MYTHS OF ARESA 2 GENERAL - Greek mythology (2023)

ARES was the Olympian god of war, fighting spirit and masculinity.

This page describes the appearance of the god in the Trojan War, including his wounding by Diomedes, his grief over the death of his son Askalaphos, his battle with the goddess Athena, and his presence during the fall of the city.

QUOTATIONS FROM CLASSICAL LITERATURE

ARES AND THE TROJAN WAR

I. THE MARRIAGE OF PELEUS AND THIS

Like the other gods, Ares was invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. There, Eris threw the golden apple of discord between the goddesses, the first incident in a series of events that led to the Trojan War.

Colluthus, The Rape of Helen 14 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poetry 5th to 6th AD):
“By order of Zeus, Ganymede poured the wine [at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis]. And all the race of the gods hastened to worship the white-armed bride [Thetis], Amphitrite's own sister: Zeus from Olympus and Poseidon from the sea ... And the iron Ares, as if without a helmet or carrying a warrior's spear, comes to the house of Hephaestus, so he is without armor and without a sharpened sword danced with a smile [at the wedding]."

II. APHRODITE IS CONVINCED TO SUPPORT THE TROJAN

At the start of the Trojan War, the gods split into pro-Greek and pro-Trojan factions. Ares was indifferent and at first promised his mother Hera and sister Athena that he would side with the Greeks in the war. However, Aphrodite convinced him to break the alliance and join her in supporting the Trojans.

Homer, Iliad 5. 699ff. (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic, 8th century BC):
"[Athena says:] "Violent Ares, this creature of wrath, of wickedness, this duplicitous liar, who even now protested against Hera and me, and promised to fight against the Trojans and side with the Argives. Now all promises forgotten, he is on the side of the Trojans.

Homer, Iliad 21. 391 ff.:
"[Athena wounds Ares and accuses him:] "You pay penance for the wrath of your mother [Hera] because she is angry and wishes you harm, because you betrayed the Greeks and helped the cruel Trojans."

III. ARES LEADS IN THE BATTLE OF THE TROJANS, HE WAS WOUNDED BY DIOMED

Homer's Iliad begins with the assembly of the Trojan army, recently reinforced by troops sent by its allies to Anatolia, Thrace. The Greeks returned to besiege Troy itself after ravaging the landscape and smaller towns of the Troad. As soon as the battle began, the gods descended on the battlefield to support their favorites. Ares commanded the Trojans, but Diomedes and Athena wounded him and drove him from the battlefield.

Homer, Iliad 4. 436ff. (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic, 8th century BC):
“The cry of the Trojans went through the vast army [as Troy and her allies fought the Greeks]. As there was no speech or language common to all of them, but their speech was mixed, they were invited there from many distant regions. Ares chased them, and the Achaeans gray-eyed Athena, and Deimos (Fear) chased them, and Phobos (Fear) and Eris (Hate), whose fury is merciless, she is the sister and companion of Ares the killer.

Homer, Iliad 5. 27 et seq.:
"When the well-intentioned Trojans saw the two [Trojan] sons of Dares, one running away and the other being beheaded by the chariot [the Greeks], they were all enraged. Athena took the violent Ares by the hand and said to him: Ares, Ares, murderers, bloody, strong-walled assailant, shall we not suffer the Trojans and the Achaeans to fight, however much glory father Zeus may give them both, while we two stand together and shall escape the wrath of Zeus?
So she spoke and led the merciless Ares from the fray, then made him sit by the sands of Scamandros while the Danaans [Greeks] defended the Trojans.

Homer, Iliad 5. 352 et seq.:
"[Aphrodite was wounded by the hero Diomedes in the Trojan War while trying to save her son Aeneas:] The goddess, left badly wounded and with wind-blown legs, was taken by the hand of Iris and led away from the battle, her fair skin dark with blood wounded and in agony. There , on the warrior's left, she found Ares violent [where Athena had left him], sitting with a spear bent in the mist, and swift horses. While in deep prayer she knelt on one knee of her beloved brother for kneeling before her she sought his gold studded horses: "Beloved brother, save me and give me your horses, so that I can reach Olympus, where the immortals reside. I suffer too much from the wound of the spear-clad mortal, son of Tydeus, who will now fight even with father Zeus.
So she spoke, and Ares gave her horses with golden fringes, and she, still grieving at heart, mounted the chariot, and as Iris mounted beside her, she took the reins and pushed them to run, and they flew away without hesitation. . Now when they had reached pure Olympus, the place of the immortals, there the swift Iris the werewolf halted her horses, untied them, and threw down the immortal food.

