#Ares Gynaikothoinas

[theoihalioistuff]

ARES IS NOT THE PROTECTOR OF WOMEN IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY.

He is never presented as such in any source, there is no evidence such a role was ever assigned to him in any account, and as far as I'm aware this popular yet unattested assertion is born from the echo-chambers of tumblr. In fact quite the opposite could be argued. TW for sexual assault.

This baffling claim seems to originate from a sort of shallow examination of the way Ares "behaves in myth", and the following arguments are the most frequently presented:

1. Ares protects his daughter Alkippe from assault, and is therefore morally opposed to rape. (Apollodorus 3.180, Pausanias 1.21.4, Suidas "Areios pagos", attributed to Hellanikos)

Curiously this argument is never applied to, among other examples: Apollo for defending his mother Leto from Tytios, Herakles for defending Hera from Porphyrion (or his wife Deianeira from Nessos), or Zeus for defending his sister Demeter from Iasion (in the versions where he attacks her), etc. The multiple accounts of rape of the previously mentioned figures did not conflict with these stories in greek thought: they're defending family members or women otherwise close to them. This sort of mentality is not uncommon even in contemporary times, e.g. a warrior may have no ethical problem killing men, but would not want his own family or loved ones to be killed. The same goes here for sexual assault.

2. There are no surviving accounts of Ares sexually assaulting anybody.

The idea that the ancient greeks pictured that, among all the gods, Ares was the only one who shied away from committing rape is baseless and borders on ridiculous. In this case absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

The majority of surviving records regarding Ares' unions are presented in a genealogical manner, and do not go into details on their nature. This is the case for most works of mythography, where specifics of sexual encounters are to be found elsewhere. However, common motifs present in other accounts of rape also appear in stories concerning Ares' relationships, e.g. tropes like shape-shifting/the use of disguises, the victim being a huntress, secrecy, and the disposal of the concieved child, are to be found in the stories of Phylonome and Astyoche respectively:

Φυλονόμη Νυκτίμου καὶ Ἀρκαδίας θυγάτηρ ἐκυνήγει σὺν τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι: Ἄρης δ᾽ ἐν σχήματι ποιμένος ἔγκυον ἐποίησεν. ἡ δὲ τεκοῦσα διδύμους παῖδας καὶ φοβουμένη τὸν πατέρα ἔρριψεν εἰς τὸν Ἐρύμανθο

"Phylonome, the daughter of Nyktimos and Arkadia, was wont to hunt with Artemis; but Ares, in the guise of a shepherd, got her with child. She gave birth to twin children and, fearing her father, cast them into the [River] Erymanthos." (Pseudo-Plutarch, Greek and Roman Parallel Stories, 36)

οἳ δ᾽ Ἀσπληδόνα ναῖον ἰδ᾽ Ὀρχομενὸν Μινύειον, τῶν ἦρχ᾽ Ἀσκάλαφος καὶ Ἰάλμενος υἷες Ἄρηος οὓς τέκεν Ἀστυόχη δόμῳ Ἄκτορος Ἀζεΐδαο, παρθένος αἰδοίη ὑπερώϊον εἰσαναβᾶσα Ἄρηϊ κρατερῷ: ὃ δέ οἱ παρελέξατο λάθρῃ: τοῖς δὲ τριήκοντα γλαφυραὶ νέες ἐστιχόωντο.

"And they that dwelt in Aspledon and Orchomenus of the Minyae were led by Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, sons of Ares, whom, in the palace of Actor, son of Azeus, Astyoche, the honoured maiden, conceived of mighty Ares, when she had entered into her upper chamber; for he lay with her in secret" (Homer, Iliad 2. 512 ff)

In neither of these cases is a verb explicitly denoting rape used, though it is heavily implied by the context. The focus of the action is on the conception of sons, the nature of the interaction is secondary.

Other examples are found among the daughters of the river Asopos, who where (and here there's no confusion) ravished and kidnapped by different gods to different parts of the greek world, where they found local lines through children borne to their abductors and serve as eponyms. Surviving fragments from Corinna of Tanagra tell us:

"Asopos went to his haunts . . from you halls . . into woe . . Of these [nine] daughters Zeus, giver of good things, took his [Asopos'] child Aigina . . from her father's [house] . . while Korkyra and Salamis and lovely Euboia were stolen by father Poseidon, and Leto's son is in possession of Sinope and Thespia . . [and Tanagra was seized by Hermes] . . But to Asopos no one was able to make the matter clear, until . . [the seer Akraiphen reveals to him] 'And of your daughters father Zeus, king of all, has three; and Poseidon, ruler of the sea, married three; and Phoibos [Apollon] is master of the beds of two of them, and of one Hermes, good son of Maia. For so did the pair Eros and the Kypris persuade them, that they should go in secret to your house and take your nine daughters." (heavily fragmented papyrus. Corinna fr. 654)

"For your [Tanagra's] sake Hermes boxed against Ares." (Corinna fr. 666)

It seems that, similar to the myths of Beroe or Marpessa, the abducted maiden is fought over by two competing "suitors", and though we can infer that the outcome of the story is that Hermes gets to keep Tanagra, apparently by beating Ares in a boxing match, we don't actually know what happened or how it happened. In any case, Ares does mate with another daughter of Asopos, Harpina, who bears him Oinomaos according to some versions (Paus. 5.22.6; Stephanus Byzantium. Ethnica. A125.3; Diodorus Siculus 4. 73. 1). There is little reason to suppose that this encounter wasn't pictured as an abduction like the rest of her sisters.

