The Greek God Ares
Ares was the Greek god of war, and according to mythology, war, battles, and bloodshed were his major preoccupations. In certain respects, there is not too much more to Ares than this connection to war, as he is portrayed as being somewhat one-dimensional. Or at least limited in his pleasures. However, there is one other area in which Ares was interested, and that is indeed pleasure - with the goddess Aphrodite, that is. He engaged in an ongoing tryst with Aphrodite which is the stuff of legend (and myth), in defiance of that fact that the lovely goddess was already married (to the god Hephaistos). There is a wonderfully charming tale in the Odyssey of Homer about how this couple's romantic rendezvous came to an abrupt, and comic, end.
Ares and Aphrodite
Ares and Aphrodite were dallying together when their interlude was rudely interrupted. You see, the god of the Sun, Helios, from whom little, if anything, could be kept secret, spied the pair in enjoying each other one day. Helios promptly reported the incident to Hephaistos, who was understandably angry. Hephaistos contrived to catch the couple "in the act", and so he fashioned a net to snare the illicit lovers. At the appropriate time, this net was sprung, and trapped Ares and Aphrodite locked in very private embrace. But Hephaistos was not yet satisfied with his revenge - he invited the Olympian gods and goddesses to view the unfortunate pair. For the sake of modesty, the goddesses demurred, but the male gods went and witnessed the sight. Some commented on the beauty of Aphrodite, others remarked that they would eagerly trade places with Ares, and they all laughed. Well, except for Ares, who was out of sorts, and Aphrodite, who, if goddesses can blush like maidens, surely did so.
The Lovers of Ares
The fierce god Ares was often inflamed with lust in Greek mythology - lust for battle, that is. Indeed, it is fair to say that Ares was obsessed with war, almost to the exclusion of anything else. The god did, however, have an eye for the female form, and his appetite for Aphrodite, the alluring goddess of love and beauty, at times almost rivaled his desire to do battle. In consequence his conquests off the battlefield are nearly as legendary as his victories and defeats in combat. So let us learn more about the passionate loves of Ares.
Aphrodite | the beautiful Greek goddess of love certainly snared the god of war with her irresistible charms - the pair together conceived several children, including Deimos, Phobos, and Harmonia
Cyrene | as a result of her affair with Ares, the nymph Cyrene gave birth to a son named Diomedes
Eos | the Greek goddess of the dawn engaged in an ill-advised tryst with Ares, which ended badly for Eos when Aphrodite discovered the relationship
Pyrene | some sources for mythology state that Ares and Pyrene were the parents of Cycnus
Sterope | Sterope was one of the Pleiades (daughters of Altas and Pleione), and according to some versions of the tale, she was a lover of Ares and the mother by him of Oenomaus