Homer, Iliad 5. 454 ff.:
"Phoibos Apollo [also a Trojan ally, saved Aeneas from battle after Aphrodite's failed attempt] now spoke to the violent Ares: "Ares, Ares, murder, bloody raider of strong walls, cannot you somehow stop this man from battle, son of Tydeus [ Diomedes], who would now fight Zeus's father? Even now he put her hand on the wrist of Mrs. Kypros [Aphrodite] and again, as more than a man, even charged against me.
Thus spake he, and alighted on the summit of Pergamum, while stern Ares descended to stir up the ranks of the Trojans, like the lord of the Thracians, the swift-footed Acama, and exhorted the God-given children of Priam to say: "O ye children of Priam, the king whom the gods love, how long will you allow the Achaeans that they slay thy people? Till they slay themselves before the mighty gates? There lies the fallen man whom we adored as we adore the genius Hector, Aeneas, son of great Ankhises. Come then, let us save our good fellow from the slaughter." Thus he spoke and instilled spirit and power in every man.'

Homer, Iliad 5. 506 et seq.:
"[The Trojans] straightened the strength of their arms while the fierce Ares who defended the Trojans covered the battle with dark night and went everywhere because he carried out the order of Phoibos Apollo, ​​that golden sword that commanded him the hearts of the Trojans, seeing that Pallas Athena had already left , yes, who stood up for Danaan."

Homer, Iliad 5. 518 et seq.:
"Their [Trojan] war-deed, which . . . roused the god of the silver bow [Apollo], and the slaying of Ares and Eris (hatred), whose wrath is implacable."

Homer, Iliad 5. 563 et seq.:
"[Menelaus] strode among the champions, wearing helmets of bright bronze, brandishing his spear, driven forward by the fury of Ares, thinking that he would perish at the hand of [the Trojan] Aeneas."

Homer, Iliad 5. 592 ff.:
“Hector [the Trojan prince] ... fell upon them [the Greeks] shouting at the top of his voice, and followed him after the Trojan battalions in their strength; and Ares led them with the goddess Enyo, bearing with him a fury of shameless hatred, while Ares played in his hands with a great spear arrayed before and behind Hektor. Diomedes from the great war cry trembled when he saw him [for Athena had given him the ability to see the gods]... and he returned and said to his people: "Friends, although we know the wonder of the famous Hector, who is a warrior with a spear and a brave warrior, but always followed by the beast-destroying god, and now Ares, like a mortal, goes with him Come, then, turn your face to the Trojans, take a step back, and do not be eager to fight the gods by force.