The blatant statement that each of his affairs was envisioned as consensual is simply not true.

3. He was worshipped under the epithet Gynaikothoinas "feasted by women"

This was a local cult that existed in Tegea, the following reason is given:

"There is also an image of Ares in the marketplace of Tegea. Carved in relief on a slab it is called Gynaecothoenas. At the time of the Laconian war, when Charillus king of Lacedaemon made the first invasion, the women armed themselves and lay in ambush under the hill they call today Phylactris. When the armies met and the men on either side were performing many remarkable exploits, the women, they say, came on the scene and put the Lacedaemonians to flight. Marpessa, surnamed Choera, surpassed, they say, the other women in daring, while Charillus himself was one of the Spartan prisoners. The story goes on to say that he was set free without ransom, swore to the Tegeans that the Lacedaemonians would never again attack Tegea, and then broke his oath; that the women offered to Ares a sacrifice of victory on their own account without the men, and gave to the men no share in the meat of the victim. For this reason Ares got his surname." (Paus. 8.48.4-5)

As emphasised by Georgoudi in To Act, Not Submit: Women’s Attitudes in Situations of War in Ancient Greece (part of the highly recommendable collection of essays Women and War in Antiquity), "it is not necessary to see the operation of an invitation in the bestowal of the epithet Γυναικοθοίνας on Ares". The epithet is ambiguous, and can be translated both as "Host of the banquet of women" or "[He who is] invited to the banquet of women". In any case no act of divine intervention occurs, and the main reason for the women's act of devotion lies principally in recognising their decisive role in the routing of the Lakedaimonians. It's they who preside/participate in the feast of war, the men are excluded.

Also this a local epithet that isn't found anywhere else in Greece. As such it would be worth reminding that not every Ares is Gynaikothoinas, in the same way not every Zeus is Aithiopian, not every Demeter Erinys, and not every Artemis of Ephesos.

4. He was the patron god of the Amazons

He was considered progenitor of the Amazons because of their proverbial warlike nature and love of battle, the same reason he was associated with other "barbaric" tribes, like the Thracians or the Scythians. In this capacity he was also appointed as a suitable father/ancestor for other violent and savage characters who generally function as antagonists (e.g. Kyknos, Diomedes of Thrace, Tereos of Thrace, Oinomaos, Agrios and Oreios, Phlegyas, Lykos etc.). Also he was by no means the only god connected with the Amazons (they were in fact especially linked to Artemis, see Religious Cults Associated With the Amazons by Florence Mary Bennett, if only for the bibliography).

Similarly, Poseidon was considered patron and ancestor of the Phaiakians mainly because of their mastery over the art of seafaring (and was curiously also credited in genealogies as father to monsters and other disreputable figures).

On another note I have found no sources that claim he taught his amazon daughters how to fight, as I've seen often mentioned (though I admit I'd love to be proven wrong on that point).

5. Finally, the last reason Ares could never be portrayed as a protector of women is because of his divine assignation itself

The uncountable references to his love of bloodshed and man-slaying don't just stop short of the battlefield, but continue on to the conclusion and intended purpose of most waged wars in antiquity: the sacking of the city. The title Sacker of Cities as an epithet of Ares (though it is by no means exclusive to him) is encountered numerous times and in different variations (eg. τειχεσιπλήτης or πτολίπορθος), and the meaning behind the epithet is plain. Though it is hard to summarise without being reductionist, the sacking of a city entails the plundering of all its goods, the slaughtering of its men, and the sistematic raping and enslavement of the surviving women (to name only a small few of the literary references see The Iliad, The Trojan Women or The Women of Trachis). There is little need to emphasise that war as concieved of in ancient greece, especifically the brutal aspects of war Ares is most often associated with, directly entailed sexual violence against women as one of it's main concerns. The multiple references to Ares being an unloved or disliked deity are because of this, because war is horrifying (not because his daddy is a big old meany who hates him for no reason, Zeus makes very clear the motive for his contempt in the Iliad (5. 889-891): "Do not sit beside me and whine, you double-faced liar. To me you are most hateful of all gods who hold Olympos. Forever quarreling is dear to your heart, wars and battles.")

