Ares is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war but can also personify sheer brutality and bloodlust, in contrast to his sister Athena, whose martial functions include military strategy and generalship. An association with Ares endows places, objects, and other deities with a savage, dangerous, or militarized quality.
Cast of a Roman statue from Hadrian's Villa, copied from a Greek original. Traditionally identified as Ares or Hermes.
Ares, 2nd–3rd century AD, after a Greek bronze original by Alkamenes dated 420 BC,[citation needed], excavated in 1925 in Rome's Largo di Torre Argentina
The Ludovisi Ares, Roman version of a Greek original c. 320 BC, with 17th-century restorations by Bernini
The Areopagus as viewed from the Acropolis.
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. They were called Olympians because, according to tradition, they resided on Mount Olympus.
Fragment of a Hellenistic relief (1st century BC–1st century AD) depicting the twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from left to right: Hestia (scepter), Hermes (winged cap and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and spear), Demeter (scepter and wheat sheaf), Hephaestus (staff), Hera (scepter), Poseidon (trident), Athena (owl and helmet), Zeus (thunderbolt and staff), Artemis (bow and quiver) and Apollo (lyre) from the Walters Art Museum.
Image: Jupiter Smyrna Louvre Ma 13
Image: Hera Campana Louvre Ma 2283
Image: Statue of Poseidon NAMA 235 (Der Hexer), part 2