In parts of Asia Minor he was an oracular deity. Some cities in Greece and several in Asia Minor held annual festivals to bind and detain him as their protector. An association with Ares endows places and objects with a savage, dangerous, or militarized quality.Īlthough Ares' name shows his origins as Mycenaean, his reputation for savagery was thought by some to reflect his likely origins as a Thracian deity. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war but can also personify sheer brutality and bloodlust, in contrast to his sister, the armored Athena, whose martial functions include military strategy and generalship. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. Antique fresco from Pompeii.Īres ( / ˈ ɛər iː z/ Ancient Greek: Ἄρης, Árēs ) is the Greek god of courage and war. Ares ( Mars) caresses Aphrodite ( Venus) sitting on a throne.
