Ares

Ares (Mars) Ares (Mars) is the God of War, and is also the son of Zeus and Hera. He was hated by his parents, and it makes him angry. The Romans liked Mars better than the Greeks liked Ares. The Greeks thought of Ares as a whiny fool who is nothing more than a symbol and the Romans classified him as a "Magnificent God." He is Aphrodite's lover, even though she is married to Hephaestus. His bird is the vulture and his animal is he dog. He was born in Thrace, an area in northern Greece. He wasn't important in many myths, and was mostly known as a symbol of war. He walks beside Enyo, the Goddess of War, and the earth bleeds when they walk.

The myths about Ares show that many of the ancient Greeks, except the Spartans, did not enjoy or actively pursue warfare but instead preffered to farm and trade and to go about their daily lives without bloodshed. They also show that, although it is a major factor, warfare is not the goal of the people of Greece. They portray the god as a whiny jerk who doesn't contribute much to mythology while the Romans glorified Mars and made him out to be a noble and invincible god.

One example of a myth with Ares: Ares and Aphrodite were spotted spotted together in the hall of Hephaestus by Helios, and he quickly went to tell Aphrodite's husband what was happening. Hephaestus created a nearly invisible net to trap the lovers, and he sprung the trap on them at the appropriate time. Hephaestus was still not complete in his revenge, however, and he invited all of the Olympian gods to view them stuck in the trap. In a later more detailed version, Ares placed Alectryon by the door to alert him if Helios was coming. Alectryon fell asleep. Helios discovered them and alerted Hephaestus. Ares was furious; he turned Alectryon into a rooster. He never forgets to announce the arrival of the sun in the morning.

Ares can be compared to:

-Hitler: he was violent, egoistical, and hated by many. He started a world war, killed millions, and felt no wrong. Half of Germany loved him, while the other half hated him.



-Kim Jong-il- Korean dictator who has killed many, was not liked by his people

-Gaddafi- evil, was known to kill, started many wars

Works Cited:

Pictures:

Berens, E.M. "Greek Gods-Ares." //A World of Myths//. N.p., 2011. Web. 10 Nov 2011. [].

"Adolf Hitler." //Wikipedia//. N.p., 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Nov 2011. [].

Moore, Malcolm, and Peter Foster. "Kim Jong-il's 69th Birthday: profile." //Telegraph//. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2011. [].

Hall, Colby. "Rumor: Has Libyan Dictator Muammar Gaddafi Been Shot And Killed?." //Media ITE//. N.p., 24 Feb 2011. Web. 10 Nov 2011. .