Ares

Ares – Son of Zeus was the Olympian War God! Ares was the representation of battle, courage and order! In ancient Greek artwork he was shown as a bearded warrior with a suit of armor and always ready for battle. Some depictions feature him with a spear and a helm. Some believe that one of his main attributes was the warrior’s helm. Ares had a sacred animal, a spirit animal if you will and that was the serpent. He was also known to have correlations to birds like vultures and owls. In ancient times those types of birds represented a darker side of life, and mostly distinguished symbols of war and bad luck. However, one of the most famous animal associations of Ares was in the myth of the Colchian Dragon. In this myth, a serpent was set by Ares to guard the Golden Fleece and the Ismenian Dragon which was actually a giant snake that guarded his divine spring located near Thebes.

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ARES was the Olympian god of war, battlelust, courage and civil order. In ancient Greek art he was depicted as either a mature, bearded warrior armed for battle, or a nude, beardless youth with a helm and spear. Ares' main attribute was a peaked warrior's helm. Even in domestic scenes, such as feasts of the gods, he was depicted either wearing or holding his helm. The god's other attributes included a shield, a spear and sometimes a sheathed sword. Although his shield was often decorated with an emblem of some sort, ancient artists simply used a generic one drawn from their standard repertoire rather than something specific to the god. Ares was usually dressed as a standard Greek warrior with a short tunic, breastplate, helm and greaves. The breastplate was often ommitted in favour of a simple tunic, and he was sometimes depicted nude except for the helm and shield. Ares can be quite difficult to identify in ancient Greek art as there is little to distinguish him from other warrior figures Ares' sacred animal was the serpent. He was also associated with certain birds, such as the vulture and a few species of owl, which ancient augury identified as portents of war, sedition and ill-fortune. The most famous of the god's animals in myth were the Colchian Dragon, a serpent set by Ares to guard the Golden Fleece, and the Ismenian Dragon, a giant snake which guarded his sacred spring near Thebes. Source: theoi.com

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