena when she had taken it from Hera’s temple to honor Zeus instead of Hera at hers during the Trojan War which is why roosters are found in her temples as well as his own throughout Greece
7. Ares is the father of Deimos (Fear) and Phobos (Terror) who were born from his bloodied spear after being wounded by Diomedes during the Trojan War
8. When Ares went to war, he was accompanied by his sons – Phobos, the god of fear, and Deimos, the god of terror
9. Ares is depicted as a mature, muscular warrior with auburn hair, beard and a fearsome visage.
10. Ares’ weapon of choice was a spiked club and he later wielded a sword which he used during battles and wars against the Olympians who rebelled against him following his part in the deaths of Heracles’ children
11. The primordial god of war, he was banned by Zeus from Olympus and as punishment forced to serve in Olympus for one year for every mortal life he had taken through war
12. Ares held an unrequited love for Aphrodite but was unable to seduce her
13. Ares killed many prominent characters of the Trojan War including Erisichthon, Laocoön, Sarpedon and Myrine the Amazon
14. Ares took part in the Gigantomachy, a battle between the gods and giants led by his half-brother, Cronus to prevent them from destroying Olympus
15. Ares was given as a gift to King Admetus of Pherae, became his slave but after 10 years Admetus returned him to Olympus
16. In spite of his violent nature, Ares is portrayed as one of the few gods who are not evil or cruel
17. Ares is on friendly terms with his half-sister Athena.
18. His Roman counterpart Mars was worshipped as a warrior god during Rome’s evolution from a monarchy to a republic
19. Ares was not allowed to marry Aphrodite, a daughter of Zeus and he later married goddess of discord, Eris
20. Ares was so disliked by the Greeks that none of their cities wanted to be named for him. There were very few temples built in his honor.