15 Days of Deity Devotion: ARES
Famous love(s): Aphrodite, Enyo, Erinys Telphousia, Harmonia (nymph), Atalanta (mortal), Otrere (demi goddess)
Famous Children: Harmonia, Phobos, Deimos (gods), Ismenian Dragon (Drakon of Thebes and who the Spartoi are descended from), Alcippe, Otrere, Hippolyta, Antiope, and Penthesilea (Amazon Queens), Aphneios
Ares is an interesting figure in Greek mythology as the only son of Hera and Zeus. He and his sisters, Eileithyia (goddess of childbirth and labor pains), and Hebe (goddess of youth) are the only 3 children of Zeus and Hera (some myths place Hephaestus as another of their children, or just the son of Hera). However, the list of half siblings is at least twice as long and accounts for over half of the Olympians. Perhaps his most famous sibling rivalry is with Athena, who over the course of the Iliad and, to a lesser extent the Odyssey, triumphs again and again over brash, chaotic Ares. It is perhaps a way to build Athena up as the protector and savior of Athens, and less a commentary on Ares as a "lesser god" (more thoughts on this in a later post).
Siblings aside, Ares was also quite the family man with over 20 described children from mortals, gods, and nymphs alike. His most famous love is that of his affair with Aphrodite, whom, by some accounts (the Iliad and Homeric genealogy) is his half-sister. (personally, I ascribe Aphrodite as the daughter of Ouranos and the sea). Condensed, Ares and Aphrodite were caught cheating by Hephaestus (Aphrodite's husband) in a golden net. Instead of being shunned by the Olympians, Ares was merely told to pay a penalty and the two lovers were allowed to carry on their affair. Aphrodite ends up divorcing Hephaestus and becomes the goddess who controls her own fate. Now, this story is absolutely fascinating from a cultural lens, but this is not the time for that discussion.
This love with Aphrodite produced 3 divine children - Phobos (terror and dread), Deimos (panic and flight), and Harmonia (harmony and unity). This is a really interesting pairing of the goddess of love and the god of war, but it actually makes some sense to me. After the panic and terror of war subsides, sometimes (note the sometimes) something just was won and harmony and peace can come to the land. Remember this tidbit for later!
Finally, a few of Ares' mortal children deserve a special shout-out. These are Aphneios, Alcippe, and the Amazons.
The mythology of Aphneios is rather tragic, but goes to show a side of Ares we rarely are exposed to. The story goes that Aphneios was born but his mother died in labor. Distraught, Ares nursed his newborn son at his mother's breast and this saved him from death too. Wholesome, no?
Alcippe was another daughter of Ares. Alcippe was on the receiving end of unwanted advances (read: assault) by a son of Poseidon, Hallirhothios. When Alcippe screamed out for help Ares came and killed his daughter's assaulter without thought. Poseidon was pissed and took Ares to trial, however he was found to be just in his slaying of Hallirhothios by Zeus and acquitted. As a SA survivor, I'm sure you can understand why I love Ares for this.
Finally, the Amazons. The women warrior tribe of myth, and, perhaps, reality too in a different way than we imagined. While I could write a whole post about the Amazons, I'll just point out that he literally fathered the whole race of Amazon women with the nymph (not his daughter) Harmonia. Check them out, they're a fun bunch to read about. The story of Hippolyta and Penthesilea tears my heart out.
