In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Ares was the god of war and one of the 12 major deities who lived on Mount Olympus. He was often depicted in art as a warrior, carrying a spear and wearing a helmet and armor. Ares represented the savage, bloody, and destructive aspects of battle, in contrast to the more civilized aspects of military strategy, skill, and justice represented by the war goddess Athena. Never a very popular god, Ares was not widely worshipped. According to the Greek poets from Homer onward, he was not well liked by the other gods, including his parents, Zeus and Hera. He was accompanied in battle by his children Phobos (whose name means “panic”) and Deimos (“rout”) and his sister Eris (“strife”). Ares was associated with the Roman god Mars.
There are not many myths about Ares. He was said to be physically strong, fierce, and handsome. He was the lover of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who was married to Hephaestus, the lame god of the forge. One day, Helios, the all-seeing sun god, saw the two lovers together and told Hephaestus. To catch them, Hephaestus crafted an invisible net of chains above his bed. When Ares and Aphrodite were ensnared in the net, the enraged Hephaestus called in the other gods, who laughed at the spectacle.
Ares and Aphrodite had several children: Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, and Eros, the love god. With other goddesses and mortal women he had many other children, including at least three of the adversaries of the hero Heracles: Cycnus, Lycaon, and Diomedes of Thrace.