Ares was only the protector of women inasmuch as he could be averted or repelled (e.g. surviving apotropaic chants):

"There is no clash of brazen shields but our fight is with the war god, a war god ringed with the cries of men, a savage god who burns us; grant that he turn in racing course backward out of our country’s bounds, to the great palace of Amphitrite or where the waves of the thracian sea deny the stranger safe anchorage. Whatsoever escapes the night at last the light of day revisits; so smite him, Father Zeus, beneath your thunderbolt, for you are the lord of the lightning, the lightning that carries fire." (Shophocles, Oedipus Tyrannos, 190-202)

"And let no murderous havoc come upon the realm to ravage it, by arming Ares—foe to the dance and lute, parent of tears—and the shout of civil strife." (Aeschylus, Suppliant Women 678)

~~~~~

All that being said, this is a post about Ares as conceptualized and attested in ancient sources, made specifically in response to condescending statements about how "uhmmm, actually, in greek mythology Ares was a super-feminist himbo who was worshipped as the protector of women and was hated by his family for no reason, you idiot". It is factually incorrect. HOWEVER, far be it from me to tell anyone how they have to interact with this deity. Be it your retellings, your headcannons or your own personal religious attachments and beliefs towards Ares, those are your own provinces and prerogatives, and not what was being discussed here at all (I personally love art where Ares and Aphrodite goof around, or retellings where he plays with his daughters, or headcannons that showcase his more noble sides, etc.)

~~~~~

I've seen that other people on tumblr have made similar posts, the ones I've seen were by @deathlessathanasia and @en-theos . I have no idea how to link their posts, but they're really good so go check them out on their pages!

[applecidersstuff]

Why am I just now finding out that Ares is the least problematic god?

He has never raped anyone, is in a healthy CONSENSUAL relationship(ignore Hephaestus for now, I’ll come back to him later). He is a protector of women, he KILLED son of Poseidon for raping(or attempting to, but this changes nothing) his daughter, stood trial for that AND WAS JUSTIFIED.

I spent an hour looking through list of women who had children with Ares(because in Greek mythology rape usually ends up with children) and the closest thing I found was this:

And that’s all there is on her, so i can’t really say if we can judge.

The only mentioning of rape on his wiki page is this:

But as this is Roman interpretation it’s as good as using modern interpretations of Ares for this.

Now, as promised, about Hephaestus. Hephaestus tried to rape Athena because he wanted to marry her and married Aphrodite without her consent(obviously). I also found info that they apparently got divorced, but I’m not really sure if that true.

So to simplify, if there is a god I would pray to it would be Ares Gynaikothoinas. He would bless me to commit violence against creeps.

(I would also like to refer you to this post about ares that talks about all of it)

[enyalios-shrine]

𝘼𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 101

Hi! I’m Raven (or Ray), and I’ve been an Ares devotee for almost five years now. You want to start worshiping him? Great! Despite what today’s media makes of him - which I will talk about a lot in this post - , he’s actually a very caring, gentle and (dare I say) beginner-friendly deity! In general, a great choice! (Also, this is inspired by another post I saw but forgot to save - so, credits for the idea goes to that person) So, let's get started.

WHO IS ARES? - MODERN MISCONCEPTIONS

Since I’m assuming you already know the broad strokes of who he is (Greek god of war, bloodshed, violent and so forth), this section will be about some of the misconceptions most people have of Him. If you’ve ever consumed any Greek mythology-related media, I’m sure you’ve seen the following caricature: beefy, misogynistic, violent, stupid jerk, rude and always looking for a fight. While, yes, He IS violent (He's the god of war, afterall), that's far from all He has to offer.

Did you know Ares is actually historically a major feminist? That’s probably the first thing to get demystified about Him when you talk to an Ares devotee or worshiper, so I’m not really saying ground-breaking news here, but since a fair amount of people don’t know about it, I thought it was a fair mention. So, let’s get into the actual myths and proofs for this claim:

Ares was the father of and supported the Amazons in battle, a group of female-only warriors and hunters.

He’s one of the only male deities in Greek mythology to not have sexually harassed or raped someone. Yes, even other deities viewed as “nice” such as Apollo and Hermes have done so (I don’t mean any disrespect for those deities here - I’m also an Apollo devotee).

Ares was held in trial for the murder of Halirrhotius, a son of Poseidon, after he raped one of Ares’ daughters, Alkippe. He was acquited of murder by the gods. Remember, back in ancient Greece, women didn’t have ANY rights - raping one was not considered a crime or even frowned upon as far as I'm aware.

One of His epithets is “Ares Gynaikothoina", which means "feasted by women". During a war between the Tegeans and the Spartans, the women of Tegea defended the city from a invasion led by the Spartan king Charilaus. After arming themselves, they defeated the Spartans following an ambush. Among the prisoners was the Spartan king himself. In commemoration, they would hold a feast in honor of Ares, to which only women were invited.

All in all, Ares is protective, just, and encouraging of His children as well as worshipers and devotees. He’s not the piece of shit jock most people think of when you mention His name. Please stop doing my man this dishonor, He deserves so much better.

BASIC INFO

His Roman counterpart is Mars. He’s the son of Zeus and Hera, and his consourt is Aphrodite (even though they’re not officially married). His divine children are Phobos and Deimos (twin daimones/personified spirits of panic and terror, respectively), Harmonia (goddess of harmony and concord), Antero (erote/god of requited love) and Eros (erote/god of carnal love), all which he had with Aphrodite, as well as Drakon of Thebes (a giant serpent), which he apparently had by himself.

