Ares

Ares, son of Zeus and Hera, ruled as the Greek god of war, though he was far from beloved among gods or mortals. Unlike his more strategic Roman counterpart Mars, Ares embodied the raw brutality of combat. Zeus himself declared him the most hateful of all gods, disgusted by his endless appetite for strife and bloodshed.

Yet there was another side to Ares, revealed in the ancient Hymn to Ares, where he appears as a guardian against cowardice who could also appreciate peace. He moved through battlefields accompanied by a terrifying entourage - his sister Eris (Discord), the war goddess Enyo, and his twin sons Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror). Vultures, feasting on the fallen, were his sacred birds.

Despite his fearsome reputation, Ares had his vulnerabilities. He conducted love affairs with both Aphrodite and mortal women, fathering kings and warriors. He also faced judgment before the gods after killing his daughter's attacker, leading to the naming of the Areopagus ("Ares' hill") in Athens. Perhaps most tellingly, the war god frequently found himself bested in combat by Athena, suggesting that wisdom and strategy could triumph over pure aggression.