Ares

God Of War

"Most hateful to me are you of all gods on Olympus, for ever is strife dear to you and wars and fighting." [Zeus to Ares. Homer, Iliad 5.890]

Name: Ares- god of war (known to the Romans as Mars)

Appearance: Handsome and muscular, with cold, beady eyes, wavy and long charcoal hair. Always wears black leather, cut off at the shoulder, so everyone can see his powerful arms. He wears matching leather gauntlets around his wrist. At special times a red mist appears around his body’s silhouette, signifying his bloodthirsty nature.

Personality: Cruel, uncaring rogue. Is ruled by vanity and arrogance. He is a charming god one minute, able to seduce you and then stab you in the back the next minute. Lives to see warriors die for him and this fuels his passion and his strategy in Olympus. He is selfish, inconsiderate and mean to everyone but Aphrodite and anyone who can help forward his plans. Ares isn’t happy unless he’s fighting or arguing with someone. He’s a smart ass, loves making trouble in Olympus and frequently will try to overtake his Father’s throne. Is not a good father, doesn’t care about his children—at least on the surface. He has no loyalty and hides his cowardliness behind bravado and a mask of strength.

Background:

Ares to forget

As the Bronze Age of man approached, and men became oblivious, a new generation of gods were born:

The MUSES and Apollo, to remind man of himself. Artemis, to remind him of the sacredness and purity of nature. Athena and the HORAE, to remind him of the virtues of order, industriousness and political sense.

But to assist the coming madness of man, his brutality, and his bloodthirst, came Ares, so that also wretches who delight in murder would not be altogether without consolation. For even cowardly deeds may seem feats of bravery thanks to this god. But he reminds men of nothing as he incites them to run riot, kill, burn, and rape, but submerges them in mud and blood, making them forget the beauties of heaven and earth. This misery is one of the many forms of oblivion.

Hated by gods, wounded by men.

And since Ares 'regards no law'—barely distinguishing between fighting camps, and caring nothing for any of them—, he is hated, not only by men, but also by the gods.

The repose of the warrior

But Aphrodite did love Ares, and it is told that she, out of jealousy, caused Eos to be perpetually in love for having bedded with the god.

Aphrodite was Ares' longtime lover, but her former husband Hephaestus, by means of a clever device of his own invention, trapped the two naked lovers in bed, exposing them to the laughter of the other gods. This invention was a chain of adamant which he put around the bed to catch the lovers.

The first to be tried for murder

It is told that Ares was first to be tried for murder, for having killed Halirrhothius, son of Poseidon. He had attempted to violate Alcippe, daughter of Ares, but was detected and killed by her father. Ares was then impeached by Poseidon and tried in the Areopagus (Hill of Ares) before the twelve gods, but was acquitted.

Ares was the first to be tried for murder in that place, and after him Orestes was tried for killing his mother.

Ares in prison

It is also told that when the ALOADS attacked heaven, they set Ossa on Olympus and Pelion on Ossa, threatening, by means of these mountains, to ascend up to heaven. In the course of this war the ALOADS put Ares in bonds. He lay bound for thirteen months in a brazen jar, but was later rescued by Hermes as his bonds were about to overpower him.

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Ares is the son of ZEUS and HERA, he turned out to be a swaggering bully. He was madly attracted to APHRODITE and later married her. He is known to be an adulterous god, just like his father and fortunately he has an open marriage with Aphrodite. The only thing he enjoyed more than his liaisons with women was war.

ARES loved battles and violence. It never mattered which side he was on, so long as there was plenty of blood, so much so that it soaked the ground.

His bloodthirsty sons DEIMOS and PHOBOS are in constant attendance, and if all is peaceful, it doesn't take long for his sister ERIS to cause strife somewhere below the clouds.

When the Romans began worshipping him, he was named MARS. It was only then that he received any respect.

His family is numerous, aside from the other Olympians he has taken many lovers, and they have given him many children. From his current wife Aphrodite, he received Deimos, Phobus, their daughter Harmonia, and another child, Pyrkagimis, god of warriors. From Algaurus he received his daughter Alcippe, for whom he protected against one of Poseidon’s sons and was tried for murder. By the nymph Harmonia(not his daughter), he sired the Amazons. He has had many other sons and daughters, all famous in their own right, full of bloodthirsty violence and blessed by their father in some special way. He has currently had liaisons with Hecate, his newest daughters Cassandra, who bore him Poissa, goddess of poisons. He is also the father of Romulus and Remus, the two twin brothers who helped in the founding of the city of Rome. There are too many children to name here, the list is long and varied, known and unknown.

Indeed, he is hateful throughout the events of the Iliad, poem of war though it is. There are times where heroes rejoice in the frenzied beauty of the carnage and terror of Ares’ battles but more often than not they rejoiced at having escaped the fury of the ruthless god of war. Homer has called him ruthless, murderous, bloodstained and the incarnate curse of mortals.

He is known among Olympus and among the mortals for having a train of attendants on the battlefield which should inspire anyone with confidence. His sister is there beside him, named Eris, goddess of discord, and her son too, named Strife. The goddess of war, Enyo is there too, in latin her name is Bellona; she walks beside him and with her are Terror (Deimos, Ares’ son), Panic (Phobos’ Ares’ son and Deimos’ twin brother) and finally Trembling. Ares’ war chariot is pulled by his immortal horses Famine and Oblivion. As they all move together the voice of groaning and agony arises behind them and from the earth, rivers of blood flow. This is the great, terrible entourage that accompany’s the god of war into battle, and embodies the scourge of mankind.

Powers: Throws Fireballs with proclivity and force and possesses normal godly powers. Has a brilliant sense of strategy and tactics, also can inspire warriors to do impossible feats on the battlefield. The more blood spilled in his name, the more powerful he becomes. He has within him unending determination, uncommon decisiveness and an almost insane fearlessness in battle.