As for hero children; Cycnus (a bloody-thirsty men who was murdered by Herakles), Diomedes of Thrace (who had man-eating horses for some reason), Thrax (who founded Thrace), Oenomaus (Greek king of Pisa), and the Amazons (female warriors and hunters as mentioned above).

His symbols and associations are: spears, swords, helmets, armour, dogs, chariots, shields, The Chariot & The Emperor tarot cards, etc.

FESTIVALS AND DAYS

Tuesdays are holy to Ares and are ruled by the planet Mars (again, his Roman counterpart), which means they’re associated with action, energy, strength, and courage, as well as the color red.

As for festivals, He was typically honored with special rites in times of war or just before battles. There were also two annual festivals: one in the town of Geronthrae in ancient Laconia, celebrated only by men, and one in Tagea in Arcadia, celebrated only by women, where His "feasted by women" epithet came from. There's hardly any info on exact dates (from the Attic calendar or not) or info about any other festivals.

SACRED ANIMALS

Serpents

Dogs

Vultures

Woodpecker

Barn owls

Eagle owls

SACRED PLANTS

There’s no plant, flower or tree traditionally associated with Ares, unfortunately, so I’m gonna give a list of my UPG’s. Now, I’m not a witch, so I don’t know about the magical properties of the plants I’m about to list (if you’re a witch and were looking for something like that, my bad). However, I am a florist and have a special interest in floriography, so I assign them to Him based on vibe, meaning, etc.

Amaryllis (Means “Pride”)

Basil (Means “Hate”)

Water hemlock (Means “Death”)

Snapdragon (Means “Presumption”, but I think he just likes the way it looks)

Poppy (Means “Eternal sleep”, but has a long history with wars, being the first kind of flora to start growing in abandoned battlefields that were previously considered infertile)

Nettle (Means “Cruelty”)

Magnolia (Means “Dignity”)

Yarrow (Means “Cure for a broken heart”, and is said to have been used by Achilles to heal his men on the battlefield, which is why the scientific name is “Achillea”)

Ginger (Associated with “Heat”)

Pepper, spices, etc (idk he just gives the vibes)

OFFERINGS & DEVOTIONAL ACTS

Honestly, the only slander Ares should be getting is that He likes edgy teenage boy things. That being said, here's some ideas/suggestions, first for devotional acts and then offerings:

Workout or do any kind of physical activity

Take care of your mental and physical health

Stand up for yourseld and what you believe in

Learn about past wars, battles, and riots

Do things that make you feel badass/brave/empowered

Go to a protest

Work on managing your anger (especially for my fellow BPD havers)

Pet a dog

Honor His children and Aphrodite

For offerings; any kind of meat, especially red

Anything sharp (cool knives or daggers, broken glass, etc)

Bones!!

Halloween decor (I personally have those fake plastic snakes, spiders, and a skull on His altar)

Black coffee, the stronger the better

Any alcohol, but especially whiskey

Anything spicy

WHY WORSHIP ARES? - A PERSONAL RANT

Living in an extremely physically abusive household, I had to know and be acostumed to violence from a very young age. That violence left with many things - BPD and C-PTSD, to name a few - but mostly importantly, it left me only being able to feel one thing: anger.

I was angry at everything. Angry at the world for allowing me to have to live through such a horrible situation, angry at my mom for not standing up for me, angry at my abuser, even angry at myself for not ever trying to fight back or protect myself (though now I realize that was completely out of the question. I was only 8, what could I have done against a man in his 30's that was three times my size?).

That anger didn't go away after I got away from my abuser. If anything, it grew worse. I'd yell, break everything around me, say horrible things to the people I loved - I was a totally different person. I could barely recognize myself. I was an empty shell, filled with absolutely nothing else than the purest form of resentment and wrath, things that had been brewing inside of me since I was a child. I never had the choice to become anything else.

Ares understands violence. He's the god of it. He knows when it's justifiable and when it's not, when it serves a purpose and when it's out of pure malice. He helped me realize that instead of trying to fight against my anger out of the shame it made me feel, I had to embrace it - become one with it. It's a part of me, at the end of the day. I just had to figure out how to control it instead of letting it control me.

He embraced me when I was too disgusted with this ugly side of me to even look in a mirror. I was scared of myself - he wasn't. He's seen worse. I never had someone accept me and all my flaws before, god or otherwise.

That's why it's so upsetting to see the modern depictions so many people have of him. Someone so understanding and loving being defined by the worst parts of Himself, just like I used to do with myself in the past.

Ares is the god of war, war is not the god of Ares.

[olympushit]

ARES DOESN'T DESERVE THE HATE HE GETS. 10 REASONS WHY:

Apart from being the god of war, he was also the god of generalship, manliness and civil order, which means that he was the god responsible for the correct function of every ancient city in order of laws and politics.

