Ares is god of war, particularly of its instinctive, survive-at-all-costs aspects. *

Myth

Despite being a war god, Ares' stories of battle are often less than complimentary. When he and Athena are at odds (as in the Iliad), she always gets the better of him. She seems to be more of a strategist, while Ares is a god of the common soldier or warrior.

In fact, Ares in generally seems to receive little or no respect; he is easily the least favored child of Zeus and Hera.

He is also known as Aphrodite's lover. When Hephaestos (in one source the husband of Aphrodite) went off to work, her lover Ares came to her. When Hephaestos learned of this, he invented a cunning net to trap the lovers, making them immobile. Once they were trapped, he called all the gods to see them and make fun of them. Hermes, however, said that he would gladly be restrained as Ares was if only he could lie beside the beautiful Aphrodite! Ares and Aphrodite are said to have had three children, Phobos, Deimos, and Harmonia.

Worship

I do not know of any festivals to Ares; although he was offered to by soldiers in battle, his temples were rare and he does not seem to have been commonly worshipped.

References

• Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1985.
• Gantz, Timothy. Early Greek Myth, Volumes 1 and 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1993.
• Kerenyi, Karl. The Gods of the Greeks. Thames and Hudson, London, 1951.