Ares

The theonym Ἄρης (Árēs; genitive Ἄρεως, Áreōs) is traditionally traced by historical linguists to a reconstructed Indo-European abstract noun denoting "ruin", "war slaughter", or "fatal curse", related to the Greek verb…

Hesiod, Theogony, c. 700 BC. Offspring of Zeus and Hera, love union with Aphrodite, and fathering Phobos, Deimos, and Harmonia. Homer, Iliad, 8th c. BC.

The net of Hephaestus and the love of Aphrodite. Enamored of the goddess of love Aphrodite, the wedded wife of the lame blacksmith god Hephaestus, Ares met her in secret within the bridal chambers of Olympus.

While warfare was constant across the Greek world, Ares rarely received the widespread civic devotion accorded to peaceful deities, being regarded as a terrifying force to be averted or turned toward enemy ranks.

Ares is portrayed in classical Greek art either as a mature, bearded warrior in full hoplite armor or as a youthful, clean-shaven athlete at the height of physical vigor.

The relationship between Ares and Enyalios. The functional and historical connection between Ares and Enyalios has sparked extensive debate among philologists and Mycenaean scholars.

In Roman culture, Ares was ennobled as Mars (Mars Ultor, "the Avenger"), to whom Augustus dedicated a magnificent temple in Rome. The fourth planet from the sun and the month of March bear his name.

In the Iliad, Homer recounts that the giant twins Otus and Ephialtes kept Ares imprisoned inside a bronze vat for thirteen consecutive months until Hermes rescued him.

Spear of Olympian Blood. A spear forged in blackest iron, inciting blind rage in armies.