Musings of Ares and Aphrodite
The relationship between Ares and Aphrodite is a story that translates into multiple cultures and can easily be interpreted and applied to various aspects of life. It is a story of opposites, adultery and star crossed lovers who initially should not be able to live in a happy and cohesive relationship but the differences that most think would call for separation are what bring the two even closer together. In this essay I will discuss how the relationship of Aphrodite and Ares came to be and why it is, the interplay between Ares, Aphrodite and Hephaestos, and how this myth still applies to modern day life.
Aphrodite is a Goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and most prominently for the sake of this essay, procreation. She brings light, life and beauty into this world. Conversely, Ares is the God of war, battlelust, courage and civil order. Aphrodite is the representation of the ideal woman in ancient Greece. These two archetypal characters, one embodying life and love, the other embodying war and destruction, clearly contrast one another so intensely. But nonetheless the myth of Ares and Aphrodite is one of love, lust and at times a problematic union. When Aphrodite and Ares fell into love she was already married off to another God, Hephaestos.
A common theme in ancient Greece that carries into the modern day is that, men of an older age who were considered as less desirable often feared losing their wife to a young, more powerful, more attractive man of higher social standing. That is very much what happened in the marriage of Hephaestus and Aphrodite. She committed adultery many times with Ares, they even went so far as to commit adultery in the very bed Aphrodite and Hephaestus slept in. But this is not a simple story of a woman of loose morals exploring alternative options. Aphrodite and Ares found love, comfort and solace in one another. The contrast between them is what makes their relationship strong.
Some would say that the ideas of love and creation clash with war and death. However without one you cannot have another. That is why marriage so often can cause or resolve a war. Even on a basal level they are similar. Love and war both start slowly then suddenly and can end abruptly with both sides feeling injured and weaker than they entered. Although technically there are winners and losers, nothing is ever that black and white. Love and war are constantly shadowed in shades of grey. From a far off perspective Love and war seem like entirely individual concepts, but when analyzed closer perspective the two are more intertwined then most would admit. The same concept applies to Aphrodite and Ares. Although many do believe the union between these two gods is inconceivable and porposterious, when one studies the way the two contrast and compliment each other it is obvious that they are meant to be together. For war would not exist without love and the children born from it.
The message that this myth teaches us is as easily translated into modern day life and multiple cultures in the same way that one can draw from common cliches, all is fair in love and war or opposites attract. These cliches exist because they are easily digestible and applicable to the trials and tribulations us as humans face throughout our lives. Both of these cliches also apply heavily to the relationship between Aphrodite and Ares, and when put into the format of smaller more consumable cliches people are familiar with it is easier to understand the relationship between these two gods and why it was such a vital story to incorporate in the mythologies.
The lessons taught and the message given in this myth still very much applies to modern day civilization. Theme of adultery, love and star crossed lovers will always apply as long as humans still have emotion and procreate. Ares and Aphrodite created a beautiful relationship which was born out of lies and deceit. Yet, that is just one of the aspects of this story that makes everything much more realistic and applicable. They are opposites, they are two Gods who were never expected to find love in one another but they did and the relationship they created laid the foundations for many more tales yet to be told. Ares and Aphrodite managed to turn the obstacles that should’ve stopped them from coming together, into the everything that made their relationship so untouchable.
titsay
kaledo-art
janainaart
izzy806
yousharknotpass
