Quick summary
- Ares is the Greek god of war: its bloodlust, frenzy and slaughter. His Roman counterpart is Mars.
- Athena is the goddess of war as strategy and the defense of cities, and in Homer's Iliad she beats Ares every time.
- Around them stand lesser war deities: Enyo, Eris (Strife), Nike (Victory) and Ares's sons Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror).
The Greek god of war is Ares, son of Zeus and Hera and one of the twelve Olympians. He stands for war at its rawest: the violence, the bloodlust and the charge that does not stop to think. The Greeks split war between two gods, though. Athena is war as strategy, discipline and the defense of the city, and in Homer's Iliad she defeats Ares whenever they meet. A small crowd of lesser war deities follows them onto the battlefield.
Enyo
Goddess of war who rides into battle with Ares in the Iliad.
Eris
Strife, Ares's sister and companion in the Iliad.
Phobos
Fear, son of Ares and Aphrodite, who yokes his father's horses.
Deimos
Terror, Phobos's brother, at Ares's side in battle.
Nike
Victory, daughter of Styx, who fought on Zeus's side against the Titans.
Who is the Greek god of war?
Ares. Hesiod's Theogony makes him a son of Zeus and Hera, and Homer agrees. He is a huge figure in bronze armor, and when he is wounded in the Iliad his scream sounds like nine or ten thousand men shouting at once. Yet the Greeks rarely admired him. In Iliad Book 5, Zeus tells him he is the most hateful of all the gods because strife and fighting are all he loves.
Is Athena a goddess of war?
Yes, but of a different kind of war. Athena was born fully armed from Zeus's head, and she fights with planning and skill rather than rage. She guides heroes such as Diomedes, Achilles and Odysseus, and cities took her as their protector, Athens above all. The Athenians also worshipped her as Athena Nike, "Athena Victory", in the small temple at the entrance to the Acropolis.
Who would win, Ares or Athena?
Athena, every time the Iliad lets them fight. In Book 5 she guides Diomedes's spear into Ares's belly, and the war god flees to Olympus roaring. In Book 21 she knocks him flat with a boundary stone. The Greeks seem to have liked the lesson: skill beats fury.
Who rides into battle with Ares?
- Enyo, a goddess of war, fights beside him in Iliad Book 5. The Romans matched her with their war goddess Bellona.
- Eris, Strife, is called his sister and companion in Iliad Book 4. She is small at first, Homer says, but soon her head strikes the sky.
- Phobos and Deimos, Fear and Terror, are his sons by Aphrodite in Hesiod's Theogony. In the Iliad Ares orders them to yoke his horses. Two moons of Mars are named after them.
- Nike, Victory, is not a follower of Ares but a daughter of the river Styx. In the Theogony Styx brings her children to Zeus first when he calls the gods to fight the Titans.
What is the Roman god of war?
Mars, a far more honored figure than Ares. As the father of Romulus and Remus he was an ancestor of Rome itself, the month of March is named after him, and he also protected fields and crops. The Greek and Roman pairs are compared in Greek vs Roman gods, and the Norse war god Tyr, who gave English its Tuesday, appears in Norse vs Greek gods.
In the sources
- Homer, Iliad — Ares's wounds and defeats, Zeus's rebuke, Enyo and Eris on the battlefield, Phobos and Deimos yoking the horses.
- Hesiod, Theogony — Ares's parentage, his children with Aphrodite, and Nike among the children of Styx.
- Hesiod, Shield of Heracles — Fear and Terror standing beside Ares in his chariot.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Greek god of war?
Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera. He is the god of war's violence and bloodlust, and the Romans identified him with Mars.
Who is the Greek goddess of war?
Athena is the main war goddess, standing for strategy and the defense of cities. Enyo is a lesser war goddess who fights beside Ares.
What is the difference between Ares and Athena?
Ares is war as fury and slaughter, Athena war as planning and skill. In the Iliad, Athena beats Ares whenever they clash.
Who are the sons of Ares?
With Aphrodite he fathered Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror), who go with him into battle, and a daughter, Harmonia.
Who is the Greek god of victory?
Nike, the winged goddess of victory, daughter of the Titan Pallas and the river Styx. Athenians also worshipped Athena as Athena Nike.
What is the Roman god of war?
Mars. He was much more respected in Rome than Ares was in Greece, as the father of Romulus and Remus.
Keep exploring
Read the full stories of Ares and Athena, meet the greatest warrior at Troy in Achilles, or see every Olympian on one page in The Olympian gods.