As the god of manliness, he was considered to be the patron of a fine man that every man looked up to. He was a fighter, not only as a merit from being the god of war, but he always fought for his beliefs, just like at the Trojan War when he complained to Zeus about Athena's unfair action. Also, he was the best father to his children and always supported them and their mothers, just like Cycnus fighting with Heracles, or when Aeropos' mother died during childbirth and he made it possible for the baby to drink milk from his dead mother's body.

He was the only greek god that never raped a woman. All his sexual encounters were consensual and he always seemed to respect his lovers, because he kept his private life low key and none of them suffered or were subjected to tortures, unlike Zeus' or Poseidon's lovers did.

He was the god of dance. Legend has it that before he was taught how to fight, Priapos, his tutor, refused to teach him unless young Ares knew how to dance. Afterall, war is considered to be the ultimate dance a man could perform in ancient times. Also, he appeared to dance for his daughter's Armonia wedding with joy, leaving behind the animosity for her husband Cadmus. Finally, in the feasts of the Gods, it was said that Apollo played the lyre, while the Harites, Artemis, Hermes and Ares danced with great joy.

He was a forgiving god. Despite his enraged and bloodthirsty behavior, Ares knew how to forgive someone and appreciated what they were doing to gain his trust. After Cadmus slaughtered the Dragon, he was put 8 years under servitude to indulge Ares. Finally, Ares not only forgave Cadmus for his crime, but he also blessed his wedding with his own daughter Armonia. Cadmus, in order to gratify the god, built the city of Thebes and made Ares its patron god.

He wasn't a coward. Many greek myths refer to Ares' lack of courage to face danger. This is far from true. At the Trojan War, when he found out about Ascalaphus' death, he disobeyed Zeus' order with the risk of his immortal life in order to go to the battle amd avenge his son's death. He was later stopped by Zeus' thunderbolts. Also, when the Aloadai were about to take Olympus, he was the first god to interfere in battle in order to save Olympus. Afterall, one of his epithets was "Olympus' Protector".

He was sentimental. At the Trojan War he was seen greaving for his children's loss and always wanted to inervene for their safety. Also, he understood the rejection of his parents towards him and he was a lonely god that lacked love. But he found the love he was seeking to Aphrodite, and did not only lust her, but he loved her deeply. Together they had 8 children, and both of them were jealous about each other's affairs, because of Adonis and Eos. They also had an open relationship, because he never refrained Aphrodite from her nature, which was love and sex. Afterall love is not meant to be given to only one person.

He was the protector of women. When Hallirothios attempted to rape his daughter Alcippe, he flashed in the scene and brutally killed the rapist. From that moment on, a temple in Athens was built for Ares "Gynaikothoinas", which means the one feasted/worshipped by women.

He knew the feeling of loss. A war has two sides, the winners and the defeated. A war isn't always to be won, and everyone must learn what it is to lose. He lost many wars, but he also won many. That's why he is among the Olympians.

He was a god of justice. That is because he was referred to be "Themis' Ally", which means that he was a helper to the goddess of justice. One of his least famous daughters, Adrestia, was the goddess of balance, justice and retaliation. Also, "Areios Pagos" or aka "The hill of Ares" was named after him because he was the first man ever to be tried for substatial homicide, for slaughtering Alcippe' rapist.

DON'T TREAT MY BOY LIKE THAT! HE IS JUST ADORABLE!

[sp4rklyr0t]

Hey Aster! Could we get a guide on Ares please?

Ares, Greek God of Everything Kind and Sweet: A Guide

Just kidding, of course.

Hi! I'm Astin/Aster and this is my guide to Ares. A disclaimer before we begin, this is going to be bare-bones basic. I will not be going over any specific myths in the post. Hope this is helpful!

Ares is the god of war and thus peace, as appeasing him would thus prevent war, bloodshed and bloodlust, violence, anger/rage, manliness, rebellion. Something to note is that Ares is less of the strategy involved in war, and more of the actuality of it. He is not only a god of war but the personification of it.

His parents are Zeus and Hera, and his lover was Aphrodite. With Aphrodite, according to Hesiod's theogony, he has three children, Phobos (Terror), Deimos (Fear), and Harmonia (Harmony).

Sacred Symbols, Animals, and Epithets

His symbols are the spear, as well as armor, particularly the helm and shield.

His sacred animals were:

Serpents- he is frequently depicted with one and has myths regarding serpents.

Barn owl, eagle owl, and woodpecker, as shown:

Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 21 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :

"Zeus loathed them [the giants Agrios and Oreios] and sent Hermes to punish them . . . But Ares, since the family of Polyphonte [mother of the giants] descended from him, snatched her sons from this fate. With the help of Hermes he changed them into birds. Polyphonte became a small owl whose voice is heard at night. She does not eat or drink and keeps her head turned down and the tips of her feet turned up. She is a portent of war and sedition for mankind. Oreios became an eagle owl, a bird that presages little good to anyone when it appears. Argios was changed into a vulture, the bird most detested by gods and men. These gods gave him an utter craving for human flesh and blood. Their female servant was changed into a woodpecker. As she was changing her shape she prayed to the gods not to become a bird evil for mankind. Hermes and Ares heard her prayer because she had by necessity done what her masters had ordered. This a bird of good omen for someone going hunting or to feasts."