Homer, Iliad 5. 699 et seq.:
"The Argives, under the power of Ares and Hector clad in bronze, never turned their backs nor threw themselves upon their black ships, nor faced them in battle, but always retreated when they defeated Ares with the Trojans. saw go . Who so first, and who died last, Hector, son of Priam, impudent Ares? First divine Teuthras, then Orestes, charioteer, Trechos, spearman of Aitolia and Oinomaus, Helenos, son of Oinops and Oresbios of the bright guard... Now when the white-armed goddess Hera [on Olympus] Argives disappear in a fierce battle, Pallas Athena immediately addressed his winged words: "Shame on you now, Atritone, daughter of Zeus's auspiciousness: the word we promised Menelaus that we would return home after we sacked the fortified city of Ilion meant nothing but if we let accursed Ares be so enraged." So let us go, let us think rather of our own strange courage.
[The two goddesses then went to Troy to help the Greeks.] . .
[They passed by Zeus, who was sitting on top of Olympus, and] Hera stopped her horses, spoke to Zeus, the tall son of Kronos, and asked him: "Father Zeus, are you not angry with Ares for his cruel deeds, for so much good Killing Achaean warriors for no reason and in the wrong order to make me sad? Meanwhile, Kypris [Aphrodite] and Apollo of the Silver Bow are joyfully and happily freeing this maniac who has no idea of ​​justice. Father Zeus, will you be angry with me if I inflicted painful wounds on Ares blows and pushed him out of the battle?
Then, in turn, the father of gods and men answered: "Then go to him and oppose the destroyer Athena, who is especially the one who will cause him great pain."
Thus he spoke, and the goddess of the sword, Hera, did not listen, but bound the horses [descending to the battlefield of Troy]. . .
[Athena appears before Diomedes and encourages him:] "Now I stand by you and always watch over you and encourage you to fight with confidence against the Trojans...".
Then Diomedes answered her: "Daughter of Zeus, who holds patronage, goddess, I know you and therefore I will speak to you in confidence and I will not hide anything." I am not held back by poor fear or restraint. I rather remember the command you yourself gave me when you would not suffer me to fight before the blessed immortals—the rest, unless Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, should go to battle, I should stab her with a sharp brown can. Therefore I now yielded, and ordered all the other Argives to assemble in this place beside me, since he who rules the battles is Ares.
Then the gray-eyed goddess Athena answered him in turn: "Son of Tydeus, who gladdens my heart, Diomede, fear no more Ares or any immortal; I'll be your assistant. So come on, first against Ares, send your one-legged horses and hit him at close range. Do not be afraid of violent Ares, that wicked, wicked two-faced liar who even now rebelled against Hera and me, promising to fight the Trojans and side with the Argives. Now that he has forgotten all his promises, he is on the side of the Trojans.
Having said this, she pushed Sthenelus [Diomede's charioteer] from the chariot to the ground, pushed him away with her hand, and he moved a little away from him, and she herself, the goddess in her anger, entered the chariot to the splendid Diomedes. . and the oak-ash groaned loudly under the burden and gave birth to a terrifying goddess and a great man. Pallas Athena then grabbed the whip and reins and headed straight for Ares, the one-legged horses. Ares was beating the giant Periphas, the great son of Okheios, by far the best of the Aetolian men. Bloody Ares was just undressing him. But Athena put on the helmet of Death [Haida] so that stern Ares would not recognize her.
Now when the slayer Ares saw the genius Diomedes, he left the giant Periphas where he had first cut off his head and taken his life, and went straight to Diomedes the horse tamer. As they approached, Ares was the first to harness and bridle his horses with a bronze spear, furious that his life would be taken from him. But the gray-eyed goddess Athena, holding a spear in her hand, pushes her away from the chariot, so he misses and holds him in the barn in vain. Behind him rode Diomedes with a great war-cry and a bronze spear; and Pallas Athena, bending over him, thrust him deep into his belly, where the girdle of war was round him. She found the spot where she had stabbed and pushed it deep into the air, drawing her spear again. Then impudent Ares roared as loud as nine thousand men, or ten thousand if they howled, if they carried the wrath of the god of war into battle. Both the Achaeans and the Trojans trembled at the feet of Ares's roar, the insatiable fight.
As with a thundercloud the sky darkens after a day of heat when a storm appears, so Ares, son of Tydeus, Diomedes, seemed impudent as he ascended with the clouds into the wide sky. He came quietly to the citadel of the gods, straight to Olympus, and sat down beside the Zeus of the chronicle, grieving in spirit, and showed him the immortal blood that flowed from the severed spear. So, taking pity on him, he spoke to him with winged words: "Father Zeus, don't you get angry when you see this kind of violence? We who are forever gods must suffer the most terrible wounds caused by mutual hatred when we try to show mercy to mortals. It's your fault that we've been fighting since you gave birth to that cursed daughter of a maniac whose mind is forever fixed on unjust action. For everyone else, as many gods on Olympus, you obey, and we all surrender. And yet you say nothing and do nothing to stop this girl letting her go, when you single handedly gave birth to this child of doom. Behold now, son of Tydeus, Diomedes the proud, she drove him to throw himself furiously at the immortal gods. First he stabbed Cyprian [Aphrodite] in the wrist in the hand. Then, as something more than a man, he even attacked me. But my quick feet carried me off the road. Otherwise, I would have to lie in pain among naked corpses for a long time, or live without strength from the blows of bronze spears.
When Zeus, who gathers the clouds, looked at him darkly, he said to him: "Do not sit by me and do not whine, you two-faced liar. To me you are the most hated of all the gods who hold Olympus. You are fond of eternal quarrels, wars and battles. Truly your anger mother Hera springs from every hand and does not abate; and I do my best, her arguments break me, and I think it is her caprice that you suffer. And yet I cannot bear to see you long in pain because you gave birth to my child me your mother But if you were born of another god and you were so fatal, long ago you would have been among the gods who fell from the blue sky.
Thus spake he, and bade Paion heal him; and as he dispensed medicines to relieve the pain, Paion restored him again, for he was not made to be one of mortals. As the juice of figs in white milk quickly solidifies that which was before liquid, and quickly hardens to him who stirs it; with such speed he cured the violent Ares; Hebe washed him and dressed him in beautiful clothes. And rejoicing in the glory of his strength, he sat down beside Kronion.
Meanwhile, the two have returned to the home of the great Zeus, Hera of Argos, with Athena helping her people after stopping Ares' murderous murder.

