Ares in Greek and Roman Mythology | From the War God Mars to the Moment He Fell to Athena's Spear
There was a god stripping the armor off a soldier in the middle of the battlefield. This god, who had just been siding with the Trojans and stirring up the fight, was soon brought to a halt by a single spear aimed at him. The hand holding that spear belonged to the mortal Diomedes, but the power that actually drove the spear home was that of another god.
This god is Ares. Let's take a look, in order, at what kind of god he is said to be, and why he suffers this particular humiliation in the Iliad.
The God of War, Known as Mars in Rome
Ares is handed down in Greek mythology as the god who symbolizes war. In Roman mythology he corresponds to the figure named Mars, but the fact that the names correspond does not mean the two cultures regarded this god in exactly the same way. This article focuses on the Greek tradition, especially the portrayal of Ares in the Iliad.
Son of Zeus and Hera, a War God of a Different Kind from Athena
Ares is said to be the son born between Zeus and Hera. His position as a child of the king and queen of Olympus is a lineage that accompanies the background of how he became the god symbolizing war.
Even among gods who deal with the same war, Athena is portrayed as closer to the type who acts through strategy and judgment, while Ares is depicted as closer to the type who throws his body into the fray, as we will see in the Iliad scene shortly. This contrast becomes far more concrete in the scene that follows.
A Name Mentioned Alongside Aphrodite
Ares is also well known through ancient traditions in which he is treated side by side with the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Sources in which the names of the two gods appear together remain in several places.
However, this article does not untangle the specific events through which the two gods became entwined. Those details are covered separately in the myth of Hephaestus, so if you are curious, it is more accurate to continue there.
Iliad Book 5: Withdrawing from the Battlefield, Then Leaping Back In
In Book 5 of the Iliad, Ares is portrayed as being on the Trojan side from beginning to end. Yet in the earlier part of this book, he had withdrawn from the battlefield once. It was because Athena, warning that he might incur Zeus's anger, persuaded him and led him away to the banks of the Scamander River, separating him from the fight.
The problem was that, in the meantime, the mortal warrior Diomedes had been sweeping across the battlefield. When even the Trojan hero Aeneas was in peril, Apollo went to find Ares and reported the situation. Diomedes, son of Tydeus, was now raging with such momentum that he could even stand against Zeus, so Apollo told him to go and drag Diomedes off the battlefield.
Ares accepted this request. Transforming himself into the likeness of Acamas, king of Thrace, he moved among the Trojan soldiers, urging them on and especially pressing them to rescue Aeneas, who was in dire straits. Rejoining the battle while concealing his identity was his choice at this moment.
Hera and Zeus's Permission, and Athena Steps In
Seeing Ares once again churning across the battlefield, Hera asked Zeus whether it was permissible to stop this god. Zeus granted Hera's request but did not step in himself; instead, he answered like this: have Athena do it, for she is the one who has chastised Ares more often than anyone.
Having received permission, Athena climbed straight into Diomedes' chariot. The chariot carrying the two gods and the mortal raced straight toward Ares, who happened to be stripping the armor from a fallen soldier named Periphas.
Spears Fly, and Ares Falls
Ares throws his spear first. But the spear fails to reach its target, because Athena reached out and deflected the incoming spear harmlessly over the chariot.
The opportunity then passes straight to Diomedes. The spearhead, guided by Athena, pierced Ares squarely below his belt, in the middle of his belly. Though the spear had come from a mortal's hand, it was a god's hand that had guided it.
Ares cried out on the spot with a roar. It is said to have been a shriek comparable to the shout of nine thousand, or nearly ten thousand, warriors raising their voices at once. Startled by that sound, both the Achaean and Trojan armies were momentarily struck with terror.
Fleeing to Olympus to Complain to His Father
Wounded, Ares did not remain on the battlefield any longer. He went straight up to Olympus, sat down beside Zeus, showed him the flowing divine blood, and poured out his grievance.
He blamed everything on Athena. First she had inflicted a wound near Aphrodite's wrist, and now she had come at him as well, as if attacking a god outright. Ares' complaint was an protest that he was the second victim.
Zeus's Cold Reply, and Healing
Zeus's reaction was far from comforting. He called Ares a two-faced creature who says one thing and does another, and declared flatly that among the gods of Olympus he hated him the most. The reason was his temperament, always delighting in strife and quarrels.
Even so, Zeus did not simply leave him be. Saying he could not bear to keep watching him suffer like this, he added that it was because Ares was his own child. It was the attitude of a father administering rebuke and treatment at the same time.
By Zeus's command, the god of healing, Paieon, applied herbs to the wound and cured Ares. It is said the wound closed in an instant, just as fig juice curdles milk. Then, after Hebe bathed his body and dressed him in fresh clothes, Ares was able to sit beside his father once more.
The god who fought by hurling his body into the fray could not, with that strength alone, withstand Athena's judgment and the spear of the mortal Diomedes. This scene, in which he experienced humiliation and healing together, remains the passage that most vividly shows what difference lies between the two gods who each govern war.
Characters Leading into the Next Stories
The story of Zeus, Ares' father, who scolded him fiercely in this scene, can be found in the myth of Zeus, and the story of Athena, the goddess of wisdom who played the decisive role in striking him down with the spear, in the myth of Athena.
The story of Aphrodite, who is often treated alongside Ares in ancient traditions, can be found in the myth of Aphrodite, and the specific events between the two gods can be followed in the myth of Hephaestus.