He is also associated with horses, as his chariot is pulled by them.

Another notable animal are the bronze bulls, depicted as so:

Ovid, Heroides 12.39 ff : "The condition is imposed [by King Aeetes] that you [Jason] press the hard necks of the fierce bulls at the unaccustomed plow. To Mars [Ares] the bulls belonged, raging with more than mere horns, for their breathing was of terrible fire; of solid bronze were their feet, wrought round with bronze their nostrils, made black, too, by the blasts of their own breath."

Notable Epithets:

Thêritas - Beastly, brutish

Gynaikothoinas - Feasted by women

Enyalios - Warlike

Khrysopêlêx - Of the golden helm

Obrimos - Strong, mighty

Worship

His This section is going to be mainly UPG, so if you think of something else you'd like to do or give, please do so, as long as it is respectful.

Sacred Day:

Tuesday

Offerings:

Snake symbolism

Symbolism of His sacred birds

Spicy food 

Feathers from His sacred birds (sourced ethically)

Self defense weapons

Imagery of Him

Devotional Activities:

Workout or do physical activity

Go to a protest

Stand up for yourself and what you believe in 

Work on anger management 

Honor Aphrodite and their children together

Do something you're really passionate about

[aureliaeiter]

Beware of people spreading misinformation

So yesterday I came across this video by this creator. Now the video in itself isn't bad. It's a tiktok praising and appreciating Ares and explaining how he isn't only a god of destruction. That's all good.

What isn't good is that if you went into the comments the OP was saying Ares is a protector of women and that there's both mythological and archeological sources for that. As a lot of people may know (I've seen so many posts talking about this lately), that this is not true. If you try searching for archeological sources on Ares being a protector of women, you'll find none. What you'll find is a Tumblr post from 2013. Yes there's the epithet Gynaikothoinas but that's about women in a particular city, not all women.

Now if you as a woman in 2024 have felt protection from Ares and wanna worship him as such I think that's great. I think deities being associated with more modern domains keeps the practice alive (like Hermes being associated with computers, for example). What's not okay is pretending that he was historically worshipped as such.

Rightfully a lot of people were calling this creator out and some people were asking for sources (some others were blinding believing them, as it usually happens in Tiktok). OP said they weren't gonna waste their time on citing sources. If someone tells you giving you their sources is a waste of time, there's a high chance that they're lying. I came across this video today again and the comments were disabled. Go figure.

Edit: what I'm saying here about Ares not being the protector of women comes from my own research - and the lack of findings of papers/book/myths stating he is. If anyone has actual sources on this please let me know, as no person I've asked for sources has ever told me where they got that information from. Worst part is that at first I used to ask out of pure curiosity (because I tend to assume people aren't lying) and they always either responded in a defensive way or led me to sources of low credibility (ex. Tumblr posts or Tiktok videos). But if anyone actually has sources on this please let me know. I know a lot of people will point to Alcippe's myth but Apollo also saved Letho from being SAd and he's never seen as a “protector of women”, which is where my confusion comes from.

[uranian-activities]

something that popped in my mind is that we all receive a very athenian perspective of greek mythology (by athenian I mean Athens-centric). Look at the depiction and popular image of Sparta: bunch of barbarians who yeeted babies out of a cliff if they weren't deemed strong. This vision is wrong only in the "barbarian" part. Sparta, unlike Athens, wasn't a city-state or poli, but rather a monarchic state. It's often forgotten that Sparta impulsed the 2nd confederation of states in HISTORY (league of Peloponesus), the 1st one being the league of Delos. This setup happened for the Punic wars, and even though there was no clear winner, it seems that the Athenian perspective prevailed, thus impulsing the modern and biased view of Sparta. Also because Athens was devoted to Athena (long story), which involved a detriment of the image of Ares, making him into a barbaric, brutish, stupid god of violence instead of the god of violent war, martial discipline, virility and a protector of women. There is a reason why he's called Ares Gynaikothoinas ffs.

Now, being the god of violent war doesn't mean this dude picks a fight with everyone just for the fun of it, he IS smart and thinks of strategy, but the style of fighting is violent and explosive. However, Athena would be the "stylized" fighting type, which made Athenians have this perspective on Sparta, devout to Ares. HOWEVER the main deity of Sparta was Apollo, known as the peak male performance, they only turned to Ares upon being in war and during training.

It is believed that during this war, the Spartans chained a statue of Ares and prayed that "the warrior spirit of Ares to never leave/be chained to Sparta". If that isn't metal I don't know what is.

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

Ares in Mythology:

Kills the guy who tried to assault his daughter and refused to apologize for it when he got put on trial (it was ruled justifiable homicide by Athena btw). 

The only time he’d been captured in battle was when he was protecting his mom from being captured by giants who wanted to forcibly marry her.

Found and Freed Thanatos when he was imprisoned by Sisyphus when no other Gods could

Helps found the Amazons by helping their founder escape her abusive husband and becomes their patron God.

