I know it was said that elves would be invading Immortal Monday, but I didn’t say when! I have been sidetracked by the moon in Aries, my birth sign. You know, the astrological sign? Silly as it may be, it got me thinking about the moons of Mars and Mars ruling over Aries. What does all this have to do with Immortal Monday? I’m thinking of the Roman god of war, Mars. The small moons represent his children from his affair with Venus. Mars is likened to the Greek god, Ares. Although, they are quite different.
Ares has more of a pull for me today. I promise it has nothing to do with my birthday (still weeks away). Ares – Aries. Let’s not get these two confused. Although some may spell Ares as Aries, the proper and most accepted spelling is Ares. He is the god of war. He should not be confused with the ram symbolizing the astrological sign. They are not one and the same.
Ares was one of the Twelve Olympians and the son of Zeus and Hera. As the god of war he not only embodied the physical and violent acts of war, but its spirit as well. Of all the Olympian gods, he was the most disliked. His hunger and lust for violence had him fighting on multiple sides and often angering the other gods. His affair with Aphrodite pitted Hephaistos against him, ultimately resulting in his humiliation when Hephaistos exposed the lovers to ridicule by way of his own clever trappings.
Nevertheless, he had several children with Aphrodite: Harmonia (Harmony), Anteros (reciprocal love), Eros (*coughs* Need I explain?), and Deimos (Fear) and Phobos (Panic), who often accompanied their father in battle. When Aphrodite fell for another, Adonis, Ares destroyed him in a mad fit of jealousy, metamorphosing into a bear to complete the task.
Ares was an extremely beautiful god and he kept many lovers, both goddesses and human. As a result, he fathered many other children with several other women. He was usually found hanging with his sister, Eris (the goddess of Discord) and Hades (the god of the underworld). Don’t they sound like trouble waiting to happen? Detention anyone?
Fiercely in love with battle, Ares was all about bold force and strength. It was confusion, turmoil and horrors he represented. He had little use for protections of men and their habitations. Wisdom of affairs was left to his sister, Athena. Maybe it’s this thinking, or lack thereof, that allowed Hercules to defeat him when they fought over Hercules’ defeat of Ares’ son Cycnus. And again, by the giants known as the Aloadae, whom held him prisoner for thirteen long months. It is said Ares and his appetite for war would have come to an end had Hermes not saved him from this fate.
In contrast to these ugly defeats, he did see many victories. Good thing, as his status as the god of war had been questioned when he fought on the losing side during the Trojan War. Ares tried to attack Diomedes, a hero who would later become King of Argos. The goddess Athena would side with Diomedes. Her intervention diverted Ares javelin, and helped the mortal hit the god of war. It is said that Ares’ roar was equal to that of ten thousand other warriors all together.
When the gods finally stepped up and took an active role in the war of men, Athena would oppose Ares. She would again defeat him, throwing him to the ground, with the pitch of a mighty stone. Ares would eventually return to Olympia with the help of Helen. Upon his return his own father would degrade him, calling him out as the most hateful of all the gods in Olympus.
When the Romans created Mars, their god of war, they revered and honored him. Not only was he a god of war, but of agriculture. He was seen as a god of life, where as Ares was viewed as one of bloodshed and destruction – a murderer.
It’s not easy being a tough jackass. 😉
Now, the moment some of you have been waiting for… Immortal Monday’s picture parade. Who has been our Ares throughout the ages:
introducing…
And the one I have a soft spot for since I grew up watching him regularly…
For a complete listing of those who have played Ares on the big screen, small screen or in video games hop over to IMDB here.
~oOo~
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Yummy – man candy first thing on a Monday. I’m sitting here with hot tea, wrapped in a quilt (Call someone I’m sick) and my temperature just spiked great post, as always Debra
I’m sorry to hear you are under the weather. Hope you feel better soon. 🙁 Glad I could bring you something enjoyable to muse over this morning. Thanks for stopping in! Take care and heal fast, Louise!
I am an Aries too! Talk about fire signs, these guys are hot!!!
Yay for Aries! 😀 Mmm, I know. We like them hot! 😉 Thanks for stopping in.
I just love waking up to this lol. Ares, you ARE a naughty boy 😉
LOL! Yes he is! But naughty can be fun. 😀 He just needs the right kind of girl to handle his temperament.
