Ares

Nature and function

Ares personifies raw martial violence, the turmoil of combat, and the most savage aspect of war. Unlike Athena, who embodies strategy and military intelligence, Ares represents impulse, frontal assault, and the clash of weapons.

Position in Olympus

Son of Zeus and Hera, he occupies a complex position among the gods. His brutality earns him the disapproval of many Olympians, including his father. Yet he embodies an unavoidable reality of the Greek world: war as a force that shapes societies and reveals human nature.

Role in myths

In the Iliad, he is marked by instability, sometimes changing sides and acting according to his passions rather than loyalty. He suffers wounds and humiliations, which shows a less triumphant dimension than that of other gods. Despite this, certain cities venerate him as a protector, guardian of military cohesion and guarantor of warrior oaths.

Symbols and representations

He appears helmeted and armed, accompanied by the personifications of Terror and Fear, Phobos and Deimos. His iconography is that of a formidable warrior, without superfluous ornament, reflecting the violence of the battlefield.