#SymbolsĪres was associated with a number of animals, including the boar, the dog, and certain birds. 7 Ares was also associated with other terrible beings, such as Cydoemus (the personification of “battle din”), the Machae (“battles”), Polemos (“war”), and Alala (“war cry”). In later sources, Enyalios evolved from being just another name for Ares to the name of his son (by Enyo). In Homer, Ares goes to war attended by his sons Deimos and Phobos (the personification of terror and fear, respectively) as well as his sister Eris (called Enyo by Hesiod), a goddess of discord, hate, and violence. The Greeks always dreaded Ares as the cruel and unsympathetic god of the chaotic side of war, a lover of death for its own sake. In literature, Ares remained somewhat more consistent. 490–323 BCE), he was increasingly shown as clean-shaven and sometimes nude, perhaps carrying his helmet or holding only a spear. 800–490 BCE), Ares was generally bearded and fully armed. His depiction in art and literature evolved somewhat throughout Greek history. #IconographyĪres’ signature attributes were his tall, plumed helmet, his weapons, and sometimes a breastplate and shield. Unlike his counterpart, the war goddess Athena, Ares did not represent strategy or heroic ethics rather, Ares was the god of the destructive and cruel side of war.Ĭonversely, Ares’ Roman counterpart, Mars, was seen in a much more positive light, as the ancestor of Rome and one of the chief gods of the Roman pantheon. More specifically, he was associated from the start with “the most objectionable aspects of war” 5-that is, with violence and conflict for its own sake.
#Attributes #DomainsĪres was the god of war and violence. In ancient Greek, “Ares” was very often used to mean simply “war.” The adjective form of Ares’ name- areios (masculine) or areia (feminine)-was sometimes used as an epithet for other gods either associated with war (like Athena) or with Ares himself (like Aphrodite). In addition to Enyalios, which functioned more like an alternative name for the god, Ares’ major epithets included Andreiphontēs (“man-slaying”), Chalceos (“brazen”), Ochys (“piercing”), Thoos (“swift”), Thouros (“furious”), and Thēritas (“beast-like”). 4 #Pronunciationįrom the earliest period of Greek history, Ares was also called Enyalios, “the warlike one.” #EpithetsĪres’ epithets generally stressed his warlike and brutal nature. Beekes, meanwhile, questioned all previous etymologies and instead proposed a pre-Greek, non-Indo-European origin. Some, for example, have linked the name to Indo-European roots, such as yōris or yāris (a word connoting violence), as well as the Sanskrit word irasyā (meaning “malevolence”). Modern scholars have increasingly searched beyond Greek for the origins of Ares’ name. The most straightforward etymology derives it from the word arē or ara, which in ancient Greek means “bane,” “ruin,” “curse” and/or “imprecation.” But the name Ares may also come from another Greek word, aros, which means “profit” or “help.” 2 1500–1200 BCE), where it shows up in the syllabic Linear B script as a-re. The earliest reference to the name “Ares” dates back to the Mycenaean Period (ca. 1 Ares’ unpopularity suggests that the Greeks were all too accustomed to conflict and loath to celebrate its destructive tendencies. Though Ares was a god, the Greeks sometimes called him a Thracian in an attempt to disassociate him from Greek society and values (Thrace was a region north of Greece, home to a notoriously warlike people). His counterpart Athena, meanwhile, represented the strategic and tactical aspects of martial conflict.Īres’ impulsiveness, temper, and eagerness to cause wanton destruction made him perhaps the least popular of the Olympians-widely acknowledged but seldom admired. Though he was often portrayed as the all-encompassing god of war, Ares traditionally represented only the most brutal, impulsive, and unrestrained aspects of combat. The son of Zeus and Hera and one of the twelve Olympian deities, Ares was the god of rage, terror, and violence. His sacred animals were the boar, the dog, and the vulture. Ares was most associated with a soldier’s weapons: sword, spear, and shield.
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