IV. ARES GLINA DEATH OF HIS SON ASKALAF

Zeus promised Thetis that he would credit the Trojans until her son Achilles was appeased by the Greek leader Agamemnon. Accordingly, he ordered the gods to withdraw from the battlefield. However, in the ensuing fighting, Ares' son Askalaphus was killed. It is said that Ares rushed to the battlefield to avenge him, but was stopped by Athena.

Homer, Iliad 13:521ff. (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic, 8th century BC):
"Deiphobos [of Troy] hurled a glittering spear... and with his spear smote the son of the god of war Ascalophus, so that the mighty spear pierced his arm, and he, falling in the dust, scratched the ground with his claws But Ares, naked and roaring, he had not yet heard how his son had fallen there in a mighty battle, but he, wrapped in golden clouds on the highest Olympus, sits, restrained by the command of Zeus, where the rest of the immortals rest. The gods sat motionless, refraining from battle."

Homer, Iliad 15. 110 ev:
"Hera spoke indignantly before all of them [the gods of Olympus]: "... I think Ares has already grieved. His son died in battle, the dearest of all men, Askalaphos, whom cruel Ares calls his son.
That's what she said. Then Ares flattened both his great thighs with his palm, and uttered a word full of rage and sorrow: "Now, you who have your homes on Olympus, you cannot blame me for going among the Achaean ships and for avenging the slaughter of my son's ship, though mine fate to be struck by Zeus' thunderbolt and fall in the blood and dust of dead men.
So he spoke and ordered Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror) to harness his horses, and he put on his shining armour. And among the immortals, another anger and bitterness of Zeus would have broken out, even greater and more tiring, if Athena, in fear of all the gods, had not jumped into the courtyard, lowered her chair on which she was sitting, removed the helmet from his head, the shield from his shoulders, grabbed a bronze spear from his heavy hand and unfolded it, after which he convinced the violent Ares in his speech: "Madman, bewildered by your wits, this is a ruin! Your ears can still hear reality, but your mind is gone and your discipline is gone. Do you not hear what does the white-shouldered goddess Hera tell us, now returning from Zeus from Olympus? After you have suffered many misfortunes, will you forcefully, though reluctantly, return to Olympus and sow among us the seeds of great sorrow For he will immediately leave the Achaeans and the insolent Trojans and return to attack us on Olympus, arriving guilty and innocent as they come. Therefore I beg you to give up your anger against my son. By now someone else, stronger and more powerful than your son, has been killed or will soon be killed; and it is difficult save the whole generation and seed of all mortals.
So she spoke and sat down in the insolent Ares chair.

V. THE RETURN OF THE GODS IN TROY, SCULPTED BY ATHENA

After Patroclus' death, Achilles agreed to reconcile with Agamemnon and rejoin the war. Zeus then allowed the gods to return to Troy. The pious factions immediately erupted into open conflict in which Athena killed Aphrodite and Ares.

