Ares: The Most HATED God in Greek Mythology

Summary

The video presents Ares as the embodiment of war’s raw, uncontrolled side—not strategy or political ambition, but the violence, fear, rage, and instinct for survival found in battle. It portrays him as powerful yet frequently scorned, even by Zeus, and argues that he is more complicated than a simple villain.

Main Ideas and Stories

Birth and Opposition to Athena

In one version recounted in the video, Hera conceives Ares without Zeus, out of anger after Zeus gives birth to Athena without her. Ares represents passion and chaos in battle, while Athena represents strategy and reason; together, they embody contrasting aspects of war.

Zeus is said to despise Ares’s violence and call him the most hateful of the gods.

Nature and Symbols

Ares is depicted as a fearsome warrior who rushes into combat rather than planning it. His presence intensifies fear, rage, courage, and bloodlust.

His chariot is drawn by four fire-breathing horses. His associated symbols and animals include a spear, shield, torch, vulture, dog, and—later—a boar.

Ares can strengthen fighters, but his power can also overwhelm them, making them reckless or unable to distinguish friend from foe. The video characterizes him as emotionally intense and direct: he fights, loves, grieves, and reacts rather than calculating.

Ares and Aphrodite

Ares has a secret affair with Aphrodite, who is married to Hephaestus. Helios reveals the affair, and Hephaestus traps the pair in an invisible bronze net, exposing them to the other gods.

Though publicly humiliated, Ares and Aphrodite continue their relationship. The video frames their pairing as a union of two destructive passions: love and war.

The Aloadae Imprison Ares

The giant brothers Otus and Ephialtes try to overthrow the Olympians and capture Ares, locking him in a bronze jar for thirteen months. Hermes eventually finds and frees him.

The episode illustrates that even war can be restrained, but that its release may bring a violent response.

The Trial on the Areopagus

Ares kills Halirrhothius, a son of Poseidon, after he attacks Ares’s daughter Alcippe. The gods try Ares on a hill that becomes associated with the Areopagus. Athena presides, and Ares is acquitted.

The video presents this story as a rare instance in which Ares’s violence is framed as protective justice rather than conquest.

Ares in the Trojan War

Ares supports Troy because of Aphrodite’s connection to the city. With Athena’s help, the mortal Diomedes wounds Ares, forcing him to retreat to Olympus. Zeus responds with contempt rather than sympathy.

Ares nevertheless returns to the fighting, illustrating how his compulsion to fight repeatedly overcomes his defeats.

Children and Legacy

Ares’s children include:

• Phobos and Deimos, associated with fear and terror
• Enyo, associated with destruction
• Harmonia, associated with peace after conflict

The video also connects Ares with the Amazons and recounts the violent fate of his son Cycnus. These descendants represent war’s different dimensions: fear, slaughter, courage, vengeance, and the possibility of peace.

The Gigantomachy

During the war between the Olympians and the giants, Ares fights with great force and helps defend Olympus. His victory brings no celebration; he is left contemplating the devastation.

The story shows that even when violence serves a cause, its aftermath remains destructive.

Worship and Changing Interpretations

The video contrasts Ares’s feared status in much of Greece with his greater importance in Thrace and Sparta, where he was associated with warriors and military courage.

It says that in Rome, Ares was identified with Mars, who became a more civic and orderly figure linked to Rome’s protection and founders. The video argues that later portrayals reduced Ares to a foolish or evil figure. Its conclusion is that Ares represents more than bloodlust: he also stands for endurance, loyalty, and the will to survive.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Unnamed narrator — the video’s main voiceover
• Mythical Arcana — the channel presenting the mythology narration
• Index Unknown — mentioned in a brief promotional segment for the channel’s video about the Children of Woolpit