Ares | Ἄρης | Mars

Ares is the god of war. He represents masculinity, the ideal soldier, strength (Kratos in Greek, a child of Ares) and the brawn in war. He is the child of Zeus and Hera. He is a god of courage and intimidation, and is with all those who have and strive for these things.

I really like Homer's hymn to Ares, one of the best:

"Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, golden-helmed, doughty in heart, shield-bearer, Saviour of cities, harnessed in bronze, strong of arm, unwearying, mighty with the spear, O defence of Olympus, father of warlike Victory, ally of Themis, stern governor of the rebellious, leader of righteous men, sceptred King of manliness, who whirl your fiery sphere among the planets in their sevenfold courses through the aether wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above the third firmament of heaven; hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless youth! Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul. Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife. Rather, O blessed one, give you me boldness to abide within the harmless laws of peace, avoiding strife and hatred and the violent fiends of death."

Just love the imagery in this hymn, something other than violence and blood-shed, which seems to be all anyone ever associates Him with. He is the God that calms our rage and keeps us out of violence. He is the Averter of War as much as He is the cause of it. He is a God of Bravery and Courage as well! So much depth to all the Gods!

I have thought that Lord Ares was a victim of bad press, and that there is more to the God of War then is written of in the annals of some ancient writings. Your Hymn to Ares by Homer was one of the few times I did not here 'coward' used with his name.
Can someone tell me where this supposed animosity between Ares and his Parents came about? If it is real or the bad press I spoke of?

As you noted Ares has had bad press since ancient times, pretty much since Homer onward. In general he embodies the darker yet unavoidable aspects of battle. He's often written off as just being a difficult or bad egg but perhaps another way to look at him is he's "that guy" who's willing "to go there" (get dirty) while others look down at him even though they they might know someone had to. That said, to be "that guy" requires a sizable ego (cojones) and a tendency to be a loose cannon.

In Orphic reckoning, Ares-Mars is the divine persona that governs terrestrial existence and life – with all it's fears, deaths, struggles, irrationality and hopelessness.

The 'animosity' between Ares-Mars and his parents is a faulty mortal projection of the sort of apparent tension that exists between the Heavenly Gods and the penitentiary that is the world, over the experience of which this god, Ares-Mars has governance.

We embodied souls understandably fear and shy away from many of the consequences of our earthly tenure, which Ares-Mars rules, and we project this onto the god Himself.

Orphics recognize the inspiration of many popular mythographers, but we, especially, are today (and have been since Antiquity) critical in many cases of myth in which the symbolism and allegory has been taken too far from its essential meaning and has been misread by well-meaning but misguided mythographers to a point where their tellings of them can be misleading or even destructive.

2.  ARIS  (Ares; Gr. Άρης, ΑΡΗΣ) - Pronunciation: AH'-rees.  [Roman: Mars]

One of the most important deities of Hellenismos and one of Twelve Olympic Gods, Aris is the God of war and the noble struggles of the soul. He is also the God who protects the order of our society.  Aris is the God of the pulse of life as it strives towards the Aithir (Aether or Ether; Gr. Αἰθήρ).  He is a son of Zefs (Zeus; Gr. Ζεύς) and Ira (Hera; Gr. Ήρα) [2] .


ICONOGRAPHY

In iconography, Aris is bearded and mature, in armor.  He is also frequently depicted as a handsome, naked, and beardless youth, with only a helmet, shield, and the bronze-tipped spear as ornaments.   He is sometimes depicted in proximity to the Drakohn (Drakon; Gr. Δράκων), the vulture, the barn-owl or eagle-owl, or the woodpecker.



THE HYMNS TO ARIS

The Homeric and the Orphic hymns to Aris are very similar.  Both poems begin by enumerating the wrathful aspects of the God, and both end imploring the God to yield to harmony.  They demonstrate the dread we feel when confronted by conflict, but without the conflicts that Aris brings, the soul cannot progress to the harmony brought about by the Goddess Aphrothiti (Aphrodite; Gr. Ἀφροδίτη).

Homeric Hymn to Ἄρης
Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, golden-helmed, doughty in heart, shield-bearer, Savior of cities, harnessed in bronze, strong of arm, unwearying, mighty with the spear, O defense of Olympus, father of warlike Victory, ally of Themis, stern governor of the rebellious, leader of righteous men, sceptered King of manliness, who whirl your fiery sphere among the planets in their sevenfold courses through the aether wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above the third firmament of heaven; hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless youth! Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul. Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife. Rather, O blessed one, give you me boldness to abide within the harmless laws of peace, avoiding strife and hatred and the violent fiends of death.  [6]


Some scholars believe that the Homeric Hymn to Aris was actually written by the Fifth century CE Neo-Platonist Proklos.  

There is a section in the poem:

"...sceptered King of manliness, who whirl your fiery sphere among the planets in their sevenfold courses through the aether (ed. Aithir) wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above the third firmament of heaven..."  [3]

The "third firmament" refers to the planet Mars, the third of the seven planets.