Homer, Iliad 20:38ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic, 8th century BC):
"[Zeus addresses the gods:] "All of you, come down wherever you go between the Achaeans and the Trojans and help either side as you wish..."
Thus spake the son of Kronos [Zeus], ​​and roused a ceaseless strife, and the gods came down to join the fight. . . Ares went to the Trojans with a shiny helmet, and with him Phoebus, unshaven hair and mistress of the arrows of Artemis and smiling Aphrodite, Leto and Xanthos. . .
As the Olympians joined together in male company, the mighty Eris (Hatred), protector of the people, burst in and Athena roared. . . while on the other side Ares roared like a dark thunder-cloud, now from the top of the citadel, pursuing the Trojans hard, now running along the sweet banks of the Simoeis. the weight of their quarrels broke out among themselves. . . There was a bang as the gods ran furiously towards each other. Meanwhile, Apollo stood against Poseidon's master Phoebus with his feathered arrows, and against Enyali [Ares], the grey-eyed goddess of Athena.

Homer, Iliad 20. 138 ff.:
"[Poseidon turns to Hera:] "Let's sit together at a vantage point out of the way and let the humans fight. Only if Ares begins to fight, or Phoebus Apollo, or if they restrain Achilles and do not let him fight, will they immediately engage us in open combat. But I think that soon, if they fight against us, they will bet on Olympus and a multitude of other gods, who are repulsed by the overwhelming strength of our hands. . . .
Poseidon and the other gods who were with him sat down and gathered an unbroken wall of clouds to hide their shoulders; while, on the other side, they sat on the banks of the sweet cliffs around you, lord of Apollo, and Ares, the plunderer of cities. So they took their places on either side, thinking, not wanting to launch a painful attack. But Zeus, who was high in the sky, called them."

Homer, Iliad 21. 391 ff.:
“[The two factions of the gods were then engaged in open battle:] A wearisome burden of hatred fell upon the other gods, and the winds of their wrath blew divided, and they collided with a great roar, the wide earth resounded and the vast sky sounded like trumpet. Zeus heard this from his seat on Mount Olympus, and his heart was glad to see the gods clashing. Then they were not long separated, for Ares began to pierce him with his shield, and he stood up against Athena with a brass spear in his hand and uttered insults: "Why again, you dog-fly, have you caused confusion among the gods with the explosions of your inflated anger and the pride of your hearts are pushing you Don't you remember how you rushed at Diomedes son of Tydeus to spear me, and seizing the spear he stood up from afar and stabbed me and tore my skin in his beauty So no, I will repay you for all you have done to me.
He spoke and pierced the ghostly shield with fluttering stripes that disappeared only after Zeus' thunderbolt. There Ares, covered with blood, thrust his long spear, but Athena, returning the blow, caught with her heavy hand a stone lying on the plain, black, rough, and huge, which the ancients had set there as the border of the cornfield. So she hit the angry Ares on the neck and untied him. The fall spread across seven acres, his hair trailing in the dust and his armor rattling. But Athena Pallas, laughing, stood over him and spoke to him with winged words of triumph: "Child! you did not think this time how much I can claim to be stronger than you if you make me stand up in your anger. So you too repent of your anger mother, who is angry and wishes you harm, because you left the Achaeans and helped the cruel Trojans.
She spoke, keeping the glare from her eyes. But he took the hand of Ares, Zeus's daughter Aphrodite, and led him away, always sobbing, and his strength was scarcely gathered in him. But now that the white-shouldered goddess Hera immediately noticed her, she addressed Pallas Athena with her winged words: "Shame on you now, Atriton, daughter of Zeus' patronage. through the confusion Quickly, after her!
She spoke, and Athena rushed, her heart full of joy, overtook her and struck her breast with her heavy hand, so that her knees buckled and her heart burst. Both of them lay stretched out on the generous earth. But Athena stood above them and spoke to them in winged words of triumph: "May all who help the Trojans be as they fight the armored Argives, as brave and unfortunate as they are now." Aphrodite came to Ares as a comrade and defied my wrath. So, we should have rested long ago from our battles, after the all-out attack on the firmly entrenched city of Ilion.
She spoke, and the white-handed goddess Hera smiled at her.

