In Greek religion, god of war or, more properly, the spirit of battle. Unlike his Roman counterpart, Mars, he was never very popular, and his worship was not extensive in Greece. He represented the distasteful aspects of brutal warfare and slaughter. From at least the time of Homer—who established him as the son of the chief god, Zeus, and Hera, his consort—Ares was one of the Olympian deities; his fellow gods and even his parents, however, were not fond of him.