I know my “other” sounds odd, but it’s the first person who came to mind! LOL And I second Melinda’s remark. 😉
He he. Now THAT would be something! I’ve never done a write in poll before. I wonder if others can see your “other” and choose it. Hmm
Thanks for another fun and informative lesson in Greek mythology! I am curious who August’s “other” is LOL.
Thank you, Janette. Glad you liked it. Her “other” would put a smile on your face. I see now it doesn’t show you in the results who the write-ins are. You’ll have to ask August if she’s will to let that information out. 🙂
OH my gosh, I completely forgot how much I used to like Kevin Smith on Zena! Thank you for making my Monday super awesome. Sharing so that others can remember their love of Kevin Smith too…:)
He was so cool! I was saddened to read about his passing. 🙁 I can’t be sure, but it reads like it might have been the result of a stunt – on the job. He was preparing to start his first major motion picture the next day. So sad.
Thanks for sharing, Paige!
As much as I love the ladies, Kevin Smith does set the pulse pounding. He is missed.
Great post, Debra. Keep ’em coming, girl. Now when do we get the elves????
Thank you, Prudence. I am working on the Elf piece now. It should be up next Monday. 🙂
Love it! We initially used that name for the male protag in our novel but changed it. He is a colorful character for sure.
Lisa
It could have worked. I read he liked the Amazons. 🙂 Yes, colorful to say the least. Thanks, Lisa.
It may be bad to like someone who represents war and violence, but Aries is definitely the sexiest of the gods. There is just something manly about him. He is like the bad boy of the heavens that you know you shouldn’t like, but you do. And he probably has a motorcycle that your mom would warn you about riding. Fun post!
What is it about bad boys, Emma? Didn’t you do a post on this? Why are women drawn to them? They don’t usually make for good long lasting relationships. A hot fling and a broken heart? 🙂 Thanks, Emma!
I had forgotten all about Ares from Xena.Yum yum!!
Wasn’t he? Miss!
Love this post! Ares has always been one of my favorites among the Greek gods (don’t ask me why when he’s so violent :P).
I guess it goes back to the bad boy thing Emma mentioned. All you ladies seem to love them! What up? LOL THank you, Marcy. 🙂
Luv your Immortal Mondays, Debra!
Thank you, Alicia. ❤
Whoo! How fun it was to learn more about Ares. Kevin Smith, may he rest in peace, always rocked the Warrior Princess! But my vote has to go for Daniel in ‘The Immortals’. Yum.
Glad you had fun, Tameri. Kevin was always trying to sway the Warrior Princess into more, wasn’t he? Daniel – double yum!
I’m with Tameri. I absolutely loved The Immortals casting, and the costumes!
They all looked fabulous in that movie. Wardrobe knew their stuff! Thanks for swinging by Debra!
Kevin Smith IS Ares in my mind. I couldn’t ever picture someone else!
I am right there with you girl. He so is. Must be a generational thing.
I’m currently doing a course in Greek mythology so seeing a blog post about Ares caught my attention. 🙂 We’ve only discussed him briefly in the class so I did learn more by visiting here. And I didn’t realize there were so many movies based on the Greek myths! 🙂
Greek mythology, how fun! Glad I could add to your knowledge. Feel free to hit the Immortal Monday link if you like. We have covered a few other Greek gods that might interest you. There is always the promise of more in the future. Ares doesn’t get as much coverage as some of the others. He feels slighted. 😉
I had to give my vote to Kevin Smith. I honestly thought of him the moment I saw the title of your post. This was some good information that I hadn’t really read up on much. Thanks!
Laura Ritchie
Yum. A wonderful collection of fine males. Greek gods have gotten a lot of screenspace lately. Not that I’m complaining 😀
And oh my goodness, I didn’t know that Kevin Smith was dead 🙁 R.I.P. Every time I think Ares, I picture him. He was a wonderful bad guy in Xena.
Yes they have! They are rather popular right now. My husband likes to shake his head at all our male pictures on Immortal Monday, but he knows – they are popular and fun come Monday morning. We need more girl power though.
I was really bumming over Kevin as well. So sad. 🙁
I’m back! I have missed being able to read your Immortal Monday posts these past several weeks of crazy and this was a great one to come back to. I love the Greek gods and Ares has always fascinated me. I can’t wait to see who you write about next week!
So glad you liked it! It was a fun one to do. The Greek gods are usually popular. The people have been clamoring for elves so I am trying to see what I can do about that. 😉