YOU. ARES PAYING AFTER THE DEATH OF PENTESILEA'S DAUGHTER

After the death of Hector, the Trojan prince, a new Trojan ally arrived in the battle - the Amazon Penthesilea, daughter of Ares. Unfortunately for God, she was soon killed by Achilles.

For MYT about Ares and his daughter seeFavor of Ares: Penthesilea

VII. ARES RAISES THE TROJANS AGAINST NEOPTOLEMOS

After Achilles' death, his son Neoptolemus took his place as the leading Greek warrior and defeated the Trojans. Ares descended from heaven and led the Trojans back into battle.

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy 8. 260 ff. (trans. Put) (Greek epic, 4 AD):
"Now the Trojans fled within their gates [Neoptolemus son of Achilles]...Troy: the earth trembled loudly under the feet of this wild company." He threw a huge spear into the heart of the battle and with a shout encouraged the Trojans to fight the enemy. They heard and marveled at this wondrous cry, not seeing the immortal image of God, nor the horses covered in thick fog. But the wise soul of the prophet Helen, recognizing the divine voice that reached the ears of the Trojans, not knowing where it came from, joyfully cried out to the fleeing armies: O cowards, why are you afraid of the son of Achilles? ? , although not so brave? He is mortal like us, his strength is not equal to the strength of Ares, who very quickly came to our need. So loud was his cry, calling us to fight the Argives. Let your hearts be strong, my friends: let courage fill your breasts. No more powerful helper in battle can approach Troy than he. Who is more useful in war than Ares when helping people in a difficult fight? Here he comes to help us! To fight! Throw your fears to the wind!
They did not run away anymore, they found themselves face to face with the Argives. . . encouraged by the scolding of their shepherd master; so they again sent the sons of Troy to war, dismissing their fear. A man sprang upon a man who fought bravely; their armor clattered loudly as they struck with swords, spears and arrows. Spears pierced men's bodies: terrible Ares drank blood to his heart's content: he vanquished man to man while Greeks and Trojans fought. A battle scale hung on the scales. . . the terrible fury of battle hangs on one level: all Trojan hearts beat high, trusting steadfastly in Ares' merciless power, while the Greeks trust in the son of Achilles. They killed and always killed: the deadly Enyo walked in the middle, her arms and hands stained with blood and the terrible sweat pouring from her limbs. She enjoyed equal fights and did not help anyone so as not to incur the wrath of Thetis or the god of war.
Thus man died to man; and she rejoiced in Fate and Doom, and Eris (Fight) fell in her mad joy, shrieking aloud, and Ares shrieked horribly in reply, and valor shook the Trojans, and panic shook the Greeks, and shook their staggering squadrons. But he did not frighten a single man, not even the son of Achilles [Neoptolemus]; he lived and fought fearlessly, killing enemies upon enemies. . . the glorious descendants of austere Achilles rejoiced in the slain and ignored the God who troubled the Trojans: man after man tasted vengeance on their invading armies. Just as a giant mountain peak endures stormy hurricanes, so steadfastly has it endured. Ares, in his impatient mood, became angry, and would have cast off the cloud-veil and faced him in battle, but now Athena from Olympus threw herself upon the forest-shrouded Ida. The earth trembled and the streams of Xanthos gurgled; she shook them so powerfully: the souls of all the Nymphaeans who longed for Priam's city were terrified. Lightning flashed from her immortal armor; terrible serpents spewed fire from her indomitable shield; the peak of her great helmet darted through the clouds. And now she was about to be caught in a surprise fight with Ares; but the mighty will of Zeus discourages them both and thunders his fear from high heaven. Ares withdrew from the war because the wrath of Zeus was revealed to him.
He moved to winter Thrace; his haughty heart no longer smelled of the Trojans. Pallas no longer lay on the plain of Troy; she went to holy Athena. But the armies continued to fight the deadly battle; and the valor of the Trojans now failed; but all the battle-hardened Argives pressed them as they yielded.