Genuinely loves and respects Aphrodite as her own person

One of his epithets is “feasted by women”.

Ares in Modern Media: 

Meatheaded sexist asshole out of an eighties teen movie.

Conclusion: My boy is getting done dirtier than Hades in modern representation. Ares is one of the least problematic Gods in the pantheon (except for the murders, I will grant you) and ya’ll are sleeping on him.

[dionysianfreak]

Arês Gynaecothoenas

patron of the brave women of Tegea; He who is feasted by women, valiant Ares

"There is also an image of Ares in the marketplace of Tegea [in Arkadia]. Carved in relief on a slab it is called Gynaikothoinas. At the time of the [historical] Lakonian war, when Kharillos king of Lakedaemon made the first invasion, the women armed themselves and lay in ambush under the hill they call today Phylaktris. When the armies met and the men on either side were performing many remarkable exploits, the women, they say, came on the scene and put the Lakedaemonians to flight. Marpessa, surnamed Khoira, surpassed, they say, the other women in daring . . . The story goes on to say . . . that the women offered to Ares a sacrifice of victory on their own account without the men, and gave to the men no share in the meat of the victim. For this reason Ares got his surname."

— Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 48. 4

[likeappletrees]

ares in myth: patron of the amazons, helps the founder of the amazons escape her abusive husband, murders his daughter's would-be rapist and is willing to go to tartarus for it, showers his children of all genders in gifts, encourages aphrodite's warlike aspect, loves and defends his mother, is called "ares gynaikothoinas", literally "feasted by women"

ares in modern media: a misogynist for some reason

[piristephes]

There is also an image of Ares in the marketplace of Tegea [in Arkadia]. Carved in relief on a slab it is called Gynaikothoinas (Feasted by the Women). At the time of the [historical] Lakonian war, when Kharillos king of Lakedaemon made the first invasion, the women armed themselves and lay in ambush under the hill they call today Phylaktris (Sentry Hill ). When the armies met and the men on either side were performing many remarkable exploits, the women, they say, came on the scene and put the Lakedaemonians to flight. Marpessa, surnamed Khoira, surpassed, they say, the other women in daring . . . The story goes on to say . . . that the women offered to Ares a sacrifice of victory on their own account without the men, and gave to the men no share in the meat of the victim. For this reason Ares got his surname.

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 48. 4 :

[hermesmoly]

What are your favorite epithets/titles of hermes, hera and ares?

(Thank you for the ask nonnie! 🤍)

For Hermes:

Hermes Eriboas ("he who is loud") - this is my personal favorite because hermes is a positive deity; his loudness is like a shout of support to anyone who needs it

Hermes Argeiphontês ("he who slew the giant Argus") - this is reverend to the slaying of Argus, to what he's capable of doing, like Apollo with Python or Zeus with Typhon ***though I believe this title is never mentioned in the presence of Queen Hera out of respect***

Hermes Pikilóvoulos ("the clever one") - never underestimate the cleverness of Hermes. my boi was literally a baby when he tricked Apollo, god of knowledge mind you, with the cows. Zeus had to give him many responsiblities so that he won't carry on as a naughty trickster all the time.

Hermes Charidotes ("giver of joy") and Hermes Éfphrohn ("happy, joyful, kindly,  and gracious one") - Hermes is usually a happy deity. He brings joy from the lyre, from his stories, from his laugh. He's the type of god who'd make a kid laugh, but disappear at the second glance, to give the kid a sense of wonder.

Hermes Diaktoros ("the wayfinder") and Hermes Poimandres ("shepherd of men") - even though he has a lot of responsibilites, Hermes is also a god of travel and he makes sure when you travel, you are safe. If you are lost, he will be your guide, he will help you find your way back to the road.

For Hera:

Hera Zygia ("she who presides over marriage") - this is the epithet she shares with her husband Zeus Zygius, as the ones who presides over marriage.

Hera Pais, Hera Teleia, Hera Chêra ("the Maiden", "the Married Woman" and "the Widow") - this triad of surnames were given her by Temenus, the son of Pelasgus. In some accounts it was he who had brought up Hera, and had built at Old Stymphalus three sanctuaries under three different names for her. Hera Pais refers to her status as a maiden before her marriage; Hera Teleia as the wife of Zeus, and Hera Chêra as a "widow" alluding to her separation (and eventual reconciliation) from Zeus. Hera is the goddess of women, married women especially, so these epithets show the three stages of a married woman's life.

Hera Hupercheipia ("she who holds her protecting hand above") - Hera had this epithet at the sanctuary in Sparta, which had been built her at the command of an oracle, when the country was flooded by the river Eurotas. There is no myth of them drowning, so it's safe to assume she did protected them, and would protect anyone dear to her.

Hera Basíleia ("Hera the Queen") - Hera is THE lady of authority. While she may be characterized as simply "Zeus' wife", there is evidence that she had temples built for her even before Zeus was. She can also be seen as a challenger to many heroes. She is given the same respect as one would give Zeus being his wife AND older sister. While she is not physically as strong as Zeus, her endurance, wit and feisty personality makes up for it. In short, slay Queen, slay.

