ARES THE GOD OF WAR

The Greek god of war, he is usually seen with a spear, the preferred weapon of Greek Hoplites. He was tall and handsome, but vain and cruel. He was preoccupied with war and battles, quick to rush into a fight, reveled in bloodshed, and heedless of who won or lost. He was worshipped most strongly in regions like Thrace, where the people were particularly fierce. There was one exception to his obsession with war: he was smitten by Aphrodite and had a long running affair with her. Homer recounts in the Odyssey a tale of the sun god Helios spotting the pair enjoying each other’s charms and reporting their tryst to Hephaestus, Aphrodite’s husband. The great smith fashioned a special net in which he caught the pair locked in their passionate embrace. He offered to exhibit the netted pair to the gods of Olympus, but the women demurred. Homer says that many of the male gods offered to switch places with Ares.