VIII. ARES REMOVES THE GREEKS FROM THE GATE OF TROY

In the final battles for Troy, Ares led Aeneas to repel a Greek attack on the gates of Troy, led by Neoptolemus.

Quintus of Smyrna, De val van Troje 11. 425 et seq.:
"They cursed the Achaeans when Aeneas suddenly broke the entire battle wall of immovable shields [the shield wall of the Greeks approaching the gates of Troy], because God had given more than human strength. None of them could look up at him in this fight, as the hands gripping his muscular limbs flashed like lightning coming from the sky. Beside him, all his divine form shrouded in darkness, stood Ares, terrible and the winged flight of what he bore to the destruction or terror of the Argives... So under Aeneas' lightning fell the Argosian squadrons.'

IX. ARES TRYING TO DESTROY THE TROJAN HORSE

The Greeks eventually built the Wooden Horse as a ruse to conquer the city. However, Troy's divine allies, seeing their plan, descended upon Troy to destroy it. Athena fought Ares and the two fought until Zeus intervened and ordered all the gods to withdraw from Troy and the city fell.

Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 12. 167 ff (trans. Put) (Greek epic, 4th century AD):
"When mighty Zeus, far from the gods, went to the stream of Oceanus and the caves of Tethys [and the Greeks built a wooden horse], a battle broke out between the immortals: heart to heart. Riding on gusts of wind, they fell from heaven to earth: the air crackled around them. In a flash, by the stream of Xanthos, dressed, they faced each other, some for the Achaeans, some for the Trojans, and all their souls trembled with the desire for war: the lords of the wide sea gathered. In their anger they wanted to destroy the Horse of Cunning and all the ships and this beautiful Ilion. But fate prevented them from doing so and ordered their hearts to fight among themselves. Ares was the first to stand, and Athena rushed in. There they fell upon each other: the golden arms of heaven encircled their limbs as they charged. Around them roared the vast sea, the dark earth trembled "beneath the immortal feet. The distant thunder of war-cries resounded from them all; this terrible cry rolled up to the broad vault of heaven, and down even to the abyss of Hades: trembled the Titans in the depths of darkness. Ida's long back sighed, moaned the noisy streams of ever-flowing rivers, sobbing deep gorges, Argive ships and Priam's towers. But men did not fear, knowing nothing of all this battle, at the command of heaven Then her high peaks seized the hands of the gods with ​​Ida's peak and charged one another: but as the crumbling sands trembled, They fell around those impregnable limbs, shattered to dust. But the spirit of Zeus, at the farthest end of the earth, was aware of all: He straightened the course of Oceanus and ascended to the wide sky, a chariot on the winds, east, north, west, and south [in the shape of a horse] : for rainbow feathers Iris "led under yoke to his eternal ear this stormy team, the car that immortal time designed for him with unyielding, tireless hands . That's how he came to the gigantic ridge of Olympus. His wrath shook the whole firmament as his thunderbolts burst from east to west; Lightning flashed, thick and fast as thunder struck the ground, and the huge Welkins burned. Dread seized the hearts of these immortals: their limbs trembled—yes, though they were immortal!
Then Themis, trembling about them, sprang from the cloud swift as a thought, and quickly approached them—for she alone did not take part in the fight, and stood among the warriors, crying, "Stop fighting! Oh, if Zeus is angry, It seems that the eternal gods do not fight for men, the creatures of the day; lest you all be destroyed at once; for Zeus will bring down all the hills and cast them upon you: sons and daughters he will not spare, but will destroy them all buried under one ruin of broken earth. Thence you will find no way out to the light, forever trapped by the horror of darkness.
Fearing the threat of Zeus, they obeyed it, refrained from fighting and put their anger aside, united in peace and friendship. Some rose to the sky, others plunged into the sea, some remained on earth.

SOURCES

GREEK

• Homer, Ilijada- Greek epic, 8th century ex
• Quintus Smyrna, De val van Troje - Greek epic from the 4th century AD
• Colluthus, Otmica Helene - Greek epic C5-VI AD

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Full bibliography of translations cited on this page.