Hera Alexandros - ("Protector of Men") - prehaps my personal favorite for some unknown reason, this is given to her among the Sicyonians. Adrastus, a king of Argos, built a temple for her in Sicyon after he was expelled by his co-ruler Amphiaraus. This shows that Adrastus had not forgotten his patron goddess, and that he will be protected by her even in another land. Amphiaraus then reconciled with Adrastus, and returned to his kingdom of Argos upon the horse Arion. (Sadly, Adrastus' story does not end happily, but he is remembered and worshipped in several parts in Greece)

Hera Boôpis ("she who is cow-eyed") - just a tribute to Hera's beautiful brown eyes. A cow's eyes was considered beautiful in Ancient Greece (she and Persephone share this epithet.)

For Ares:

Ares Aphneios ("Abundant" or "giver of food") - attributing to my favorite Ares myth, this title was given to Ares in Arcadia, after Aerope (Ares’ lover) died in childbirth, but Ares caused her to nourish their son Aeropus nonetheless. This epithet is a reminder of Ares' duty to his son.

Ares Árriktos ("unbreakable") and Ares Adámastos ("unconquerable") - these epithets are just amazing for me. Of all the gods, it is Ares who knows what is like to be defeated. To be chained down, to be humiliated on more than one occasion, to be betrayed by your family. Even being trapped in a jar. And yet, the god of war still stands. His heart carries on, not because of manly pride, but because he loves himself enough to carry on. That's beautiful.

Ares Teichesipletes ("storms the cities in battle") - In the end of day, Ares still has a duty as the god of war. He, along with his retinue, enjoy the thrill of battle, storm and cause chaos to cities and unfortunate mortals. It's in their blood. He, Enyo, Eris, Deimos and Phobos are one chaotic war family, and he loves them.

Ares Oplokharís ("rejoicing in arms") - as wars have defeats, they also have victories. Ares also experiences victories in battles, especially in the hearts of the soldiers, and Nike is with him (in some accounts Nike is Ares' daughter). The soldiers rejoice and celebrate due to the courage and bravery Ares gives them.

Ares Gynaikothoinas (“feasted by women”) - It refers to the god’s intervention on behalf of the Tegean women who fought against Lacedaemonian king Charillus. They ambushed as a form of attack and won. A festival was held every year by the women in which men were, hilariously, not allowed to participate. (And good for them! ❤ this is also a cool epithet for the modern concept of Ares as a feminist)

[teawiththegods]

⚔️Ares Epithets⚔️

Aphneius - The Giver of Food, Abundant

Gynaikothoinas - Feasted by Women

Thêritas - Beastly

Miaiphonos - Blood-Stained

Laossoos - He Who Rallies Men

Brotoloigos - Manslaughtering

Andreiphontês - Destroyer of Men

Thoos - Swift

Thouros - Violent, Furious

Obrimos - Strong, Mighty

Deiros - Fearsome

Enyalios - Warlike

[antlering]

Hi i saw your Ares so i was wondering how does one become a devotee of him and how do i make him know im interested?

Hi there anon! Apologies for my slow response!

So the same day you sent this ask I got a very similar ask about worshiping Hera (I just happened to answer that one first). I’m going to link it here so you can see my thoughts in more detail!

I’m thrilled that you’d like to get to know Ares! My advice is to grab a simple offering like water or milk, light a candle, and just start talking to him. Don’t overthink your first meeting, or you will get caught up in the details and never do it.

If you’d like, you could check out Ares’ page on theoi.com - I do this to find epithets or aspects of a god I’m interested in. For example, I might pray to Ares Gynaikothoinas for strength and determination during my job (which is stressful and lies within Ares’ domain). If there’s something about Ares that you’re really interested in, just let him know!

The secret is that simple offerings and chatting are the best ways to develop a relationship with a god. Ares is no different! Light a candle, pour a glass of water, and say hello to Him! Or you could do an activity for him, like dedicating a workout to him.

I’ll make this note again, because I think it’s very important: don’t stress over being a devotee. Devotion can be complex and challenging. It took me years of active worship to dedicate myself to Hermes and Dionysos. Try not to go into your meeting with Ares worrying about becoming a devotee. Just go with the flow and get to know Him before you decide to devote yourself!

If anything is unclear, please let me know and I’ll do my best to clarify!

[boians-com]

Boians Vector Black And White God of war Ares Character. Olympus God Isolated Mars Illustration. (SKU: BVCD003381) http://www.boians.com/?p=48799 #Boians #Ares #Mars #Armilustrium #12OlympusGods #OlympusGods #OlympusTwelveGods #Olympus #God #AresCharacter #MarsCharacter #ArmilustriumCharacter #GynaikothoinasCharacter #RomaCharacter #MythologyCharacter #Gynaikothoinas #War #Weapon #Weapons #Window #Shield #Greece Vector #Character #Illustration #CharacterDesign #Mascot #Character #Cartoon

[proletariangothic]

Lord Ares, thank you for the courage of today.