Ares in The Iliad

Who is Ares?

Ares appears among the gods summoned by Zeus in the divine council and takes a place supporting the Trojans. When the immortals enter the contest, he stands with Apollo and Aphrodite on the heights and stirs Trojan fighters to renewed fury. His presence helps tilt momentum at moments and embodies the raw violence of combat even as other gods—like Poseidon and Athena—counter or limit mortal and divine action. Ares does not operate alone; the council’s rules and the interventions of other deities shape where and how he can act. In the human fighting that follows, his alignment with the Trojan cause contributes to the ebb and flow of slaughter, while the greater tide of Achilles’ wrath and mortal fortunes continues to determine the battle’s outcome.

In the book: In the Iliad, Ares is the Olympian god of war who personifies the raw, chaotic fury of battle. He intervenes on the battlefield to champion favored warriors and causes sudden shifts in momentum, but he is also constrained and countered by other gods, highlighting the capricious, factional nature of divine involvement in the Trojan War. His presence underscores the poem’s exploration of glory, rage, and the costs of warfare.

Personality

warlike

Joins the gods who are permitted to take sides and explicitly supports the Trojans in the council called by Zeus (Book 20).

partisan

He is named among the immortals who mount the heights to champion the Trojan cause alongside Apollo and Aphrodite (Book 20).

chaotic

His involvement typifies the sudden shifts in momentum on the field when gods stir mortal fighters to renewed fury (Book 20).

constrained

Zeus stays aloof and other gods, such as Poseidon, intervene in opposing ways, limiting the ultimate effect of any single god’s actions (Book 20).

Character arc

Ares’ dramatic arc in the chapters where he appears is essentially static but thematically significant. He first appears when Zeus summons the gods and permits them to join the fighting; Ares immediately lines up with the Trojan side, joining Apollo and Aphrodite on the nearby heights. From that point he acts as a partisan divine presence whose purpose is to inflame battle and back Trojan fighters. However, he does not achieve decisive, independent victories: other gods intervene to protect favored mortals (for example Poseidon rescues Aeneas from Achilles), and Zeus’ overall command keeps the contest within bounds. Ares neither softens nor learns; his role remains the same from appearance to last mention—an instigator of savage war—while the real turning forces on the plain are mortal prowess (notably Achilles) and rival divine counteractions. Thus his ‘‘arc’’ is a reinforcement of the poem’s portrait of gods as powerful but factional and limited in effect.

Relationships

• Zeus Zeus calls the council that permits Ares and other gods to take sides; Ares acts under the limits set by Zeus (Book 20).
• Apollo Allied divine supporter of the Trojans on the heights; both encourage Trojan fighters (Book 20).
• Aphrodite Acts alongside Ares as one of the immortals who back the Trojan cause in the divine assembly (Book 20).
• Hector Ares champions the Trojan side for which Hector fights, lending divine backing to Trojan assaults on the Achaeans (Book 20).
• Poseidon Opposes Ares’ aims indirectly by intervening on the Achaean side and rescuing mortals like Aeneas from mortal peril (Book 20).
• Athena On the Achaean side in the council, Athena stands opposed to Ares’ intervention and helps counter Trojan gains (Book 20).

Why Ares matters

Ares functions as a concentrated emblem of the Iliad’s meditation on war: he is the raw, ecstatic force that fuels slaughter and glory but he is also factional and limited. His presence in the divine council and on the battlefield dramatizes how divine favor and anger can suddenly alter mortal fortunes, yet the checks placed by other gods and the overwhelming human passions (especially Achilles’ fury) show that such interventions are part of a larger, contested order. Ares thus reinforces themes of violent glory, the costly nature of combat, and the capricious, partisan character of divine involvement.

Chapters with Ares

• Book 11
• Book 17
• Book 20

More The Iliad characters

• HectorMajor character
• AchillesProtagonist
• AgamemnonMajor character
• ApolloMajor character
• MenelausMajor character
• ZeusMajor character
• NestorMajor character
• PatroclusMajor character