Orphic Hymn
Magnanimous, unconquer'd, boistrous Mars,
In darts rejoicing, and in bloody wars;
Fierce and untam'd, whose mighty pow'r can make
The strongest walls from their foundations shake:
Mortal destroying king, defil'd with gore,   5
Pleas'd with war's dreadful and tumultuous roar:
Thee, human blood, and swords, and spears delight,
And the dire ruin of mad savage fight.
Stay, furious contests, and avenging strife,
Whose works with woe, embitter human life;   10
To lovely Venus, and to Bacchus yield,
For arms exchange the labours of the field;
Encourage peace, to gentle works inclin'd,
And give abundance, with benignant mind.  [1]
.
The Orphic Hymn to Aris at line 11, the text implores Aris:

"To lovely Venus and to Bacchus (ed. Vakkhos) yield." [4]

In the Greek, this hymn does not actually use the name Aphrothiti (Venus), but uses her epithet, Kypris (Cyprus; Κύπριδος in context; sg. fem. gen. of Κύπρις). Kypris is the traditional birthplace of Aphrothiti.  Likewise, the text does not actually use the word Bacchus (Vakkhos), but uses the word Lyaios (Gr. Λῠαῖος), an epithet of Dionysos meaning "Deliverer."  Aris and Aphrothiti are Divine Consorts of one another.  This relationship between the two deities is elaborated by Thomas Taylor in his comments to his translation of the hymn:

"Mars (ed. Aris = Ares), as we are informed by Proclus (ed. Proklos), in Plat. Repub. [The Works of Plato I, TTS vol. IX, p. 294], is the source of division and motion, separating the contrarieties of the universe, which he also perpetually excites, and immutably preserves in order that the world may be perfect and filled with forms of every kind.  Hence, also, he presides over war.  But he requires the assistance of Venus (ed. Aphrothiti), that he may insert order and harmony into things contrary and discordant."  [5]


ARIS IN ORPHIC COSMOGONY

Aris rules the second Orphic House, the month of Scorpio (Skorpios; Gr. Σκορπιός) from October 21 through November 20, and his dominion is the Natural Law of Life, the pulse of life moving towards the Aithir (Aether or Ether; Gr. Αἰθήρ).  The Divine Consort of Aris is the Goddess Aphrothiti (Aphrodite, who rules the Natural Law of Harmony, see the Taylor quote above).  The Orphic Hymns suggest the offering of frankincense to Aris; guggul (bdellium, Commiphora wightii) is another a traditional offering to Aris.

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NOTES:

[1] Orphefs (Orpheus;Gr. Ὀρφεύς) Hymn LXV To Aris (This hymn was numbered LXIV in the original 1792 edition), trans. Thomas Taylor 1824 in The Mystical Hymns of Orpheus; found here in Hymns and Initiations, 2003, The Prometheus Trust (Somerset UK) on p. 130.  This edition differs in one way from the 1792 edition; line 12:

For arms exchange the labours of the field

...was re-translated and published as:

To Ceres give the weapons of the field

[2] Isiothos (Hesiod) Thæogonia (Theogony) 921:

"Lastly, he (ed. Zefs [Zeus]) made Hera (ed. Ira) his blooming wife: and she was joined in love with the king of Gods and men, and brought forth Hebe (ed. Ivi; Gr. Ἥβη) and Ares and Eileithyia (Gr. Εἰλείθυια)."

(Isiothos (Hesiod) Thæogonia 92, trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White 1914; found here in the 1930 Harvard Univ. Press (Cambridge MA USA) - William Heinemann (London England) edition of Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica, Loeb Classical Library, on p.147.

Homer Iliad 5.888-894:

"Then with an angry glance spoke to him Zeus (ed. Zefs), the cloud-gatherer: 'Sit not by me and whine, you renegade.  Most hateful to me are you of all Gods who hold Olympus (ed. Olympos; Gr. Όλυμπος ), for always strife is dear to you, and wars and fighting.  You have the unbearable, overpowering spirit of your mother, Hera (ed. Ira) ..."

(Omiros [Homer; Gr. Ὅμηρος] Ilias [Iliad; Gr. Ἰλιάς] Book V.888-894, trans. A. T. Murray, 1924; found here in the 2003 Harvard Univ. Press (Cambridge, MA USA; London, England) edition of Homer Iliad Vol. I, Loeb LCL 170, on pp. 271-273)

Apollodorus Library 1.13:

"Now Zeus (ed. Zefs) wedded hera and begat Hebe, Ilithyia, and Ares..."
(Apollothohros [Apollodorus; Gr. Ἀπολλόδωρος] Bibliothiki [The Library; Gr. Βιβλιοθήκη] Book I.III.1, trans. J. G. Frazer 1921; found here in the 1990 Harvard Univ. Press (Cambridge MA USA, London England) edition of Apollodorus: The Library Vol. I, Loeb LCL 121, on p. 15.)

[3] Homeric Hymn VIII To Aris (Ares), trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White 1914; found here in the 1930 Harvard Univ. Press (Cambridge MA USA) - William Heinemann (London England) edition of Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica, Loeb Classical Library, on p. 433.

[4] Orphefs (Orpheus) Hymn LXV To Aris (Ares or Mars) line 11, Taylor, p. 130.

[5] Orphefs (Orpheus) Hymn LXV To Aris, Taylor, p. 130. Note 1.

[6] Homeric Hymn VIII To Aris, Evelyn-White, p. 433.
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