Ares
- the war-god Mars (in Plaut. jocosely made to correspond with bellator, warrior): si tu ad legionem bellator clues, at ego in culinā Ares, Plaut. Truc. 2, 7, 54 (604). (For the A, which is always short in Lat., cf. Lucil. ap. Scaur. Orth. p. 2255 P., and Mart. 9, 12, with reference to Hom. Il. 5, 31.)
(Ἄρης). The Greek name for the god of war, son of Zeus by Heré, whose quarrelsome temper Homer supposes to have passed over to her son so effectively that he delighted in nothing but battle and bloodshed. His insatiable thirst for blood makes him hateful to his father and to all the gods, especially Athené. His favourite haunt is the land of the wild and warlike Thracians. In form and equipment the ideal of warlike heroes, he advances, according to Homer, now on foot, now in a chariot drawn by magnificent steeds, attended by his equally bloodthirsty sister Eris (strife), his sons Deimos and Phobos (fear and fright), and Enyo, the goddess of battle and waster of cities (he himself being called Enyalios), rushing in blind rage through indiscriminate slaughter. Though fighting on the Trojan side, the bloodshed only is dear to his heart. But his unbridled strength and blind valour turn to his disadvantage, and always bring about his defeat in the presence of Athené, the goddess of ordered battalions; he is also beaten by heroes fighting under her leadership, as by Heracles in the contest with Cycnus, and by Diomede before Troy. And this view of Ares as the bloodthirsty god of battles is, in the main, that of later times also. As early as Homer he is the friend and lover of Aphrodité, who has borne him Eros and Anteros, Deimos and Phobos, as well as Harmonia, wife of Cadmus the founder of Thebes, where both goddesses were worshipped as ancestral deities. He is not named so often as the gods of peace; but, as Ares or Enyalius, he was doubtless worshipped everywhere, notably in Sparta, in Arcadia, and (as the father of Oenomaüs) in Elis. At Sparta young dogs were sacrificed to him under the title of Theritas. At Athens the ancient site of a high court of justice, the Areopagus (q.v.), was consecrated to him. There, in former days, the Olympian gods had sat in judgment on him and absolved him when he had slain Halirrhothius for offering violence to Alcippé, his daughter by Agraulos. His symbols were the spear and the burning torch. Before the introduction of trumpets, two priests of Ares, marching in front of the armies, hurled the torch at the foe as the signal of battle.
In works of art he was represented as a young and handsome man of strong, sinewy frame, his hair in short curls, and a somewhat sombre look in his countenance; in the early style he is bearded and in armour, in the later beardless and with only the helmet on. He is often represented in company with Aphrodité, and their boy Eros, who plays with his father's arms. One of the most famous statues extant is that in the Villa Ludovisi given above, which displays him in an easy resting attitude, with his arms laid aside, and Eros at his feet. On his identification with the Italian Mars, see Mars.
- in oracles: Hdt. 7.140, Hdt. 8.77
- local cults, in Egypt: Hdt. 2.36, Hdt. 2.59, Hdt. 2.83
- in Scythia: Hdt. 4.59-62
- in Thrace: Hdt. 5.7, Hdt. 7.76
- son of Zeus and Hera: Paus. 2.13.3, Apollod. 1.2.6
- bedded with Dawn: Apollod. 1.4.3
- put in bonds by the Aloads: Apollod. 1.7.4
- rescued by Hermes: Apollod. 1.7.4, Apollod. 1.7.5
- beaten in boxing by Apollo: Paus. 5.7.10
- helps Achelous: Paus. 6.19.12
- loves Aerope: Paus. 8.44.7ff., and Harpina: Paus. 5.22.6
- leads Aphrodite: Paus. 5.18.5
- father of Oxylus by Protogonia: Apollod. 1.7.5
- his children by Demonice: Apollod. 1.7.7
- father of Meleager: Apollod. 1.8.1
- father of Dryas: Apollod. 1.8.2
- father of Alcippe: Paus. 1.21.4, of Ascalaphus and Ialmenus: Paus. 9.37.7, of Melanippus: Paus. 7.22.8, of Oenomaus: Paus. 5.1.6, Paus. 5.22.6, of Phlegyas: Paus. 9.36.1, and of Terror: Paus. 9.36.3
- grove of, in Colchis: Apollod. 1.9.1, Apollod. 1.9.16
- father of Ascalaphus and Ialmenus: Apollod. 1.9.17, Apollod. 1.4.1
- father of Diomedesthe Thracian: Apollod. 2.5.7
- the belt of, worn by Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons: Apollod. E.3.32
- father of Cycnus, champions him against Herakles: Apollod. E.5.7
- father of Cycnus: Apollod. E.6.16
- the spring of, at Thebes: Apollod. 3.11.15
- dragon, offspring of: Apollod. 3.11.15
- Cadmus serves Ares to atone for slaughter of dragon: Apollod. 3.11.17
- father of Harmonia: Apollod. 3.11.17
- father of Phlegyas: Apollod. 3.11.27
- Menoeceus offers himself as a sacrifice to: Apollod. 3.10.167
- father of Parthenopaeus by Atalanta, according to some: Apollod. vol. 2.403
- father of Alcippe by Agraulus: Apollod. 3.14.1
- kills Halirrhothius and is tried for murder in the Areopagus: Paus. 1.21.4, Paus. 1.28.5, Apollod. 3.14.1
- father of Tereus: Apollod. 3.14.7
- gives arms and horses to Oenomaus: Apollod. E.2.5
- father of Penthesilia by Otrere: Apollod. E.4.7
- sacrifices offered to: Paus. 7.22.9
- sacred grove: Paus. 3.22.6
- annual festival Paus. 3.22.7
- fountain: Paus. 9.10.5
- altars: Paus. 5.15.6, Paus. 8.32.3, Paus. 8.37.12
- Temples and sanctuaries-Paus. 1.8.4, Paus. 2.25.1, Paus. 2.32.9, Paus. 3.19.7, Paus. 3.22.6, Paus. 8.44.7ff.
- Images and representations in art-Paus. 1.8.4, Paus. 2.25.1, Paus. 3.19.7, Paus. 5.18.5, Paus. 5.20.3, Paus. 6.19.12, Paus. 7.21.10, Paus. 8.48.4
- Surnames-Aphneus: Paus. 8.44.7ff.
- Entertainer of Women: Paus. 8.48.4
- Horse: Paus. 5.15.6
- Theritas: Paus. 3.19.8